Bruce Castor, one of the lawyers representing former President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial, is defending his performance at Tuesday’s proceedings, saying former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows encouraged him to “continue doing what you’re doing.”
“Yesterday was a pre-trial motion. It was supposed to be, according to the Senate resolution, a legal discussion on the issue of jurisdiction. We took the Senate resolution literally and were prepared to argue jurisdiction,” Castor said during an interview with Drumpe Wednesday.
But he acknowledged that “the House Managers deviated substantially from the mandate and made a very strong, and direct emotional appeal.”
“I have had 35 years of reading the expressions of people’s faces as jurors, and I could see that it had hit home,” Castor said, referring to Rep. Jamie Raskin, the lead prosecutor for the Democrats, as he gave an emotional recounting of his experience during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Castor, a former district attorney in suburban Philadelphia, also dismissed reports that Trump had been angry over his opening remarks, saying that “had not been communicated” to him.
“My reaction is you need to check those sources because that has not been communicated to me by the president or anybody associated with the president,” Castor said. “Including Mark Meadows, who specifically came to the Capitol yesterday to tell me, ‘Don’t read news coverage.’”
Meadows assured him that ”everything is going fine” and to ”continue doing what you’re doing,” Castor said.
His rambling, 45-minute remarks in defense of Trump’s role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot sparked criticism, especially after he touted the presentation of the House managers, saying he and Trump’s other lawyer David Schoen were forced to alter their presentation because of it.
Republicans also went on the record to pan Castor’s remarks after the hearing.
“President Trump’s team were disorganized. They did everything they could but to talk about the question at hand — and when they talked about it, they kind of glided over, almost as if they were embarrassed of their arguments,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.).
“Now, I’m an impartial juror. And one side’s doing a great job and the other side’s doing a terrible job at the issue at hand, and as an impartial juror, I’m going to vote for the side that did a good job.”
Cassidy joined five Republicans who voted with Democrats to allow the trial to proceed, dismissing assertions that Trump cannot be tried in the Senate because he is out of office.
With Post wires
.