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On Friday, former President Donald Trump's defense team attempted to discredit House impeachment managers arguing in favor of Trump's conviction for inciting an insurrection after Trump's lies about the 2020 election led to the deadly January 6 insurrection at the United States Capitol.
Following a bumbling argument against the legitimacy of the trial on Monday, Trump's head defense lawyer—Michael Van Der Veen—attempted to redeem himself.
Van der Veen played a minutes-long montage of Democratic lawmakers, pundits, and celebrities saying the word "fight" and insisted against all evidence that Trump's lies about the election had nothing to do with the unprecedented domestic terrorist attack.
Lamenting the argument against Trump, Van Der Veen said:
"This is about one of the most miserable experiences I've had down here in Washington, D.C. There is nothing fun about it."
Lead impeachment manager Jamie Raskin (R-MD) had a terse response.
Watch below.
“... but man, you should have been here on January 6th.” — @RepRaskin delivers a perfect retort to defense lawyer w… https://t.co/hj8kts7uMv— John Nichols (@John Nichols) 1613170187.0
Raskin said:
"The counsel said before, 'This has been my worst experience in Washington' and for that I guess we are sorry, but you should have been here on January 6."
Nearly every lawmaker at the Capitol during the January 6 insurrection feared for their lives, and previously unreleased security camera footage showed the rioters came within feet of the lawmakers they were targeting.
Less than a week before the riot, Raskin announced that his 25 year old son, Thomas, had taken his own life. On the day of the insurrection, Raskin went with his daughter to the Capitol for the long-awaited joint session of Congress to nationally certify the victory of now-President Joe Biden.
His harrowing recollection is below.
Raskin gets emotional recalling how the insurrection happened the day after he buried his son pic.twitter.com/SYLqAPxtCa
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 9, 2021
Raskin painfully remembered his daughter saying she never wanted to visit the nation's Capitol again.
The Congressman's response to Van Der Veen's irreverence was hailed on Twitter.
My God, I’m now a HUGE FAN of Raskin. He was the perfect person to lead this thing. https://t.co/B4M68ud0Z6— supercommonname (@supercommonname) 1613171083.0
This is what I am talking about! https://t.co/5iGBWzA7Fx— Rachael with an extra A (@Rachael with an extra A) 1613169811.0
@RepRaskin fabulous today! Thank you and all managers on representing all Americans with such distinction! https://t.co/kVJOTrCRQ0— a jalbert (@a jalbert) 1613169722.0
Raskin is absolutely amazing! https://t.co/k9SuMtB2GO— John A (@John A) 1613169715.0
An excellent line. https://t.co/8UOjXPmNE5— Jordan (@Jordan) 1613169547.0
.@RepRaskin has been knocking it out of the park this entire impeachment hearing but man, this quote is so extremel… https://t.co/d2SJhHOvFB— lauren (@lauren) 1613169736.0
For many, there was one appropriate sentiment:
I know mic drop is an over-used term, but.... https://t.co/3BKTeYotG0— Jamie Harding (@Jamie Harding) 1613169566.0
Mic drop. https://t.co/CE5pa1zr7p— PandemicParalegal (@PandemicParalegal) 1613169543.0
He dropped. the. mic. https://t.co/57pL1aBOGW— Kathleen (@Kathleen) 1613169581.0
After bombshell reporting detailing the mid-riot call between then-President Trump and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) prompted the House Managers to call for the allowance of witnesses. The Senate passed that resolution 55-45, with Republican Senators Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitt Romney of Utah, Ben Sasse of Nebraska and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina voting to allow it.