Name: Trump's impeachment defense is basically 'Don't hold me accountable for violence or there might be more violence.'
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Trump's impeachment defense is basically 'Don't hold me accountable for violence or there might be more violence.'

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An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders. It often indicates a user profile.Redeem nowIt was a defense by way of a veiled threat.David Schoen, defending twice-impeached former President Donald Trump said : "This trial will tear this country apart, perhaps like we've only ever seen once in history."The "once in history" Schoen was almost certainly referring to was the Civil War, which resulted in .&nbsp;It's also a war where one side was fighting to preserve the institution of slavery, making it unimpeachably more evil than the other.&nbsp;Schoen didn't elaborate on his provocative point, so we don't know on which side of the Union vs. Confederate fight he'd metaphorically place Trump supporters — even if some of them stormed the Capitol .&nbsp;The insurrectionists also of the Capitol, , and contributed to .&nbsp;Such trivialities don't concern the 45th president's lawyer. It's the fact that the trial is happening at all that, to their minds, is a threat to the future of the Republic.But Trump's counsel unwittingly said the quiet part out loud.Schoen — and many others arguing against the trial — are using the threat of more violence to demand no accountability for the previous violence.In essence, this defense goes, a president who long fomented among his supporters and then incited a group of those supporters to commit , should not be held accountable because his supporters might commit if they're displeased by the outcome of the trial.&nbsp;This statement was coming from a defense lawyer, standing in the building that had been sacked by political violence, before a jury that was the target of that .&nbsp;For good measure, Schoen described Democrats' efforts to hold Trump accountable as "blood sport."&nbsp;This isn't the language of someone looking to turn down the temperature, it's a threat.&nbsp;Republicans have taken to calling this a "," which is both correct and totally wrong.&nbsp;It's wrong because "" typically refer to proceedings rigged to produce certain guilty verdicts.&nbsp;But it's also a correct analogy, because most Senate Republicans have made it clear that they think the trial itself is illegitimate because the defendant is no longer in office. Their participation in the trial is purely ceremonial.&nbsp;With acquittal all but guaranteed, the Republican argument against impeachment is that it's merely an act of vengeance.&nbsp;And it's not so much Trump that they're worried about, it's the tens of millions who voted for him that would be "disenfranchised" by the trial.&nbsp;This is all madness.&nbsp;Voting for a losing candidate isn't "disenfranchisement."&nbsp;But trying to and the vice president to overturn election results is. For that matter, so is inciting a violent mob to forcefully stop the certification of an election.&nbsp;That's what the trial is about. Not vengeance, but justice and accountability.&nbsp;Schoen's implication that holding a former president to the law for actions committed while still in office would lead to a Civil War-level of division would be asinine if it weren't so dangerous.&nbsp; with should take the president's lawyer's words as a challenge, and at least admit that the trial itself isn't an exercise in or a justification for further .&nbsp;Making Trump answer for his crimes against American democracy, in the form of a Senate trial, isn't an act of violence. And shame on anyone who tries to pre-normalize further political violence in response to impeachment.&nbsp;Sign up for notifications from Insider! Stay up to date with what you want to know.Subscribe to push notificationsAn icon in the shape of a lightning bolt.Keep readingIt indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options.An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt.For you

An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders. It often indicates a user profile.Redeem nowIt was a defense by way of a veiled threat.David Schoen, defending twice-impeached former President Donald Trump said : "This trial will tear this country apart, perhaps like we've only ever seen once in history."The "once in history" Schoen was almost certainly referring to was the Civil War, which resulted in .&nbsp;It's also a war where one side was fighting to preserve the institution of slavery, making it unimpeachably more evil than the other.&nbsp;Schoen didn't elaborate on his...

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Anthony L. Fisher

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Trump's impeachment defense is basically 'Don't hold me accountable for violence or there might be more violence.'

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