As Donald Trump’s impeachment legal team began arguments in the second day of the trial, The Daily Mail reported that Trump lawyer Michael Van der Veen had once called him “a fu**ing crook.”
According to the report, Van der Veen’s comments happened while working on a 2019 case in which a student was accused of hacking IRS databases in order to obtain Donald Trump’s tax records.
The current defense team was assembled in a hurry. David Schoen and former Montgomery County Pennsylvania District Attorney Bruce Castor came on board just last Sunday.
Van der Veen was also brought in last week to assist.
Trump's legal team says Democrats are engaging in "political theater" and argues the impeachment trial is unconstitutional since he's no longer President https://t.co/fB5kHULC9J
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) February 8, 2021
Van der Veen’s former client stated that he was not sure if the ‘crook’ comments were an attempt to make him more comfortable or if they were the genuine beliefs of Van der Veen.
Van der Veen has denied the allegation.
NEW: Trump lawyer Michael van der Veen denies previously calling the president a "f—g crook," a day after a former client recalled him making that statement.
The client tells my colleague @anna_orso today he stands by his recollection.
More here: https://t.co/PnBdwehmgr pic.twitter.com/jnjvXYnzk1
— Jeremy Roebuck (@jeremyrroebuck) February 10, 2021
Even more curious, a Washington Post report states that Van der Veen sued Trump last year over Trump making claims that mail-in voting was “ripe with fraud” despite having “no evidence to support these claims.”
Conservative commentators have often wondered aloud about some of Trump’s hires. This one will no doubt draw many questions.
RELATED: CBO Warns $15 Minimum Wage Will Kill 1.4 Million Jobs, House Dems Are All For It
In a report from Politico, sources close to Trump say that the former president was not happy with the legal team’s performance.
Widely criticized for his performance was Bruce Castor.
Castor gave a disjointed 45-minute opening statement that confused many as it seemed that Castor often struggled to find a point.
Among the bewildering strategies was Castor stating that Donald Trump lost the election fairly.
This was a departure from reports that neither Castor or Schoen had planned to bring up any mention of a stolen election, but planned on arguing constitutionality of an impeachment trail against a president who is out of office.
Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz also did not have good things to say about the team’s first day, saying they did not do well.
Of Castor, Dershowitz said, “I have no idea what he is doing.”
'There is no argument – I have no idea what he is doing,' @AlanDersh on Trump's defense lawyer Bruce Castor 'talking nice' to U.S. Senators – via Newsmax TV's 'American Agenda.' https://t.co/VlT7z8drtO pic.twitter.com/7P7uVk5X19
— Newsmax (@newsmax) February 9, 2021
RELATED: Republicans Release Plan to Target Vulnerable Democrats, Take Back The House
According to multiple outlets, sources close to Trump claim that, as defense attorneys meandered through opening statements, the President appeared to be getting frustrated as they gave timid responses to the prosecution.
The source also said that Trump saw the team’s performance as a missed opportunity, and was also bothered by the public criticism of his attorneys.
This was not an auspicious start for the defense today. The House was more polished and effective. The defense will need to tighten the narrative and focus the points going forward.
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) February 9, 2021
The Politico report also stated that Castor had indeed admitted to changing plans based on how well the House Managers arguments were received.
Initially Schoen would present opening statements, the change was last minute.
An aide to former President Trump reportedly stated, “This is about lowering the temperature from the Democrats’ emotionally charged opening argument before dropping the hammer on the unconstitutional nature of this impeachment witch hunt.”
RELATED: Trump ‘Not Happy’ With His Legal Team’s First Appearance In Impeachment Trial
The post Report: Trump’s Own Impeachment Lawyer Called Him A ‘Fu**ing Crook’ appeared first on The Political Insider.
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) released a list of 47 “vulnerable Democrats” they plan to target in 2022 in an effort to take back the House.
The memo reminds voters that Republicans are “just five seats short of a majority” following some unexpected successes in the 2020 election.
NRCC Chairman Tom Emmer says that in the first few weeks of the Biden administration, Americans are already “seeing the job-killing initiatives House Democrats support.”
House Democrats on the Education and Labor Committee, for example, are pushing for a $15 minimum wage proposal, despite warnings from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) that it would put 1.4 million Americans out of work.
