PoliticoDonald Trump was quite displeased with his impeachment defence team
- The ex-president was frustrated with the meandering arguments
- Some close to his defence team quit watching out of frustration
This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by Gabby Orr and Meredith McGrath on politico.com on February 9, 2021.
Cocooned at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Trump watched as his defence lawyers 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 lawyer, former Pennsylvania prosecutor Bruce Castor, name-checked Republican Senator Ben Sasse, 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.