10 February 2021
US senators voted 56-44 on Tuesday (Feb 9) to proceed with Donald Trump’s impeachment trial on a charge of incitement of insurrection over his actions leading up to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Democrats used a 13-minute video of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot to help make their case to the Senate.
Democrats said that if Trump is not tried now, it would suggest to future presidents that they would not be held accountable for their actions during their final days in office.
It is unlikely that Trump would be convicted. Conviction verdict would require a two-thirds majority, which Democrats do not have.
Michael van der Veen, a Philadelphia lawyer, last year filed a suit against Trump accusing him of making repeated claims that mail voting was ripe with fraud.
This week his name appears in the list of defense lawyers at Trump’s impeachment trial at the Senate. Is it because other lawyers did not want to defend Trump?
It was also reported that Bruce Castor Jr., a former district attorney of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, made a poor first impression in a 48-minute argument that garnered criticism from senators. Bruce Castor Jr. is lawyer in the firm founded by Michael van der Veen.
Source: ABC News, stuff.co.nz
