"ALBATROSS!"

Trump legal team intends to spend just one day defending him -- and may not even use all their time https://t.co/Maa7eP8TMl

— Raw Story (@RawStory) February 11, 2021

A) What are they gonna say? "ELECTION FRAUD!"? "But Antifa/BLM/Portland?"  "Yeah, but nobody was really hurt, right?" "Who you gonna believe?  Me? Or your lyin' eyes?"*

B)  They aren't going to lose.  Putting up too much of a defense of Trump just means another day talking about what Trump did.  What do they do, play all the tapes the Managers have played and give them a different spin?

C) Probably their best defense is "But Antifa/BLM/Portland!"  Except that reminds everybody of grannies getting tear-gassed outside a Federal courthouse, or the protests over the death of George Floyd.  And frankly, none of that has anything to do with Trump's culpability.  It's a pretty pathetic attempt at a red herring.

D) The House Managers today are making the case that Trump must be punished both to keep him out of office ever after because he is manifestly unfit for it, but also as a defense of the Constitution and the democratic republic it establishes.  You really want to make a rebuttal of that?  That, frankly, is a damnably compelling argument:  Trump must have his head on a figurative pike as a warning to others.  Justice will be done in the courts of law; that's what they are for.  The Constitution itself must be protected.  That is the Congress' responsibility.  Will the Senators shirk that?

Probably.  But honestly, a lengthy and disingenous defense from Trump's lawyers ("Well, yeah, he said "Fight" 40 times on January 6th, but "Peace" once, and the first time he was just using it figuratively....") wouild just make the decision of the GOP Senators look even worse than it already will.

I think the House Managers are hanging this singular incident in American history around the necks of the entire GOP like a giant albatross (that reference was never more appropriate than here).  Long may the wear it.

*Turns out they're going with Column A:

'Complete lack of evidence': Fox News cuts out of impeachment trial to interview Trump attorney https://t.co/1RGM7a5QaO

— Raw Story (@RawStory) February 11, 2021

Fox News host Sandra Smith noted that the prosecution are "making their case by using the president's words," including the phase "fight like hell." 

"If you look at the words of the speech, why do we ignore the word peacefully?" Schoen complained, calling the impeachment process "offensive." 

According to the attorney, Trump is also "quite offended" by the trial. 

"The president is very upbeat," he said. "He has condemned violence and in any way doesn't want to be associated with what happened in this violent incident. He's condemned the people involved, he's condemned the violence itself and, obviously, he's quite offended at trying to be tied into it."

I really hope they've got more than that.  (I would also like to see the video, transcript, or tweet in which Trump "condemned violence."  As NPR reporters discussing the day's events in the Senate said, Trump has never condemned the violence at the capitol (or anywhere, anytime, for that matter).  So show me the evidence, or shut up.)