During former US President Donald Trump's second impeachment trial in the Senate, his attorney Bruce Castor opened his defense on Tuesday by arguing that the trial is politically motivated and an effort by Democrats to ensure they never have to face Trump in an election again.
"Let's understand why we're really here...We're really here because the majority of the House of Representatives does not want to face Donald Trump as a political candidate in the future," The Hill quoted Castor.
If Trump is convicted in the Senate by a two-thirds majority, it would then only require a bare majority vote to bar him from ever running for office again, according to The Hill.
Castor further accused Democrats of taking the easy way out and of 'infantilising' ordinary Americans, who he said had already handled the matter by voting Trump out of office.
"The American people just spoke and just changed administrations," Castor said.
Trump's trial will deliberate on his role in inciting the deadly insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6 and he is the only President in US history to be impeached twice.
However, the former President's lawyers argue that Trump is constitutionally ineligible to face an impeachment trial because he's no longer in office. They added that even if senators found the proceedings constitutional, his comments were protected under the First Amendment.
( With inputs from ANI )
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