“We will relentlessly hold House Democrats accountable for their socialist agenda,” Emmers adds, “and ensure voters understand the damaging impact policies like defunding the police, government-run health care, and ending the Keystone XL Pipeline will have on Americans’ everyday lives.”
You do NOT want to be one of these 47 @HouseDemocrats
Check out our newly released list detailing offensive pick-up opportunities for the 2022 cycle >>>https://t.co/dFAvhIqse9
— NRCC (@NRCC) February 10, 2021
RELATED: Democrats Have A Back-Up Plan That Might Still Bar Trump From Running Again If Impeachment Fails
While House Republicans will be targeting Democrats to win back the majority from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, some of them will be targets themselves.
Former President Donald Trump is reportedly setting his sights on possible primary challenges to “Never Trump” Republicans, according to Newsmax.
His son Eric was floating the idea even prior to the impeachment fiasco.
“I will personally work to defeat every single Republican Senator/Congressman who doesn’t stand up against this fraud,” he tweeted regarding the 2020 election. “They will be primaried in their next election and they will lose.”
We doubt things have been patched up after the events that followed.
In mid-January, 10 Republicans in the House voted to impeach the former President for “incitement of insurrection.”
Wyoming GOP votes overwhelmingly to censure Rep. Liz Cheney for voting to impeach President Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. https://t.co/oacOSKsSl8
— ABC News (@ABC) February 7, 2021
RELATED: 64 Percent Of Republican Voters Would Join Trump If He Started A New Party
The ability of Republican candidates to target their Democrat counterparts may very well come down to what Trump does going forward.
Anger over Republicans joining Democrats in the impeachment effort has boiled over – a report notes that 7 out of the 10 GOP lawmakers who voted in favor of impeaching Trump are already facing primary challenges for their congressional seats.
10 Republicans voted to impeach Trump, 7 already facing challenges for their seats in Congress https://t.co/QCnmJA06dl
— Jason Miller (@JasonMillerinDC) January 30, 2021
Further complicating matters, some have speculated whether or not Trump would be better served to start his own party due to a fracture with the GOP.
A poll from earlier this month shows an overwhelming percentage of Republican voters would join a new political party established by the former president.
It seems the NRCC might want to focus on shoring up support from the former President if they are to have any chance of regaining a majority in the House.
The post Republicans Release Plan to Target Vulnerable Democrats, Take Back The House appeared first on The Political Insider.
On Tuesday, anti-Trump CNN host Don Lemon said that those who stand with former President Donald Trump have no right to tell others to respect the police.
Lemon made his comments on his CNN program “Tonight.”
Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen says Republicans "should have been embarrassed by the fact that after that video they still voted not to continue this trial," adding that "it suggests that they really are afraid to face the facts or they're afraid… of their constituents." pic.twitter.com/dI4G3AeuAn
— CNN Tonight (@CNNTonight) February 10, 2021
After showing the video that was presented on Tuesday of the Capitol Hill attack by the House impeachment managers, Lemon said, “Blue Lives Matter, huh?”
The video showed some of the mob action as the protests turned violent. Police officers who tried to hold protesters back were injured as protesters tried to break police lines and access outer doors to the Capitol.
Seeming to talk to Trump supporters, Lemon continued, “Law and order, law and order, respect the flags, respect law enforcement. Why don’t you just comply?”
“Don’t you dare even say that again if you can stand by after that video and give Donald Trump, of all people, Donald Trump… and his mob a pass,” Lemon said.
The CNN host then implied anyone who supports Trump has no right to defend “law and order” and the police again.
“If you can do that, I don’t ever want to hear that again,” Lemon said. “I don’t want to hear that from you.”
“I don’t want to hear family values from you,” he went on. “I don’t want to hear respect police officers from you. I don’t want to hear it.”
Scholar says Trump's lawyers misrepresented writings on impeachment defense.
"If someone [cites] an authority and you go and look and the authority says the opposite of what they're citing for, that reflects very poorly on the lawyers," says Brian Kalt, law professor pic.twitter.com/JY9wOG3mBs
— CNN Tonight (@CNNTonight) February 10, 2021
Lemon insisted that Trump backers lacked any moral standing to demand moral behavior of others.
“No moral high ground to stand on,” Lemon said. “Look who is on your side there. There have been a lot of lies.”
