The United States (US) Senate reconvened on Wednesday for the second day of former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial, with House managers laying out their case against him.
One by one, the impeachment managers detailed how Trump’s laid the groundwork for what occurred on January 6 months by pushing his supporters to believe “the big lie”—that the election was stolen—and urging them to “fight like hell” and never concede. The prosecutors showed multiple videos of Trump riling up his supporters to “Stop the steal” and argued that the former leader was not an innocent bystander, but rather the “inciter in chief of a dangerous insurrection.”
The team then played harrowing and previously unseen Capitol security audio and video footage from the day of the attack, which showed rioters carrying guns and other weapons into the building to harm lawmakers, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and former Vice President Mike Pence. According to the footage, the prosecutors said that the mob was discussing ways to “hunt down” the vice president and “execute” him for his failure to support Trump and block Biden’s certification.
"As Pence was being evacuated, rioters started to spread throughout the Capitol. Those inside helped other rioters break in," House impeachment manager Del. Stacey Plaskett says. https://t.co/BY7pGN4vv8
— ABC News (@ABC) February 10, 2021
"The mob was looking for Vice President Pence because of his patriotism." pic.twitter.com/98q9Zd1pIE
House impeachment manager Stacey Plaskett said that the crowd was looking for Pence “because of his patriotism,” and noted that they would have killed both him and Pelosi if they had a chance. “They sought out the Speaker on the Floor and in her office, publicly declared their intent to harm or kill her, ransacked her office and terrorised her staff,” Plaskett said, adding “and they did it because Donald Trump sent them on this mission.” The managers also displayed statements from various rioters who said—after being sought out by law enforcement for their participation in the insurrection—in court filings, interviews, and on social media things like “I thought I was following my president”, and “our president wants us here,” to drive their point home.
While many GOP Senators appeared visibly shaken by the new footage, they still indicated that it won’t affect their final vote on conviction, given their initial concerns about the constitutionality of the trial. However, there were others, like minority whip Sen. John Thune, who said that the managers had done “a good job of connecting the dots,” making their case “pretty compelling.” Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska also said that the evidence against Trump was “damning” adding, “I don’t see how Donald Trump could be re-elected to the presidency again.”
The Senate trial is currently still in session, having just resumed after taking a break from dinner. Reports suggest that when it is Trump’s attorneys’ turn to take the floor, they will argue that House impeachment managers were “glorifying violence” by retracing the steps that led to the insurrection on January 6, and that the former president’s comments were selectively taken out of context. According to CNN, one line they plan to use as an example is when Trump told the crowd, “I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”