Watergate Prosecutor Explains Why Democrats Should Call Donald Trump As First Witness In Impeachment Trial
The Senate impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump will begin in less than two weeks and experts are already discussing possible legal strategies for both sides involved in the case.
In an interview with CNN on Sunday, former Special Assistant Watergate Prosecutor Nick Akerman advised Democrats to call Trump as their first witness, Mediaite reported.
Host Ana Cabrera began the discussion by pointing out that Trump parted ways with the lawyers he hired to represent him and asked Akerman to comment on the shocking development.
Akerman argued that the lawyers made the right decision because Trump reportedly asked them to base their case on his unfounded claims that Democrat Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election thanks to widespread voter fraud. The former Watergate prosecutor claimed that no ethical lawyer could represent a client who demands they lie for him.
Cabrera then noted that Democrats seem to have decided to keep the trial as short as possible, in order to let Biden get on with his agenda and leave room for Congress to legislate amid the coronavirus pandemic and as millions of Americans struggle to make ends meet.
As a legal strategy, Akerman said, that would be “absolutely spot on.” He argued that Democrats should call Trump as their first witness. They should interrogate him and show the American people that he repeatedly lied about the 2020 election, the former prosecutor stated.
"the first witness I would call is Donald J. Trump. And I would make most of the case through him while he is on the witness stand. I would question him about all of the lies” – @nickakerman, Former Assist Special Watergate Prosecutor pic.twitter.com/vqfa05G6zN
— Ana Cabrera (@AnaCabrera) January 31, 2021
“I would question him about all of the lies, put up the videos of his lies, the tweets of his lies,” Akerman continued, stressing that Democrats should grill Trump over the fact that there is absolutely no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
“I think it is really important the Democrats put him up on the stand and go through the evidence with him because I don’t think he can answer these questions. By the time he gets through this examination, he’s going to look like the liar that he is.”
Assuming that all Democrats vote to convict the former president, an additional 17 Republicans will have to do the same. The best way to convince them to do so, Akerman concluded, would be to subpoena Trump and put him on the stand.
“He can’t claim the Fifth Amendment for not showing up. He can assert his Fifth Amendment privilege as to specific questions. But he certainly has to show up if he is subpoenaed,” Akerman said.
As The Inquisitr previously reported, Trump is allegedly certain that Republicans won’t vote to convict him and wants to represent himself in the trial.
