Observed at least 15 empty seats on the republican side of the chamber. Three republican senators, ted cruz, Lindsey Graham and mike lee, who signed oaths to be impartial jurors, met with the former president s defense team to talk about strategy. Cnns Lauren Fox Live On capitol hill. In just a few hours well hear from that defense team. What do we expect . We expect it to be pretty short. That is part of the reason because they are trying to deal with the fact that they dont think they can lose this case. And when you have the votes, you vote. Thats the slogan on capitol hill. And thats the fact going into today. Look, what the defense team has to do today is essentially not lose any more republicans. And theres little evidence that they could. Despite the fact that a lot of republicans have argued that they were compelled by the case the democrats made, they thought the House Managers did a good job. They connected dots. They still feel like they are not going to vote to convict trum
Do. Now that is a tough nut to deal with in this trial. But you yourself as an attorney know this isnt a legal process. This is a political process. So all the legal experts just being honest. All the legal experts in the world can tell you, yeah, and people over at state news will tell you the same thing. I think he did it. But do i think hes going to be convicted . No. Is he going to be removed from office . He already is. Will he be able to run again . That depends. Maybe there will be a censure after this. Who knows. But, you know, i just think its a fait accompli. Thats the problem for people, too. This is so obvious because it is a political argument and not a legal one. I think the brandenburg test presents problems. In a court of law, hed have major problems. That brandenburg test is very specific. Thats not that. You hear these people, all the things he said so long, and him failing to do anything about it, it is going to be a bad look on those senators for hours, 16 hours of
Insurrectionists saying they did what they thought you had been telling them to do and then you did not move with alacrity, known as speed. Speed. To stop it, you have a Commission Problem with what they think and an Omission Problem with what you failed to do. Now that is a tough nut to deal with in this trial. But you yourself as an Attorney Know yes, sir. This isnt a legal process. This is a political process. So all the legal experts, just being honest, all of the legal experts in the world can tell you, yeah, and people over at state news will tell you the same thing, i think he did it. But do i think he is going to be convicted . No. Is he going to be removed from office . He already is. So will he be able to run again . That depends. Maybe there will be a censure after this, who knows . But, you know, i think it is a fait acompli, people already know. This is a problem, too. This is so obvious because it is a political argument and not a legal one. I think the brandenburg test p
Next. And what now . Almost all republican senators vote not to convict former President Trump despite overwhelming evidence his words ignited the mob. Where does the Republican Party db from here . Republican governor larry hogan joins me to discuss in moments. Plus back to school. Vaccinations across the country slowly increase as evidence mounts that it is safe to reopen some schools. If we want to get our schools open the best way to do that is to decrease the Community Spread. But when will all children be back in the classroom . I will speak to cdc director dr. Rochelle walensky ahead. Hello, im jake tapper in washington. Happy valentines day. In washington the state of our union is shaking our heads. Former President Donald Trump is off the hook again in morning, the Senate Voting 5743, ten votes short of the twothirds majority needed to convict him of inciting the deadly insurrection on capitol hill but some leaders including Vice President mike pence escaped by only a few feet
With confederate flags. They have been saying the president has not even been Dog Whistling to them, that this election was stolen from you, good people, white people, from the black folks in those counties, in atlanta, in philadelphia, in detroit. Thats who stole the election. Why do you think the type of person, that type of person showed up at the capitol with confederate flags . Because the president was telling them your country what did he say . Youre not going to have a country again. What do you think that means . Youre not going to have a country anymore. What do you think that means . It means the black man is going to take over. Thats what this is all about . I kept looking like when is someone going to say this . Do you remember what he said . Yeah, cory booker is coming to your neighborhood. Thats what this is all about. And thats why we continue to talk. We need to figure this out. That is the impetus, that is the start of this whole experiment here in america. And he is