Senators hear opening arguments on day two of impeachment trial – WBRZ

Impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump on February 9, 2021.

WASHINGTON (AP) Prosecutors in Donald Trumps impeachment trial said Wednesday they would prove that Trump was no innocent bystander but the inciter in chief of the deadly attack at the Capitol aimed at overturning his election loss to Joe Biden.

Opening the first full day of arguments, the lead House prosecutor said promised to lay out evidence that shows the president encouraged a rally crowd to head to the Capitol, then did nothing to stem the violence and watched with glee as a mob stormed the iconic building. Five people died.

To us it may have felt like chaos and madness, but there was method to the madness that day, said Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md.

The trial can be viewed live in the C-SPAN/YouTube video player below.

The days proceedings were unfolding after an emotional start to the trial that left the former president fuming Tuesday when his attorneys delivered a meandering defense and failed to halt the trial on constitutional grounds. Some allies called for yet another shakeup to his legal team.

Trump is the first president to face an impeachment trial after leaving office and the first to be twice impeached. The Jan. 6 Capitol riot followed a rally during which Trump urged his supporters to fight like hell, words his lawyers say were simply a figure of speech. He is charged with incitement of insurrection.

Senators, many of whom fled for safety the day of the attack, watched Tuesdays graphic videos of the Trump supporters who battled past police to storm the halls, Trump flags waving. More video is expected Wednesday, including some that hasnt been seen before.

The prosecutors are arguing that Trumps words werent just free speech but part of the big lie his relentless efforts to sow doubts about the election results. Those began long before the votes were tabulated, revving up his followers to stop the steal though there was no evidence of substantial fraud.

Trump knew very well what would happen when he took to the microphone at the outdoor White House rally that day, almost to the hour that Congress gaveled in to certify Bidens win, said Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colo.

This was not just a speech, he said.

Trumps supporters were prepped and armed, ready to descend on the Capitol, Neguse said. When they heard his speech, they understood his words.

Security remained extremely tight Wednesday at the Capitol, fenced off with razor wire and patrolled by National Guard troops.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden would not be watching the trial.

Joe Biden is the president, hes not a pundit, hes not going to opine on back and forth arguments, she said.

The difficulty facing Trumps defense team became apparent at the start as they leaned on the process of the trial, unlike any other, rather than the substance of the case against the former president.

As the House impeachment managers described police officers maimed in the chaos and rioters parading in the very chamber where the trial was being held, Trumps team countered that the Constitution doesnt allow impeachment at this late date.

Even though the Senate rejected that argument in Tuesdays vote to proceed to the trial, the legal issue could resonate with Senate Republicans eager to acquit Trump without being seen as condoning his behavior.

Defense lawyer Bruce Castor said Tuesday he shifted his planned approach after hearing the prosecutors emotional opening and instead spoke conversationally to the senators, saying Trumps team would denounce the repugnant attack and in the strongest possible way denounce the rioters. He encouraged the senators to be cool headed as they assessed the arguments.

Trump attorney Schoen turned the trial toward starkly partisan tones, arguing the Democrats were fueled by a base hatred of the former president.

Full Coverage: Trump impeachment trialA frustrated Trump on Tuesday revived his demands to focus on his unsupported claims of voter fraud, repeatedly telephoning former White House aide Peter Navarro, who told The Associated Press in an interview he agrees. He is calling on Trump to fire his legal team.

If he doesnt make a mid-course correction here, hes going to lose this Super Bowl, Navarro said, a reference to public opinion, not the unlikely possibility of conviction.

Republicans made it clear that they were unhappy with Trumps defense, many of them saying they didnt understand where it was going particularly Castors opening.

While six Republicans joined with Democrats to vote to proceed with the trial, the 56-44 vote was far from the two-thirds threshold of 67 votes that would be needed for conviction.

As the country numbs to the Trump eras shattering of civic norms, the prosecutors sought to remind senators and the nation how extraordinary it was to have a sitting U.S. president working to discredit the election.

In hundreds of tweets, remarks and interviews as far back as spring and summer, Trump was spreading false claims about the election and refusing to commit to the peaceful transfer of power once it was over, they said.

As violence mounted in the states in the weeks and months before Trump supporters marched to the Capitol, he could have told loyalists to stand down. But he didnt.

The mob didnt come out of thin air, said Rep . Joaquin Castro, D-Texas.

The public scenes of attack were distilled in highly personal terms, first when Raskin broke down in tears Tuesday describing his family hiding in the Capitol that day. On Wednesday, Neguse, the son of immigrants, recalled telling his father how proud he was to return to Congress that night to finish the work of certifying the election. Castro said as a Democrat from Texas, he knew how hard it is to lose elections.

They also shared comments of the Capitol Police, including a Black officer who described racial epithets being hurled at him by the rioters.

Thats the question before all of you in this trial, is this America? Raskin told the senators.

It appears unlikely that the House prosecutors will call witnesses, and Trump has declined a request to testify. The trial is expected to continue into the weekend.

Trumps second impeachment trial is expected to diverge from the lengthy, complicated affair of a year ago. In that case, Trump was charged with having privately pressured Ukraine to dig up dirt on Biden, then a Democratic rival for the presidency. It could be over in half the time.

The Democratic-led House impeached the president swiftly, one week after the attack. A Capitol police officer was among those who died.

Read the original:
Senators hear opening arguments on day two of impeachment trial - WBRZ