Former President Donald Trump was extremely unhappy with his impeachment legal team’s defense of him, according to two reports.
Two more Trump lawyers who eventually won’t get paid? The online jokes that former Pennsylvania prosecutor Bruce Castor and attorney David Schoen must have been graduates from Trump University, or public defenders, won’t make Trump smile. Nor will tweets by and articles quoting lawyers giving a massive “Sad!” verdict on their performances.
How bad was it?
After Castor spoke, Castor Oil changed its name.
That’s a joke. But these reports aren’t:
Former President Trump was unhappy with Bruce Castor’s opening argument on the Senate floor this afternoon, according to two people familiar with his reaction.
Trump was almost screaming as Castor made meandering arguments that struggled to get at the heart of his defense team’s argument, which is supposed to be over the constitutionality of holding a trial for a president no longer in office.
Given the legal team was assembled a little over a week ago, it went as expected, one of the sources told CNN. Trump’s allies were flabbergasted when Trump’s attorneys switched speaking slots at the last minute.
Cocooned at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Trump watched as his defense attorneys responded to an emotional presentation by House impeachment managers with a series of dry, technical and at times meandering arguments about due process and the constitutionality of the proceedings. As they droned on, he grew increasingly frustrated with the sharp contrast between their muted response and the prosecution’s opening salvo, according to two people familiar with his thinking.
“President Trump was not happy with the performance of his legal team in action,” said one of the people familiar with his thinking.
It didn’t help that his lead attorney, former Pennsylvania prosecutor Bruce Castor, name-checked Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), who just days ago slammed his state party for their “weird worship” of Trump. Castor also referred to Trump as the “former president,” conceding that he had in fact lost the 2020 election when he was removed by “smart” voters last November.
Trump, according to those familiar with his thinking, saw his legal team’s performance as a missed opportunity and also was annoyed by the public criticism of his attorneys. And he wasn’t the only one.
Could we soon see (sigh) Rudy or (double sigh) Alan Dershowitz on the defense team horizon?
Multiple people tell me Trump was basically screaming as Castor made a meandering opening argument that struggled to get at the heart of the defense team's argument.
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) February 9, 2021
By the time Castor and Schoen are finished, the House will probably demand to impeach him a third time.
— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) February 9, 2021
Courtroom photo of Castor and Schoen at work: pic.twitter.com/zkpzAXTdSL
— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) February 9, 2021
Trump’s “lawyer” just spent 20 minutes arguing that Trump should not be held accountable because the American people are smart enough not to vote for Trump again in 2024. Castor really is not good at this lawyering thing.
— Glenn Kirschner (@glennkirschner2) February 9, 2021
Bruce Castor's concluding statement: "He was removed by the voters."
Ruh-roh. That's not what Trump says. #ImpeachmentTrial pic.twitter.com/2KLjyyBg6c
— David Corn (@DavidCornDC) February 9, 2021
Trump *should* be incredibly unhappy with his lawyers today. They were incoherent, rambling, boring, wrong on the law, and unconvincing to boot. Castor in particular had on a dopey suit and looked sloppy. They were terrible advocates and reflected poorly on him.
Pass it on.
— Asha Rangappa (@AshaRangappa_) February 9, 2021
After listening to Castor, I now know why the Senate floor was equipped with spittoons.
— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) February 9, 2021
Trump’s lawyers could get up and read the telephone book, and 44-45 Republicans would still vote for acquittal. Sad. #ImpeachmentTrial
— Larry Sabato (@LarrySabato) February 9, 2021
Even right-wing pundits had no clue what Bruce Castor was doing during his impeachment trial speech https://t.co/nwhrLlXr5F
— Jeffrey Levin (@jilevin) February 9, 2021
Good Longfellow poem in the Senate:
Listen my children, and you shall hear
Of the afternoon rants of Castor and Schoen,
On the ninth of February, in '21;
Hardly a man is now awake
Who had to listen to those two hours of talk
One if by incoherence, two if by rant
(Deletes account)— Jon Ralston (@RalstonReports) February 9, 2021
Confirmed. The praise of the House Dems’ case laid out against him shocked him and some in Trump’s orbit were unsure why Castor seemed caught off guard by video clips that were expected for days. https://t.co/pfTmGhxfEy
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) February 9, 2021
“I was perplexed by the first attorney, who did not seem to make any arguments at all, which was an unusual approach to take,” Susan Collins told @tedbarrettcnn.
Asked about Castor calling out Sasse and Toomey specifically, Collins said, "I thought that was inappropriate."
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) February 9, 2021
Right before my first UC Hastings law school exam our contracts prof told us: “Relax. Walk to the courthouse and watch random lawyers in hearings. If they can pass their exams you can too.” Now he can replay Trump’s lawyers Bruce Castor and David Schoen to save students the trip.
— Christine Pelosi (@sfpelosi) February 9, 2021
Photo 121141223 © Gints Ivuskans – Dreamstime.com
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.