TRUMP’S DEFENSE LAWYERS STUMBLE AT IMPEACHMENT TRIAL

Bruce Castor, former president Donald Trump’s defense lawyer at his second impeachment trial, has lauded the prosecution team led by Rep. Jamie Raskin for its good presentation, forcing Trump to howl, Matthew Chapman reported for Raw Story.

His partner, lawyer David Schoen, also quibbled about constitutional points, CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer said, but also argued that the impeachment trial would disenfranchise the 74 million who voted for Trump and that convicting Trump would divide the nation, perhaps leading to another civil war.

Instead of confronting the legal issues head-on, Castor and Schoen resorted to papering over the video presented by the prosecution, which was riveting enough, and the fact that Schoen was the lawyer of convicted Roger Stone and Italian and Russian mafiosis never escaped the minds of GOP senators.

Alan Dershowitz, Trump’s defense counsel during the first impeachment, was horrified by what Castor was saying for the benefit of the prosecution.

CNN correspondent Jim Acosta reported that Trump's advisers are horrified by the legal defense put up at the impeachment trial — and believe Trump would be in serious trouble if he ever faced a criminal charge.

“It was brutal," said Acosta. "I talked to part of the former president's team and Castor's presentation and how it was incoherent at times, and this adviser was candid about it and essentially said part of the problem for the former president is that he was just having difficult difficulty assembling a high-powered legal team. His first legal team essentially bailed on him about a week ago and this one had to swoop in."

He added: "In the words of this adviser of the former president, Trump could be in real jeopardy if he ever ends up in a criminal court proceeding. According to this adviser, and this adviser said, quote, 'Trump is F'd if anyone ever charges him. No one wants to work with him.' That's how the adviser described this situation that we saw unfold at the Capitol with the former president's impeachment team offering their presentations."

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