WASHINGTON: Former President Donald Trump stands trial before the Senate this week on an impeachment charge that accuses him of inciting the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
His lawyers in a 78-page memorandum on Monday detailed a range of legal and factual arguments that they intend to make at trial.
Some of the highlights:
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ARGUMENT: TRUMP DID NOT INCITE THE INSURRECTION
Defense lawyers are adamant that Trump did not incite the riot when he addressed a huge crowd of supporters at a rally that preceded it.
They accuse House impeachment managers of cherry-picking Trumps statements from an hourlong speech by highlighting only those that Democrats see as helpful to their case, pointing out repeatedly that he had told his supporters to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”
They argue that even the statement that has attracted the most notoriety If you dont fight like hell, youre not going to have a country anymore was figurative in the general context of…