Six Republican senators voted “yes” to proceed with the Senate impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump. Some of them are speaking out following the first day of the trial.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) was among the six Republican lawmakers who voted on Tuesday that the impeachment trial is constitutional.
“I was perplexed by the first attorney, who did not seem to make any arguments at all, which was an unusual approach to take,” Collins said. She was pointed to Trump lawyer Bruce Castor, who named a few Republican senators in his remarks.
The Maine senator also said it was “inappropriate” for Castor to call out Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) and Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Penn.).
Republican Sen. Susan Collins says she was "perplexed" by Trump's lawyer Bruce Castor "who did not seem to make any arguments at all, which was an unusual approach to take" to @tedbarrettcnn
— Ali Zaslav (@alizaslav) February 9, 2021
Collins is not the only one criticizing Trump’s legal team. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said, “I thought the President’s lawyer the first lawyer just rambled on and on and on and didn’t really address the constitutional argument.”
The Texas senator continued, “Finally, the second lawyer got around to it And I thought, did an effective job but I’ve seen a lot of lawyers and a lot of arguments and that was it was not one of the finest I’ve seen.”
“I don't think the lawyers did the most effective job," said Sen. Ted Cruz to @karoun when asked about Trump's lawyers. He added that Rep. Jamie Raskin was "impressive" and a "serious lawyer."
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) February 9, 2021
Additionally, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) shared that she was “really stunned” by the first attorney for Trump.
“I couldn’t figure out where he was going, spent 45 minutes going somewhere, but I don’t think he helped with us better understand where he was coming from on the constitutionality,” Murkowski added.
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) indicated that he thought the House impeachment managers’ arguments were “focused, relied upon and trusted upon the opinion of legal scholars.”
In contrast, Trump’s legal team’s arguments were “unfocused, they attempted to avoid the issue. And they talked about everything but the issue at hand,” Cassidy said.
The six senators who voted with Democrats that the trial is constitutional include Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), as IJR reported on.