Six Republican senators voted âyesâ to proceed with the Senate Impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump. Some of them are speaking out following the first day of the trial.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) was among the six Republican lawmakers who voted on Tuesday that the Impeachment trial is constitutional.
âI was perplexed by the first attorney, who did not seem to make any arguments at all, which was an unusual approach to take,â Collins said. She was pointed to Trump lawyer Bruce Castor, who named a few Republican senators in his remarks.
The Maine senator also said it was âinappropriateâ for Castor to call out Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) and Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Penn.).
Collins is not the only one criticizing Trumpâs legal team. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said, âI thought the Presidentâs lawyer the first lawyer just rambled on and on and on and didnât really address the constitutional argument.â
The Texas senator continued, âFinally, the second lawyer got around to it And I thought, did an effective job but Iâve seen a lot of lawyers and a lot of arguments and that was it was not one of the finest Iâve seen.â
Additionally, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) shared that she was âreally stunnedâ by the first attorney for Trump.
âI couldnât figure out where he was going, spent 45 minutes going somewhere, but I donât think he helped with us better understand where he was coming from on the constitutionality,â Murkowski added.
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) indicated that he thought the House Impeachment managersâ arguments were âfocused, relied upon and trusted upon the opinion of legal scholars.â
In contrast, Trumpâs legal teamâs arguments were âunfocused, they attempted to avoid the issue. And they talked about everything but the issue at hand,â Cassidy said.
The six senators who voted with Democrats that the trial is constitutional include Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), as IJR reported on.