Reply To: January 6th Committee Hearings

An important revelation of the hearings are that Trump’s lawyers during his impeachment were total liars.

The light that the Jan. 6 hearings, and Hutchinson’s testimony in particular, have shed on Donald Trump’s response to the 2021 impeachment process warrants attention.

These hearings show that Trump, through his lawyers, lied to Congress about the events of Jan. 6 in his second impeachment trial in denying that the then-president had meant to spark violence. In so doing, he undermined the constitutional process of impeachment—as well as the peaceful transition of power.

Consider the closing argument delivered by his counsel, Michael van der Veen:

“[Trump’s] entire premise was that the proceedings of the Congress should continue.”
“Mr. Trump did not spend the weeks prior to January 6 inciting violence, he spent those weeks pursuing his election challenge to the court system and other legal proceedings exactly as the Constitution and the Congress prescribe” (emphasis added).
“[T]he gathering of January 6 was supposed to be an entirely peaceful event.”
“All of us, starting with my client, are deeply disturbed by the graphic videos of the Capitol attack that have been shown in recent days. The entire team condemned and have repeatedly condemned the violence and law breaking that occurred on January 6 in the strongest possible terms. We have advocated that everybody be found and punished to the maximum extent of the law.”