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Sen. Rand Paul criticized U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat who's the House of Representatives' lead impeachment manager, on Twitter Wednesday while the Senate was in the midst of former President Donald Trump's trial.

"So, its ok for Dem Jamie Raskin to try to 'overturn'Trump electors but its incitement to violence when Trump urged Congress to "overturn" Biden electors? Isnt that called hypocrisy?" Paul tweeted shortly before 1 p.m., as theHouse's team laid out their case against the ex-president, who has been accused of inciting an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

Paul, R-Ky., was referring to Congress'certification of Trump's 2016 victory. Raskin was one of a small handful of House Democrats who objected in January 2017 to certain states' Electoral College votes. Raskin specifically objected to Florida's electoral votes, saying at the time that some of them had been cast by electors who weren't lawfully certified.

President Joe Biden, who was vice president at the time, deemed that debate out of order.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., listens to a reporter after speaking on the Senate floor, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)(Photo: Jacquelyn Martin, AP)

The day before Raskin made his objectionin January 2017, he told The Baltimore Sun:"I would love to challenge the Electoral College vote because our election was badly tainted by everything from cyber-sabotage by Vladimir Putin, to deliberate voter suppression by Republicans in numerous swing states..."

"But it's a very hard thing to prove that an election would have turned out differently than it did," he said at the time.

Four years later,Raskin's role as the House's lead impeachment manager has put him in the national spotlight.

More: His son died. A week later he survived the Capitol riots. Now, he's leading the impeachment case against Trump.

Paul tweeted Wednesday:"Naming Raskin to lead impeachment of Trump for advocating for the same thing Raskin did in 2016. Isnt that called hubris?"

"Rep Raskin says Trump promoted the "big lie"that the election was stolen but didnt Raskin promote the "big lie"that Trump stole the election in 2016? Wasnt it Jamie Raskin who 'incited violence'by objecting to Trump electors?" continued Paul, who has made spurious claims of his own about the 2020 election results.

More: Twitter flags Sen. Rand Paul for baseless speculation on voter fraud

Paul, who has been avocal critic of both Trump's impeachments, falsely claimed in December that the presidential election "in many ways was stolen."

The House's impeachment case against Trump does focus heavily on the former president's decision to repeatedly and falsely claim the 2020 election was "stolen" from him, but that isn't the sole basis of their contention that he incited an insurrection on Jan. 6. For example, they also have cited variousstatements he made on the day of the riot, including during a speech he gave at a rally as well as ina video he releasedafter the Capitol was breached.

The violent riot Trump is accused of incitingforced Congress to evacuate and resulted in the deaths of U.S. Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick and four other people.

Later Wednesday afternoon, as the trial proceedings continued,Paul tweeted out a criticism of another member of the House's prosecution team: Rep. Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat.

"This afternoon we have been lectured to by Eric Swalwell, a guy accused of consorting with a Chinese spy. How appropriate!" Paul tweeted.

Kentucky's senator was referring to Swalwell's past connection to someone who allegedly acted asan intelligence operative for China when former President Barack Obama was still in office.

Swalwell's office addressed thematter in a statement it sent to the news outlet Axios in December: "Rep. Swalwell, long ago, provided information about this person whom he met more than eight years ago, and whom he hasnt seen in nearly six years to the FBI. To protect information that might be classified, he will not participate in your story."

The Senate's impeachment trial began in earnest Tuesday, during which Raskin got emotional as he describedhis experience during the rioton Jan. 6, as he and his family grieved overthe recent death of his son.

Raskin told senatorsabout how his daughter and son-in-law were at the Capitol that day and barricaded themselves in an office during the riot,hiding there under a table.

Afterward, he said his daughter told him: "Dad, I dont want to come back to the Capitol."

"Senators, this cannot be the future of America, Raskin said during his tearful speech Tuesday. We cannot have presidents inciting and mobilizing mob violence against our government and our institutions because they refuse to accept the will of the people under the Constitution of the United States.

Reach reporter Morgan Watkins: 502-582-4502; mwatkins@courierjournal.com; Twitter:@morganwatkins26.

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Rand Paul roasts Reps. Jamie Raskin, Eric Swalwell on Twitter during impeachment trial - Courier Journal