Defense: Trial is ‘constitutional cancel culture’

Defense: Trial is ‘constitutional cancel culture’

Lawyers for former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial opened their defense Friday arguing that the trial is “constitutional cancel culture” by Democrats trying to retain power. (Feb. 12)

Arguing that Trump did not incite the Jan. 6 insurrection of his supporters at the U.S. Capitol, lawyer Michael van der Veen said that the trial is “constitutional cancel culture” by Democrats trying to retain power.

Trump’s supporters violently attacked the Capitol after he falsely claimed the presidential election was stolen from him for months and then told them to “fight like hell” as Congress counted the votes.

The lawyers are arguing that the trial is unconstitutional, that Trump is protected by freedom of speech and that he did not intend to incite the riot.

Van der Veen said that language “is ordinary political rhetoric that is virtually indistinguishable from the language that has been used by people across the political spectrum for hundreds of years.

Trump’s defense tried to equate the Jan. 6 insurrection against the U.S. Capitol to the Black Lives Matter protests in Portland, Oregon over the summer.

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