Trump Lawyer Invokes 9/11 As Part of Defense at Impeachment Trial

January 28th 2020

By Oliver Willis

Jane Raskin, one of the lawyers defending Donald Trump in his Senate impeachment trial, invoked the 9/11 attacks on Monday as part of an attempt to excuse Rudy Giuliani’s actions in Ukraine on Trump’s behalf.

Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer, is a central figure in the Ukraine scandal that eventually led to Trump’s impeachment. Giuliani visited Ukraine as part of the scheme to have the country’s government investigate of Trump’s political rivals while Trump withheld aid to the country.

“Rudy Giuliani is the House manager’s colorful distraction,” argued Raskin. “He’s a household name. Legendary federal prosecutor who took down the mafia, corrupt public officials, Wall Street racketeers. Crime-busting mayor who cleaned up New York and turned it around.”

“A national hero. America’s mayor after 9/11. And after that? An internationally recognized expert on fighting corruption.”

The invocation of the terrorist attack has frequently been used by Giuliani and his supporters to deflect from criticisms of his actions.

Raskin went on to argue that because Giuliani “publicly supported the candidacy of President Trump” and “stood up to defend the president” in the spring of 2018 during the Mueller investigation, he has now come under fire.

Raskin’s defense of Giuliani reflects the point, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the lead House impeachment manager, has been making about Trump’s lawyers.

“They don’t contest the facts of Trump’s scheme. They’re trying to deflect, distract from, and distort the truth. And they are continuing to cover it up by blocking documents and witnesses,” Schiff noted on Saturday, when House Democrats began to present their case.

Republican senators have defended Trump’s withholding the aid, even after the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that it violated federal law.

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