“We’ve been warning you about all the lies,” Lemon finished.
The “lies.”
Isn’t Don Lemon a personality on a cable outlet that spent years promoting the Russian collusion hoax?
All the liberal media on CNN and MSNBC that lied about the Russia Hoax & Nick Sandman are still on air, while those that raise election integrity concerns are cancelled? @LouDobbs will find a new home and his audience will follow him, but this #CancelCulture must end. https://t.co/XuiWQzYn1O
— Jim DeMint (@JimDeMint) February 6, 2021
Journalist Glenn Greenwald reported in 2017, “Three prominent journalists resigned Monday night after the network was forced to retract and apologize for a story linking Trump ally Anthony Scaramucci to a Russian investment fund under congressional investigation.”
“That article — like so much Russia reporting from the U.S. media — was based on a single anonymous source, and now, the network cannot vouch for the accuracy of its central claims,” Greenwald noted.
Don Lemon was part of the Trump-Russia conspiracy chorus for a very long time.
Greenwald observed of the 2017 CNN story, “Embarrassments of this sort are literally too numerous to count when it comes to hyped, viral U.S. media stories over the last year about the Russia Threat.”
Additionally, CNN was the subject of a massive lawsuit over their false reporting of Covington Catholic student Nick Sandmann.
Sandmann and his fellow students were blasted by the media for wearing MAGA hats at the 2019 March for Life rally in Washington, D.C., where they were confronted by counterprotesters.
CNN personalities Don Lemon and Chris Cuomo blamed the students.
Lemon stated, “The MAGA hat carries a certain connotation that provokes a conditioned reaction from many people, especially from marginalized people… Their chaperones should be keenly aware of that. Those kids should know that. And let’s say that the kids didn’t because they are kids, their chaperones should be responsible enough to educate them.”
Sandmann would subsequently sue CNN for $275 million dollars, and the network later settled for an undisclosed amount.
Don Lemon has no right or moral standing to correct other about “lies” or most anything else.
The post CNN’s Don Lemon Tells Trump Supporters They Can’t Support Trump And Demand Respect For Police appeared first on The Political Insider.
Six Republican senators voted Tuesday to affirm that the impeachment trial for former President Donald Trump is constitutional.
That is one more senator than voted for essentially the same point of order that Rand Paul (R-KY) forced just two weeks ago.
There were, of course, the usual suspects who joined Democrats in declaring the trial constitutional – Republican senators Mitt Romney (UT), Ben Sasse (NE), Susan Collins (ME), and Lisa Murkowski (AK).
Trump has been living rent-free in Sasse and Romney’s heads for some time, while Murkowski and Collins are often squishes who threaten to side with Democrats.
In addition to those four, Senator Pat Toomey (PA), a former ‘Tea Party Caucus’ guy, and Bill Cassidy (LA) voted with Democrats on the trial’s constitutionality.
6 Republican Senators joined with democrats to vote that this impeachment sham is constitutional.
Cassidy (LA-2026)
Collins (ME-2026)
Murkowski (AK-2022)
Romney (UT-2024)
Sasse (NE-2026)
Toomey (PA-Retiring)In addition to primarying Cheney & Kinzinger, I’ll help w/ these.
— #ThePersistence (@ScottPresler) February 9, 2021
Bill Cassidy is the only Republican senator who voted that the trial is unconstitutional under Paul’s motion, but switched to vote alongside the Democrats saying it is constitutional at the start of the trial.
What changed?
“If anyone disagrees with my vote and would like an explanation, I ask them to listen to the arguments presented by the House Managers and former President Trump’s lawyers,” Cassidy told reporters.
“The House managers had much stronger constitutional arguments. The president’s team did not.”
Sen. Bill Cassidy: “If anyone disagrees with my vote and would like an explanation I ask them to listen to the arguments presented by the House Managers and former Pres. Trump’s lawyers. The House managers had much stronger constitutional arguments. The president’s team did not.” pic.twitter.com/9rNujZFHDR
— Phil Mattingly (@Phil_Mattingly) February 9, 2021
Strength of arguments aside, you know what didn’t change, Mr. Cassidy?
The Constitution.
“When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside,” Article 1, Section 3 reads.
Both aspects are not being adhered to, as Donald Trump is now a private citizen – not president – and Chief Justice John Roberts has refused to preside over the trial.
