Dear MoveOn member,
The start of Donald Trump's second impeachment trial went so badly that Donald Trump reportedly screamed at his television.1
House impeachment managers presented the beginning of an open-and-shut case—and Trump's lawyers responded with such rambling nonsense that even Trump's biggest defenders said they had "no idea" what his lawyers were doing.2
Then something really surprising and really bad for Trump happened: Conservative Republican Senator Bill Cassidy actually changed his mind and voted to let the impeachment trial go forward.
If one Republican can change his mind, then others can too. A bipartisan vote to convict Trump will send a message down through history and to every aspiring Trump-style authoritarian from Ted Cruz to Josh Hawley to Marjorie Taylor Greene that they will not get away with attacking our democracy.
The next 72 hours will be crucial, as House impeachment managers present the evidence and Trump's legal team is forced to defend the indefensible. We're keeping the pressure on Senate Republicans by running mobile billboards in Washington, D.C, and we want to expand our billboard campaign to the states, pressuring Republican senators most likely to vote to convict to listen to the evidence and do the right thing. Will you chip in $3?
Yes, I'll chip in $3 to help fund billboards to call on the Senate to convict Trump.
House impeachment manager Jamie Raskin opened yesterday's hearing with an argument that was so powerful that Trump's own lawyers admitted that it caused them to change their opening arguments and left Trump screaming at his television.3
Then, Trump's lawyers were so bad that the main constitutional law professor they relied on said that his legal analysis was "the opposite" of what Trump's legal team claimed.4
The rest of this trial might not go any better for Trump either, because the evidence is overwhelming: Trump incited a violent insurrection in an attempt to overturn the results of a free and fair election.
For months, he pushed the lie that he won the election "by a landslide" but that it was stolen. He made one false claim after another about election fraud. Then, on January 6, he urged a white nationalist mob to attack the U.S. Capitol to stop the certification of the election, leading to the deaths of five people and the injuring of hundreds of others.
If that's not an impeachable offense, then what is?
Every senator is not only a juror but a witness, and the ruling they hand down will echo down through history. If they vote to acquit, the message is that any future president can incite a violent coup d'etat to stay in power and get away with it.
There are clear signs that Republicans are feeling the pressure. In Trump's first impeachment, not one House Republican voted for impeachment. The second time, 10 did.
In his first impeachment, one Republican senator voted to convict. Yesterday, six Republican senators voted to move forward with the trial, rejecting the main defense argument that it is unconstitutional to convict a president after leaving office.
It's crucial that we keep the pressure on now. Not with threats of violence or intimidation, but with the power of our arguments. It costs thousands of dollars to run a single billboard for a day, and the next 72 hours will be critical. Will you chip in $3 to expand our billboard campaign pressuring Republican senators to convict Trump for his role in the January 6 insurrection?
Yes, I'll donate $3 right now.
Thanks for all you do.
–David, Thad, Erica, Lisa, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "Trump was 'borderline screaming' and 'deeply unhappy' over his defense lawyers' performance at his impeachment trial, report says," Insider, September 9, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/149951?t=5&akid=289949%2E10220574%2EdXW_Dc
2. "Dershowitz slams Trump attorney: 'Have no idea what he's doing,'" The Hill, September 9, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/149952?t=7&akid=289949%2E10220574%2EdXW_Dc
3. "Trump was 'borderline screaming' and 'deeply unhappy' over his defense lawyers' performance at his impeachment trial, report says," Insider, September 9, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/149951?t=9&akid=289949%2E10220574%2EdXW_Dc
4. "'I Said The Opposite': Criticism Of Trump's Impeachment Defense Intensifies," NPR, September 9, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/149953?t=11&akid=289949%2E10220574%2EdXW_Dc
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