Bruce Castor, one of the defense attorneys representing former President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial, mistakenly referred to Georgia’s secretary of state as Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on the Senate floor Friday.
At one point, as Mr. Trump’s lawyers were presenting their case during the trial, Mr.Castor appeared to confuse Brad Raffensperger, Georgia’s secretary of state, with Big Ben.
"Georgia Secretary of State Ben Roethlisberger" pic.twitter.com/8CqLqvkB9a
— Jacob Rubashkin (@JacobRubashkin) February 12, 2021
We checked the tapes and yes, Bruce Castor just mistakenly confused Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger (left) with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (right). #impeachmentTrial pic.twitter.com/UNxyNMdWTY
— Ed O'Keefe (@edokeefe) February 12, 2021
In a Jan. 2 telephone conversation with Mr. Raffensperger, Mr. Trump repeatedly argued that Mr. Raffensperger could change the certified results of the presidential election, an assertion the secretary of state firmly rejected. The call is now the subject of a criminal investigation by a Georgia prosecutor into “attempts to influence” last year’s general election, including a call in which Mr. Trump asked a top official to find enough votes to overturn Joe Biden’s victory in the state.
Friday’s gaffe came three days after Mr. Castor gave a 50-minute rambling opening statement at the impeachment trial.
In that speech, the former Montgomery County commissioner and district attorney jumped from anecdote to anecdote, referencing the Federalist papers; founding fathers James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and Benjamin Franklin; and ancient senates in Greece and Rome. He only mentioned his client five minutes into the speech.
He digressed into folksy anecdotes from “little Bruce’s” childhood in suburban Philadelphia.
Mr. Castor’s speech also included non sequiturs such as, “Nebraska, you’re going to hear, is quite a judicial thinking place.”
It was at odds with his reputation as a sure-footed, media-savvy prosecutor from the Philadelphia suburbs who for decades had seemed as comfortable in front of a camera as in a courtroom.
The Associated Press contributed.
First Published: February 13, 2021, 1:29 a.m.
