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JOINT BASE ANDREWS, MARYLAND - JANUARY 20: President Donald Trump speaks to supporters at Joint Base Andrews before boarding Air Force One for his last time as President on January 20, 2021 in Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. Trump, the first president in more than 150 years to refuse to attend his successor's inauguration, is expected to spend the final minutes of his presidency at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
David Schoen, one of the leading lawyers for former President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial, contended on Tuesday that the process would further divide the United States.
Schoen cautioned senators on Tuesday that convicting Trump could provoke a second civil war.
Trial to Tear Country Apart
The attorney claimed Democrats of knowing that "the so-called trial will tear the country in half, leaving tens of millions of Americans feeling left out of the nation's agenda, as dictated by one political party that now holds the power in the White House and in our national legislature. This trial will tear this country apart, perhaps like we've only seen once before in our history," reported Huffpost.
He said the impeachment trial could tear the nation apart based on partisan force-feeding.
According to Schoen, the process is ignited by base hatred. He said they are willing to risk their national character to advance their hatred. He added their fear that one day they may not be the dominant party, reported The Wall Street Journal.
Hapless Lawyers
Senate Republicans had stark denouncement for the former president's legal team following the opening of his second trial.
Many of them remarked they did not understand the attorneys' arguments as they sought to persuade the Senate for the impeachment trial's dismissal on the grounds of constitutionality.
Trump's trial was held for provoking the Jan. 6 siege of the US Capitol by courtesy of his supporters. The riot recorded five fatalities.
Divided United States
Schoen remarked the trial would leave the US much more divided, and its status across the globe will be badly broken.
Also Read: Trump Not Happy With Defense Team After Rambling Performance On Day 1 Of Impeachment Trial
Schoen said that if the trial moves forward, it will make "everyone" look bad and other nations that wish the United States harm will be delighted.
Both sides were arguing over the trial's constitutionality. The debate will be followed by a vote for the case's dismissal, which is expected to fail.
Following the presentation, 44 Republicans sided with the former president's legal team. They voted that the Senate cannot conduct a trial of a former president. The vote suggests Democrats will fall short of the 17 Republicans required to convict Trump, having won over a mere six.
Schoen also said the US could not possibly heal with the trial, reported Newsweek.
He added that with the trial, new and bigger wounds across the nation would be opened, "for a great many Americans see this process for exactly what it is: a chance by a group of partisan politicians seeking to eliminate Donald Trump from the American political scene and seeking to disenfranchise 74 million-plus American voters, and those who dare to share their political beliefs and vision of America."
Trump's trial in the Senate comes one year after the chamber acquitted him on two other articles of impeachment regarding his efforts to pressure Ukraine to smear Joe Biden and his family's reputation.
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