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Trump impeachment lawyer says he will play videos of Democrats using 'inflammatory rhetoric' during BLM protests at the trial

Feb 7, 2021, 19:58 IST
Business Insider
Former Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor shares a laugh with a person as he leaves the Montgomery County Courtroom in Norristown, Pennsylvania on February 2, 2016.Clem Murray/Pool/Reuters
  • Trump's impeachment lawyer says he will highlight Democratic lawmakers' rhetoric during the trial.
  • Bruce Castor alleged he had footage of Democrats using "inflammatory rhetoric" during BLM protests.
  • He will argue that Trump was using his First Amendment right to question the result of the election.
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Former President Donald Trump's lead impeachment lawyer said Friday he will be using video footage of Democratic lawmakers using "inflammatory rhetoric" during the Black Lives Matter movement to strengthen his arguments during next week's Senate trial.

The House voted last month to charge Trump with one count of inciting the deadly Capitol insurrection on January 6 in actions that included a speech he gave that morning to a crowd of supporters gathered for a "Save America" rally.

It is expected that the video of Trump's speech will be included in the trial, alongside other footage of rioters breaking into the Capitol building.

Speaking to Laura Ingraham on her Fox News show on Friday, attorney Bruce Castor, said he's will attempt to counter these videos by highlight Democratic lawmakers' rhetoric in the Black Lives Matter protests over the summer.

"Will you then respond with Maxine Waters, a number of other Democrat officials not speaking out about the antifa and other extremist rallies over the last summer?" Ingraham asked Castor, according to Politico.

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"I think you can count on that," Castor responded. "If my eyes look a little red to the viewers, it's because I've been looking at a lot of videos."

Read more: Trump is plotting a campaign revenge tour targeting GOP defectors after Senate impeachment trial

Castor added that he will specifically highlight the comments made by Democratic lawmakers during the BLM protests.

The demonstrations were mostly peaceful, but critics have pointed to some protests - specifically in Portland - that became violent. At the time, Trump misleadingly blamed violence in the city on the far-left and antifa.

"There's a lot of tape of cities burning and courthouses being attacked and federal agents being assaulted by rioters in the streets, cheered on by Democrats throughout the country," Castor said, according to Politico.

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"Many of them in Washington are using really the most inflammatory rhetoric possible to use. And certainly, there would be no suggestion that they did anything to incite any of the actions," he added."But here, when you have the President of the United States give a speech and says that you should peacefully make your thinking known to the people in Congress, he's all of a sudden a villain."

"You better be careful what you wish for," he added.

It's unclear which videos or remarks the Trump team will cite during the impeachment trial.

Trump's legal team consisting of Castor and attorney David Schoen, is expected to argue that the Constitution "requires that a person actually hold office to be impeached", according to a brief released earlier this week.

They will also argue that the former president was exercising his First Amendment right to question the results of the 2020 election.

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Trump adviser and spokesman Jason Miller previously confirmed to Insider that "the President will not testify in an unconstitutional proceeding."

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