WASHINGTON (AP) – Creepy security video from last month’s deadly uprising at the US Capitol, including protesters ominously looking for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence, has become an important part of Donald Trump’s impeachment trial while lawmakers suing the case close their opening arguments to explain why Trump should be convicted of inciting the siege.
The House continues its case on Thursday, with Trump’s lawyers to launch its defense by the end of the week. Democrats plan to use their remaining hours of argument to expose the physical and mental damage caused by the attack, discuss Trump’s lack of action as he unfolded and make a final presentation on the legal issues involved, according to advisers working on the impeachment team. Advisers were given anonymity to view the arguments.
Images shown at the trial, many of them never seen before, include videos of the crowd crashing into the building, anguished members of Congress receiving comfort, protesters grappling with police and audio from Capitol police officers begging for backup. He stressed how dangerously protesters approached the country’s leaders, shifting the focus of the trial from an academic debate over the constitution to a crude version of the January 6 attack.
Videos of the siege have been circulating since the day of the riot, but the graphic compilation shown to senators on Wednesday is a more complete narrative, a recount from moment to moment of one of the most alarming days in the country. He offered new details about the attackers, scenes of police heroism and whispers of desperation from the team.
The footage included protesters roaming the halls shouting “Hang Mike Pence”, some equipped with combat equipment. Outside, the mob mounted an improvised gallows. And in a painful moment, the police were shown shooting and killing a San Diego woman, Ashli Babbitt, as the crowd tried to break down the doors near the City Hall.
Pence, who chaired a session to certify Joe Biden’s electoral victory over Trump – thus gaining Trump’s censorship – was shown being rushed to a safe location, where he took refuge in an office with his family just 30 meters from the protesters. . Pelosi was seen being evacuated from the complex while his team hid behind doors in their offices.
Although most Senate jurors appear to have made up their minds, making Trump’s acquittal likely, they sat fascinated as the shocking video played on camera. Republican Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma lowered his head at one point, another Republican colleague putting his hand on his arm to comfort him.
“They did this because Donald Trump sent them on this mission,” said prosecutor Stacey Plaskett, the Democratic delegate who represents the Virgin Islands.
“President Trump put a target on their back and his mob invaded the Capitol to hunt them down.”
Senator Mitt Romney, R-Utah, found himself on the set, running down a corridor to avoid the crowd. Romney said he did not realize that Officer Eugene Goodman, who was praised as a hero for attracting protesters away from the Senate doors, was the one who directed him to safety.
“It was extremely distressing and emotional,” he said.
Earlier in the day, prosecutors exposed their case by methodically linking Trump’s verbal attacks to the election to the violence that resulted when hundreds of legalists stormed the building. Trump did nothing to contain the violence and watched with “joy”, the Democrats said, as the crowd ransacked the building. Five people died.
The purpose of the presentation was to launch Trump not as an innocent bystander, but as the “chief instigator” who spent months spreading falsehoods about the election. Using evocative language designed to match the horror of the day, they likened Trump to a fire chief who delights in watching fires spread, not go out, and likened his supporters to cavalry in the war.
“This attack would never have happened, had it not been for Donald Trump,” said Rep. Madeleine Dean, one of the impeachment managers, while suppressing the emotion. “And then they came, wrapped in the Trump flag, and used our flag, the American flag, to strike and beat.”
Thursday brings the second and last full day of House arguments, with Trump’s legal team taking the pulpit on Friday and Saturday for up to 16 hours to present their defense. The difficulty faced by Trump’s defense team became apparent at first, as they supported the trial process, unlike any other, and not in the substance of the case against the former president.
Prosecutors on Wednesday aimed to preemptively refute the arguments that Trump’s lawyers said were central to their defense, arguing, for example, that there was no First Amendment protection to encourage the president to protest. Their lawyers are likely to blame the protesters themselves for the violence, but the Democrats’ presentation made it clear that they see Trump as ultimately responsible.
Trump is the first president to face an impeachment trial after leaving office and the first to receive two impeachment charges. He is accused of “inciting insurrection”, although his lawyers say his words were protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution and only a figure of speech. Prosecutors are arguing that Trump’s words were not just freedom of speech, but part of the “big lie” – his relentless efforts to sow doubts about the election results. This started long before votes were tabulated, encouraging his followers to “stop the theft”, although there was no evidence of substantial fraud.
While administrators of the House’s impeachment defend Trump’s accountability, the defense counters that the Constitution does not allow the impeachment of an out-of-office president. Even though the Senate rejected that argument in Tuesday’s vote to proceed to the trial, the legal issue may resonate with Senate Republicans eager to acquit Trump without being seen as tolerating his behavior.
While six Republicans joined the Democrats to vote to continue the trial on Tuesday, the 56-44 vote was far from the two-thirds limit of 67 votes needed for sentencing.
Minds did not appear to be changing on Wednesday, even after the senators watched the graphic video.
“I have said many times that the president’s rhetoric is sometimes overblown, but this is not a referendum on whether you agree with everything the president says or tweets,” said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who was among the leaders the effort to challenge the counting of the Electoral College that certifies the election. “This is a legal process.”
It seems unlikely that House prosecutors will call witnesses, and Trump declined a request to testify. The trial is expected to continue over the weekend.
Trump’s second impeachment trial is expected to diverge from a long and complicated case a year ago. In that case, Trump was accused of privately lobbying Ukraine to dig up the dirt from Biden, then a Democratic rival for the presidency. It can end in half the time.
The Democratic-led Chamber impeached the President quickly, a week after the attack.