“The Constitution says two things about impeachment — it is a tool to remove the officeholder, and it must be presided over by the chief justice of the Supreme Court,” Paul wrote in an op-ed.
Today the impeachment trial against former President Donald J. Trump begins in the US Senate. I don’t understand why there’s so much hatred for a president who did so much good for our country and did exactly what he told the American people he would do. https://t.co/H9I2QzUlE7
— Franklin Graham (@Franklin_Graham) February 9, 2021
RELATED: Democrats Have A Back-Up Plan That Might Still Bar Trump From Running Again If Impeachment Fails
Perhaps the lone voice of reason coming out of Congress this week was that of Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) who described the impeachment trial as, well … ‘stupid.’
“Welcome to the stupidest week in the Senate,” he announced in a video statement.
Sen. Kevin Cramer made it clear today what he thought about the historic second impeachment trial of Donald Trump: “Welcome to the stupidest week in the Senate”https://t.co/85PVZZvfXz
— POLITICO (@politico) February 9, 2021
Cramer also blasted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) for using impeachment “flippantly” as a political tool and described her impeachment managers as “backbenchers.”
“While Speaker Pelosi sent these backbenchers to tie up the Senate,” Cramer said, “she sent the rest of the House home instead of leaving them here to carry out the actual work of the American people.”
The post Here Are the 6 Republicans Who Voted That Trump’s Impeachment Trial Is Constitutional appeared first on The Political Insider.
Joy Behar came unglued on Tuesday’s episode of “The View” as she talked about what she feels the outcome of former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial will be.
“No one is changing their mind. These Republicans would not vote against Donald Trump even if he threw them off of a roof. Literally threw them off a roof!” Behar exclaimed, specifically calling out Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Rand Paul (R-KY) in her comments.
“They’d be going down, down, down yelling ‘the wind! It was the wind!’ There’s no way to get around this with these people,” she added. “They do not want to go back to their other jobs, and that’s where they’re at.”
Behar’s cohost Sunny Hostin agreed, saying that “Republicans would really be out of step with a majority of Americans if they don’t vote for conviction. We know that 60% of Americans want a conviction of Donald Trump, 58% want Donald Trump to be barred from ever holding office again.”
Related: Trump ‘Not Happy’ With His Legal Team’s First Appearance In Impeachment Trial
Democrats are trying to impeach Trump for allegedly inciting the Capitol riots last month. Conservative “The View” host Meghan McCain said that she supports impeachment, adding that there need to be “ramifications” for what Trump did.
“I’m for impeachment, I made that very clear on the show,” said McCain said.
“Politically, Republicans are betting on the fact that impeachment was so unpopular last time around and the American public is going to be focused on COVID-19 and the economy and moving forward and, you know, trying to heal our country in all forms,” she added. “So it will be interesting to see how politically this plays out.”
Related: Meghan McCain Calls Bashing Liz Cheney, Pro-Impeachment Republicans A ‘Losing Strategy’
WHAT TO EXPECT IN IMPEACHMENT TRIAL: The co-hosts discuss their expectations ahead of former Pres. Trump’s second impeachment trial that is set to begin later today. https://t.co/5vZLKsMybh pic.twitter.com/W1qIUB71gQ
— The View (@TheView) February 9, 2021
Attacking Trump is a favorite pastime of Behar’s and her fellow “The View” cohosts. Back in December, she went so far as to claim that Trump “made it his business for four years to rape this country.”
“Joe Biden has already done a couple of things by going back into the Paris agreement and by canceling the Keystone pipeline. He has other things on his agenda that he is going to do to fix the environment,” Behar said.
“This man, this Trump, he made it his business for four years to rape this country,” she added. “It’s disgusting, and I’m so happy to have somebody who cares about the children back.”
This piece was written by James Samson on February 10, 2021. It originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.
Read more at LifeZette:
Maxine Waters Confronted By MSNBC About Encouraging Violence Against Republicans
Bill Maher Claims Christianity Is To Blame For Capitol Riot
Liz Cheney Says There’s Major Criminal Probe Into Whether Trump Made ‘Premeditated Effort To Promote Violence’
The post Joy Behar Says GOP Senators Wouldn’t Vote To Impeach Trump ‘Even If He Threw Them Off A Roof’ appeared first on The Political Insider.