House administrators closed their case in Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial on Thursday, arguing that the former president controlled the crowd that caused death damage on Capitol Hill and could incite more violence if he is not convicted.
Impeachment managers, who act as prosecutors in the Senate, used the third day of the process to try to prove Trump’s responsibility for the graphic and emotionally shocking scenes they presented as evidence the day before – video of protesters wandering the halls in search of House Spokesperson Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., And then Vice President Mike Pence; of a Capitol cop screaming as he was smashed against a door by the crowd; of senators and Congressional officials running to save their lives.
“He did not react to the violence with shock, horror or dismay, as we did. He did not immediately run to Twitter and demanded in the clearest terms possible that the crowd should disperse, that they should stop, that they should retreat.” Deputy Joe Neguse, one of the managers, said in his closing remarks for the day. “Instead, he sends messages in the afternoon that sided with them, the rebels, who left police officers beaten and bloodied.”
The managers argued that the crowd believed they were acting under the direction of the then president, citing many of the protesters’ own statements. They also cited the words of Republicans who publicly begged Trump to cancel his supporters while the siege was underway to reinforce their claim that Trump was in control.
The managers sought to emphasize Trump’s “lack of remorse”, noting that he still wields enormous power over his supporters.
“Impeachment is not to punish, but to prevent”, Congresswoman Diana DeGette, D-Colo., Another of the leaders. “We are not here to punish Donald Trump. We are here to prevent the seeds of hatred he sowed from producing more fruit.”
“They really believed that all the intrusion was at the behest of the president – and we know that because they said that,” added DeGette. “They were following his instructions. They said he invited them.”
Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., Impeachment Manager, warned on Thursday that the country could see more violence as on January 6 if Trump is exonerated: “I’m not afraid of Donald Trump running again in four years. fear that he will run again and lose. Because he can do that again. “
This impressed some Republicans in the chamber.
“Several of us took notes,” Sen. Mike Rounds, RS.D., told reporters on Thursday. “I think it was a strong statement on his part.”
Still, Rounds said the questions about what the former president might do later are “hypothetical” and signaled that they would not form the basis for how senators would vote.
“What I think now is that – we are basing everything we are doing on what has already happened,” he said. “And we are not going to try to make assumptions about what will happen in the future.”
House administrators also spent time viewing the likely arguments of Trump’s lawyers, who began their defense on Friday. The First Amendment would not protect Trump’s exhortations for the crowd to “fight” for certification of the presidential election before his supporters marched on Capitol Hill, the Democrats argued, comparing the then president not to the proverbial private citizen who falsely shouts “fire” in a crowded theater, but for a fire chief who incites a crowd to set the theater on fire and then lets it burn.
“Absolutely no one in America would be protected by free speech if he did the things Donald Trump did,” said impeachment manager, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., Citing a letter signed by 144 free speech lawyers. “This is a classic case of incitement.”
Trump has already been impeached in the House, but it would take 67 senators – including at least 17 Republicans – to convict him in the Senate. Some at the GOP seemed unmoved.
“Today I wasn’t connecting the dots for me,” Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., Told reporters.
This week, 44 of the 50 Republicans in the upper house voted to declare the entire process unconstitutional, since Trump is no longer president, making it unlikely that any evidence will convince them.
South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a staunch ally of Trump, responded with a word when asked by NBC News if anything he heard changed his mind: “No”
On the other hand, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell and several other Republican senators told allies and reporters that they were undecided on Wednesday night. Senator Bill Cassidy, R-La., Surprised many when he voted in favor of the trial’s constitutionality on Tuesday.
Some Republicans told reporters they would not comment on the trial until they heard the defense, as their role is similar to that of jurors in a criminal trial.
However, impeachment managers played to an audience of more than 100 men and women in the Senate Chamber, presenting a compelling narrative supported by abundant evidence for those watching on TV or in the news media.
DeGette quoted words from a live broadcast recorded from within the Capitol, in which protesters were heard saying, “Our president wants us here … We wait and take orders from our president … He will be happy, we are fighting for Trump.”
DeGette also cited statements from lawyers from some of the rebels who have already been arrested, who said their clients broke into the Capitol specifically because Trump “ordered” it.
Jacob Chansley’s lawyer (also known as Jake Angeli), the so-called “shaman QAnon” who was seen wearing horns, a fur headdress and face paint, said his client “was there at the invitation of the president,” noted DeGette. .
And she quoted the lawyer for Dominic Pezzola, a rowdy and member of the right-wing extremist group Proud Boys, who said his client violated the building just because he felt Trump “invited us down.”
His remarks were part of a broad effort by managers to build a convincing case that Trump’s statements before and at the January 6 “Stop the Theft” rally directly motivated protesters to break into the Capitol.
Managers continued to show a series of clips of moments when Trump explicitly urged his supporters to commit violent acts or expressed support for violent groups, including telling the Proud Boys during the first presidential debate last fall to “stand back and wait.” they said such incidents prove that Trump exhibited a “pattern and practice of inciting violence”.
Drawing a link to Trump’s tendency towards conspiracy theories and violence, Raskin quoted Voltaire: “Anyone who can make you believe in absurdities can make you commit atrocities.”
Managers sought to place violence in the context of Trump’s long history of divisive actions, the law and America’s position on the world stage.
Another manager, Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, said the riot galvanized America’s undemocratic rivals abroad, pointing to examples of Chinese propaganda and Russian officials celebrating chaos. He also appealed directly to members of the Senate who had served in the army.
“The world is watching,” said Castro. “To fail to condemn … would be to lose the power of our example as North Star in freedom, democracy, human rights and, above all, the rule of law. And to condemn Donald Trump would show that America is in accordance with the rule of the law, no matter who violates it. “
At another point, Lieu said that the fact that several Trump cabinet secretaries resigned and suggested that they did so because they felt Trump contributed to the mutiny, also proved that the former president had incited the insurrection.
Lieu cited the statement by former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos that “there is no doubt about the impact that her rhetoric had on the situation” and the statement by former Transport Secretary Elaine Chao that the riot happened “after a rally that he drove”. Both resigned their positions in the Cabinet in the days following the riot.
At various times, while managers were showing different video clips, several Republican senators seemed uncomfortable with what they were watching. Senator Mitt Romney, R-Utah, stood up, hands on the chair, while Ben Sasse, R-Neb. And Cassidy looked concerned. Senator Susan Collins, R-Maine, had her arms crossed while watching a video being shown.
Everyone is seen as undecided voters on the Republican side of the corridor, with the expectation that all 50 Democrats will vote for the sentencing.
President Joe Biden tried to stay away from the trial, but said on Thursday morning that he thought the case was strong enough to change some Republican minds.
“I think the Senate has a very important job to complete and my guess is that some minds may have changed, but I don’t know,” Biden told reporters inside the Oval Office on Thursday morning.
The managers’ comments came on their second and last day of opening arguments and the day after they had a riveting never seen before and a video of the January 6 riot on Capitol Hill during their discussions.
Trump is the first president to have been twice accused by the House and the first former president to be put on trial in the Senate. He was accused by the House on January 13 in an article accusing him of “inciting insurrection” for his role in the violent riot by a pro-Trump crowd on the Capitol the previous week.
When opening arguments for both sides are made, senators will be able to question both sides for four hours, sending written questions to Senator Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., The Senate President pro tempore, who is presiding over the trial and who will read them out loud.
Trump’s legal team plans to use just one day for discussions and end his presentation by Friday night, Trump adviser Jason Miller told NBC News.