WASHINGTON – After a day of watching violent and shocking images that showed how close the Capitol rioters came to lawmakers on January 6, several Republicans described the attack as infuriating, inexcusable and criminal – but it is still not Donald Trump’s fault.
“Just watching these things, it rekindled my anger. Too angry, ”said Sen. Dan Sullivan after senators watched a video never seen before, including themselves quickly evacuating the Capitol after the rebels had already invaded.
“I am hungry. I am upset. I am sad,” said Senator Lisa Murkowski. “We lived through it once, and it was awful. And now we are living it with a more comprehensive schedule.”
Sullivan and Murkowski did not say how inclined they are to impeachment, but many other Republicans said Trump is not responsible or impeachment, despite their visceral reactions to Wednesday’s evidence, which also included shocking camera pictures of police officers being attacked by supporters of Trump when they invaded the Capitol.
Impeachment managers in the House spent hours drawing up a timetable that started in early 2020, with the former president repeatedly saying that the only way to lose is if there was a massive electoral fraud, followed by clips of his supporters saying they would never accept a victory by President Joe Biden as legitimate.
The managers then showed extensive clips of Trump, post-election, making false and unmasked claims that the victory was stolen from him, as well as urging his supporters to “stop the theft.” The clips went straight to the former president’s speech shortly. before the Capitol riots. There, he told a crowd of supporters: “If you don’t fight like hell, you won’t have a country anymore,” and directed them to Congress, where the votes from the Electoral College were about to be counted to certify Biden’s approval. victory. “We are going to Capitol,” he said. “Let’s go down Pennsylvania Avenue.”
Managers showed several clips of Capitol rioters saying they were there to fight for Trump, or at Trump’s invitation, and that they were trying to stop the Electoral College count. Several of the prisoners have since argued in court that they broke into the Capitol because Trump instructed them. In several clips shown on Wednesday, many expressed anger or wished violence against “traitors”, such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi or Vice President Mike Pence, whom Trump repeatedly called on that day for agreeing to the count of the Electoral College.
“He gathered the mob. He summoned the crowd. And he incited the crowd, ”said Rep. Joe Neguse, an impeachment manager. “They were following the president. Only he had the power to stop it, and he didn’t. “
Almost all of the senators interviewed by reporters on Wednesday described having a strong emotional reaction to watching the violence clips – but many Republicans said the protesters were to blame.
“[Trump’s] had 100 rallies and we’ve never seen that before. So this is the hard part of connecting, ”said Sen. James Lankford.
Senator Rick Scott argued that Trump never specifically called someone to attack the Capitol. “You know, I noticed what he said. He never said that someone should invade. In fact, he said people should do it peacefully, ”said Scott. “Look, this is a complete waste of time.”
Senator Kevin Cramer said that impeachment administrators may be displaying dramatic images in an attempt to influence senators or their constituents. “But senators are, you know, quite analytical, just for the sake of profession, so it doesn’t affect me in terms of how I feel about the president’s guilt,” he said.
Senator Mike Braun said that while Trump “pushed the envelope” and events had “come undone”, only the people who invaded the Capitol should be held responsible.
Wednesday was the first of two days devoted to prosecution in Trump’s historic second impeachment trial. Your defense team will have two days to present your case. A two-thirds majority vote is required for Trump’s impeachment. So far, this seems highly unlikely. Republicans control half of the seats in the chamber and a significant majority seems prepared to absolve her.
Of the 50 Republicans, 44 voted on Tuesday that the trial itself is unconstitutional because Trump is now a private citizen rather than the incumbent president, despite the opinion of lawyers on both sides of the corridor. They lost the vote and the trial went ahead. Still, some are citing constitutionality as a reason why Trump cannot be accused of impeachment.
“There is no doubt that there was a crowd, that the crowd had insurrectionist plans in mind,” said Sen. Mike Rounds. “But for many of us, and for me personally, it is still a matter of not having the constitutional capacity for impeachment by a person who is not a current officer.”
Senator Rob Portman called Trump’s actions “unforgivable”, but implied that he will still vote for absolution. “I think it is a bad precedent to condemn former presidents and citizens,” he said.