- Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, one of President Donald Trump’s most vocal congressional allies, praised House Democrats for the way they presented the case against Trump in his impeachment trial.
- The Democrats made their case to the public as if it were “cable news,” Gaetz told Politico, commending their use of multimedia during the trial.
- Meanwhile, the defense team’s case looked like “an eighth-grade book report,” Gaetz told Politico. “Actually, no, I take that back,” he said, adding that an eighth-grader would know how to use PowerPoint and iPads.
Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida is one of President Donald Trump’s most vocal defenders in Congress.
He has repeatedly gone to bat for the president and shielded him amid a snowballing impeachment process in which Trump was charged with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The president is standing trial in the Republican-controlled Senate, which is widely expected to clear him of wrongdoing.
But Gaetz doesn’t seem impressed with Trump’s defense so far.
After the first day of opening arguments on Wednesday, during which seven House impeachment managers — acting as prosecutors — laid out their case against the president, Gaetz told Politico they presented their case to the public as if it were “cable news,” and he praised their use of multimedia.
Meanwhile, the defense team’s case looked like “an eighth-grade book report,” Gaetz told Politico. “Actually, no, I take that back,” he said, adding that an eighth-grader would know how to use PowerPoint and iPads.
Other Republican lawmakers also offered grudging praise of the Democrats’ performance.
Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana told reporters during the first day of the prosecution’s opening arguments that the evidence itself was news to many senators.
“Nine out of 10 senators will tell you they haven’t read a full transcript of the proceedings in the House,” Kennedy said. “And the 10th senator who says he has is lying.”
House impeachment managers took center stage again on Thursday for the second day of opening arguments. On Wednesday, they gave senators — and the public — an overview of Trump’s months-long scheme to force Ukraine to launch politically motivated investigations targeting his rival while withholding vital military aid and a White House meeting that Ukraine’s president desperately sought.
On Thursday, the impeachment managers began laying the constitutional groundwork they said supports Trump’s impeachment and removal from office.
Arguments began at 1 p.m. ET and are expected to go until roughly 9:45 p.m. Democrats will get one more day to make opening arguments, after which Trump’s defense will get a chance to mount a rebuttal.
As reported by Business Insider