Ex-Justice Department lawyer dismantles Trump team's claim Democrats can’t call witnesses because it’s too late
In an MSNBC panel discussion, former Justice Department Prosecutor Andrew Weissmann called President Donald Trump's argument for why there shouldn't be witnesses questionable.
After hearing Trump's private lawyer Jay Sekulow and the White House counsel Pat Cipollone lie about the facts of the case, Weissmann specifically pointed to the argument against bringing in anyone to testify for or against the president.
"You saw basically a detailed closing argument on one side that went through the facts," he said. "On the other side, you saw a procedural argument and said, 'It's too late to call any witnesses. You should have done it before. We're not going to do it now.' Which is a, sort of, unique way to consider a trial. I mean, I--"
The panel broke into laughter.
"You're so diplomatic," co-host Nicolle Wallace laughed. "Put another way? Baloney?"
"We're sitting here, whether you are on the Democratic side or the Republican side, we are sitting here with an impeachment, where we are actually having a debate about whether the American public should hear all the evidence," said Weissmann. "I mean, it's remarkable to me that that's where we've come to."
Former Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele noted that Trump's lawyers were so bad at their opening statements that they looked like Laurel and Hardy.
Former Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) was floored by the way that the president's lawyers were willing to stand before the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and openly lie about the facts of the case. She noted that it likely didn't make them look good.
Watch the full segment below: