Rep. Jamie Raskin made powerful arguments at the Senate trial of former President Donald Trump on Wednesday.
Video transcription
REP JAMIE RASKIN: Incitement to violence is, of course, not protected by the First Amendment. That’s why most Americans have rejected the rhetoric of Donald Trump’s First Amendment by simply referring to Judge Oliver Wendell Holmes’s clever phrase – “you can’t shout ‘fire’ in a crowded theater.” But even that time-honored principle does not begin to realize how insignificant the argument is. This case is much worse than someone falsely shouting ‘fire’ in a crowded theater.
It’s more of a case where the city fire chief who is paid to put out fires sends a crowd not to shout ‘fire’ in a crowded theater, but to actually set the theater on fire. And then who, when the fire alarm goes off and the phone calls start pouring into the fire department, asking for help, who does nothing but sit back, encourage the crowd to carry on carrying on and watch the fire on TV with joy and joy .
So then we say: this fire chief may never hold this public job again. And you will be fired and permanently disqualified. And he objects and he says we are violating his rights to free speech just because he is in favor or in favor of fire or whatever it may be. Come on. I mean, you really don’t need to study law to find out what’s wrong with that argument. Here’s the key.
Undoubtedly, a private individual can run around the street and show his or her support for the enemies of the United States and advocate for the overthrow of the US government. You have the right to do so under the First Amendment. But if the president spends all his days on that, uttering the exact same words, showing support for the enemies of the United States and for overthrowing the government, there is someone here who doubts this would be a violation of his oath of office to preserve, protect, and defend the United States Constitution?
And that he or she can be ripped off for that. See, if you’re the president of the United States, you’ve chosen to take your oath of office. And if you violate it, we can permanently charge, convict, remove and disqualify you from holding any honorable, trust, or profitable position under the United States. As Justice Scalia once said memorable, “You can’t go with the police and catch up with the robbers.”
And if you become insighter-in-chief of the uprising, you can’t expect to be on the payroll as commander-in-chief of the union. Trump was the president of the United States and had vowed to preserve, protect and defend the constitution. He had an affirmative binding duty, one that set him apart from everyone else in the country, to ensure that the laws are faithfully enforced, including all laws against attacking federal officers, destroying federal property, violently threatening members of Congress and the Vice. President, meddles in federal elections and dozens of other federal laws that all know you well.
He broke that oath on January 6 when he was in an uproar. He has violated that duty. And that’s why we’re here today. And that is why he has no credible constitutional defense.