Lawyers representing Donald Trump are fiercely ridiculed for a slew of mistakes made in their initial applications in defense of the former president for his impending impeachment trial.
On Tuesday, attorneys David Schoen and Bruce Castor responded to the House filing that Trump instigated the January 6 Capitol uprising, arguing that he should not face impeachment now that he is out of office.
However, it was a series of typos that became a major topic of conversation after savvy readers quickly noticed a mistake in the first few lines of the documents’ address to the United States Senate.
The application, which is intended to address members of the United States Senate, instead misspells the recipients as members of the “ United States. ”
Donald Trump’s office
Trump’s legal team also reiterated its baseless claims that the 2020 election had been “ stolen ” from him, claiming that the former president “ continues to express his belief that the election results were suspicious. ”
“There is insufficient evidence to allow a reasonable lawyer to conclude that the 45th president’s statements were correct or not, and he therefore denies that they were false,” the defense document reads.
The lawyers further argue that the constitution “requires that a person actually hold office in order to be impeached” and that Trump exercised his right to the First Amendment to question the election results.
Later in the filing, a second misspelling of the “United States” is made, leading those on social media to mock the writers of the legal document.
“The ‘Unites States Senate’ – the world’s largest consultative body,” tweeted CNN anchor Jim Sciutto.
“Trump’s lawyers instantly spell ‘United States’ wrong and somehow it just gets worse and more amateurish from then on,” added the Democratic Rep. Don Beyer from Virginia.
Trump’s formal response to his impeachment begins with the misspelling of “ United States. ” From there it goes downhill, ‘joked journalist and lawyer Judd Legum.
Washington Post national correspondent Philip Bump also took part in the toasting. “If you’re curious about the actual content of the document, it’s of the same quality,” Bump replied, referring to his analysis of Trump’s defense.
Brendan Smialowski / Getty
Trump’s lawyers misspell “ United States ” at the beginning and somehow it just gets worse and more amateurish from there. https://t.co/MyLwLRjG5y
– Rep. Don Beyer (@RepDonBeyer) February 2, 2021
Trump’s legal defense comes in response to an application filed by House legislators Tuesday morning.
In a grave betrayal of his oath of office, President Trump incited a violent mob to attack the United States Capitol during the Joint Session, leading Congressional confirmation of Joseph R. Biden Jr. as the winner of the presidential election. obstructed.archive reads.
House lawmakers went on to argue that Trump’s responsibility for the events of January 6 is “undeniable.”
President Trump watched the tense crowd in front of him, whipped it into a frenzy and urged followers to “ fight like hell [or] you don’t get any more land. Then he pointed them right at the Capitol and declared, “ You will never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength, and you have to be strong. ”
Lawmakers wrote that it is “impossible” to envision the events of January 6 without President Trump “creating a powder keg, lighting a match, and then taking personal advantage of the ensuing devastation.”
The trial letter quotes Representative Liz Cheney, the chairman of the House Republican Conference, who claimed that Trump “ convened this crowd, convened the crowd, and lit the flame of this attack. All that followed was his doing. This wouldn’t have happened without the president. The president could have acted immediately and forcefully to stop the violence. He didn’t. ‘
Five people, including a Capitol police officer, died in the January 6 attack, which occurred shortly after Trump gathered an angry and jeering crowd.
At the Capitol, members of Congress met with then-Vice President Mike Pence to certify the election results when the pro-Trump crowd broke into the building, smashed windows, smashed properties and forced those inside to flee.
Days after the attack, Trump said his comments were “completely justified” and denied any responsibility for the violence.
On January 11, the Democrat-led House of Representatives went on to impeach Trump a second time and formally accuse him of inciting violence against the government by challenging the election results.
“[Trump] threatened the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the peaceful transfer of power, and endangered a coordinated branch of the government, ” the accusation said. In doing so, he betrayed his confidence as president, to clear injury to the people of States. “
Senate leadership agreed to delay Trump’s impeachment process until the week of February 8, giving President Joe Biden time to kick off his legislative agenda and allow legal teams to prepare their arguments.
“The January 6 uprising at the Capitol, instigated by Donald J. Trump, was a day none of us will ever forget,” Senate leader Chuck Schumer said in a speech. “We all want to leave this terrible chapter in our nation’s history behind. And healing and unity will come only when there is truth and accountability, which is what this path will provide.”
Newsweek has contacted Donald Trump’s lawyers for comment.