Former Republican South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy said Thursday that the legal team defending former President Donald Trump needed to step up their game.
Gowdy joined anchor Bret Baier on “Special Report” to discuss former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial, one day ahead of the defense team presenting its case. (RELATED: Report: White House Reached Out To Trey Gowdy For Impeachment Help)
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Baier turned the question to Gowdy, a former prosecutor, and asked what he thought of the Trump defense team’s reported plan to present its case in a relatively short time.
“It’s a terrible decision. And when I hear what they are planning on talking about is even worse,” Gowdy said, noting that Trump’s legal team had spent too much time talking about a 300-year-old trial or the constitutionality of the case rather than presenting a fact-based case.
“They want to know if Democrats engage in this kind of hot rhetoric, show it to us. Particularly if there are Senators who are members of the jury that engage in hot rhetoric, show that to us,” Gowdy continued.
He went on to argue that what they really needed to do was present a defense showing what Trump did once he learned that the Capitol was actually under attack.
“Bret, you can convince the jury that someone should not be elected again with video. You can’t convince them they should be barred from running again. You need the people that called the president. What did you tell him? What was his response? Was he aware of the gravity of the situation? You need witnesses,” Gowdy concluded. “His lawyers better present a factual defense or he needs new lawyers.”
In October 2019, the Trump administration sought Gowdy’s counsel for Trump’s first impeachment trial, but he was never hired. Gowdy was a harsh critic of Trump following the violence at the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
