IMPEACHMENT: “In his first formal answer to the ‘incitement of insurrection’ charge against him, Mr. Trump’s lawyers denied that he was responsible for the Capitol riot or that he intended to interfere with Congress’s formalizing of President Biden’s election win. They said his words to supporters, some who later stormed the building — ‘if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore’ — were protected by his First Amendment right of free speech…
Above all, the former president’s lawyers said the Constitution did not permit the Senate to try a former president after he had left office — despite the fact that the Senate has tried a former official in the past.”
-Nicholas Fandos and Maggie Haberman, “Trump’s lawyers deny he incited the Capitol riot as the House impeachment managers press their case to hold him responsible.,” nytimes.com, Feb. 2, 2021