The defense team in President Donald Trump's impeachment trial spent its second day of arguments defending Rudy Giuliani, bashing House Democrats, and ignoring bombshell developments regarding former National Security Advisor John Bolton that broke in the days before.
The team went after a familiar target in a performance that was likely for an audience of one: Donald Trump.
Trump lawyer Eric Herschmann spent nearly 15 minutes making the case for impeachment...against former President Barack Obama.
Watch below.
Herschmann claimed that Obama engaged in a quid pro quo with then-Russian leader Dmitry Medvedev when Obama said he'd have more flexibility regarding a missile defense deal with Russia if Medvedev gave him space ahead of the 2012 election.
Obama did not ask Medvedev for dirt on his 2012 opponent, Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT), but said that he'd be in a better position to compromise when the country wasn't in the midst of an election.
Nevertheless, Herschmann went on to say:
"The case against President Obama would have been far stronger than the allegations against President Trump. President Obama's abuse of power to benefit his own political interests was there and is here now for everyone to hear. It was a direct, unquestionable quid pro quo."
It's by no means an unfamiliar sight: a Trump surrogate bloviating about Barack Obama to distract or defend Trump's actions. Trump inexplicably still rails against Obama and his 2016 opponent, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, over three years after the election.
This was the best his team could do?
Today begins the final day of opening arguments from Trump's defense team. Get ready to hear Obama's name even more.
