WASHINGTON—United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) posed a question during today’s impeachment trial of former President Donald J. Trump to the former President’s counsel. The question noted that our justice system is doing an excellent job of appropriately holding hundreds of people accountable for their conduct on January 6, and that President Trump is no longer in office, asking whether the Senate is a proper venue to hold a private citizen accountable:
Given that more than 200 people have been charged for their conduct at the Capitol on January 6, that our justice system is working to hold the appropriate persons accountable, and that President Trump is no longer in office, isn’t this simply a political show-trial that is designed to discredit President Trump and his policies and shame the 74 million Americans who voted for him?
Hagerty’s question was presented to the counsel via the President Pro Tempore of the Senate who is the presiding officer.
The former President’s counsel responded to Hagerty with the following:
“That is precisely what the 45th President believes this trial is about. We believe in law and order and trust that the federal authorities that are conducting investigations and prosecutions against the criminals that invaded this building will continue their work and be as aggressive and thorough as we know them to always be and that they will continue to identify those that entered the inner sanctum of our government and desecrated it. The 45th president no longer holds office. There is no sanction available under the constitution, in our view, for him to be removed from office that he no longer holds. The only logical conclusion is that the purpose of this gathering is to embarrass the 45th President of United States and in some way try to create an opportunity for senators to suggest that he should not be able to hold office in the future. Or at the very least, publicize this throughout the land to try to damage his ability to run for office when and if he is acquitted. And at the same time tell the 74 million people who voted for them, that their choice was the wrong choice. I believe that this is a divisive way of going about handling impeachment and it denigrates the great solemnity that should attach to such proceedings.”
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