- Democratic impeachment managers continued to defend their case during Trump’s second impeachment trial.
- Impeachment managers shared never-before-seen security images of the uprising.
- After the videos, senators from across the corridor offered emotional reactions to the scenes.
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During the second day of former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial, Democratic impeachment managers shared a treasure trove of unpublished videos from within the Capitol on January 6.
Yesterday, the Senate voted that the impeachment trial was constitutional and, on Wednesday, Democrats continued to argue that Trump incited an insurrection against the U.S. government.
The videos shown on Wednesday included images of police body cameras that were assaulted inside and outside the Capitol and images of security cameras inside the building. A video showed Capitol Policeman Eugene Goodman running towards Senator Mitt Romney, leading him down a corridor away from the impending crowd.
The impeachment manager, Rep. Jamie Raskin, argued today that Trump has ordered protesters to invade the Capitol. “He told them to fight like hell and they brought us to hell,” said Raskin. Other lawmakers offered emotional reactions to the videos and between sessions or showed their emotions while acting as jurors for the trial.
Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma
After watching a video of Capitol Hodges police officer being crushed between a door by protesters, Lankford told reporters, “It’s painful to see … Who, in the name of God, thinks, ‘I’m going to show that I’m right by hitting the Capitol’? Who would do that?” Sens. Dick Durbin and Kirsten Gillibrand reportedly looked away when Hodges was being crushed in the video.
Andrew Desiderio, Politico reporter, said it Lankford was “incredibly shaken” and looked teary-eyed, with Senator Steve Daines of Montana comforting him and holding his arm. Lankford also looked down and shook his head after watching a video of Ashli Babbitt being shot outside the chamber.
Chuck Schumer, New York Senate Majority Leader
One of the videos, paired with a graphical mapping of the location of senators and protesters, showed Schumer getting close to the crowd before turning and running away with helpers.
“I think many of us don’t feel like dining,” Schumer told NBC News during the dinner break from the trial.
Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah
Senator Mitt Romney was one of the senators who admitted on Wednesday that he did not know how close the crowd was to him before seeing the security footage.
Asked about Officer Goodman, Romney said, “I’m looking forward to thanking him the next time I see him,” adding that he was very lucky. Romney also said that the video presentation was “extremely distressing and emotional”.
Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina
Senator Graham called the presentation and filming “hypocrites”. He showed anger at the footage and said the Capitol Police had a right to use deadly force against the protesters.
“I went crazy. I mean, these cops had every right to use deadly force. They should have used it,” he told reporters on Capitol Hill. “The people charged with protecting Capitol have disappointed the country.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska
Senator Lisa Murkowski said that impeachment managers made “a strong case”.
“We lived through it once and it was awful. And now we are living with a more comprehensive timeline. I am angry. I am upset. I am sad,” Murkowski told reporters outside the Senate corridors. “I don’t see how Donald Trump could be re-elected to the presidency again.”
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Sen. Susan Collins of Maine
Telling reporters about the atmosphere on the Senate floor, Collins said, “It was extremely quiet – you could have heard a pin fall.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts
Emily Cochrane, a reporter for the New York Times, said that Elizabeth Warren was holding the armrest with her right hand and later started wiggling her fingers while watching videos earlier in the day.
Senator Warren later told reporters at the pool: “It was so difficult to watch people who were terrified, people who were injured, by people who were under threat. And then try to make eye contact with Republicans who just wanted to look outside.”
Sen. Bill Cassidy of Iowa
During a video showing the attack on the House of Representatives, Senator Cassidy bowed his head according to Lisa Desjardins, a reporter for PBS NewsHour. Cassidy later shook her head while listening to the police dispatch audio and, according to Eliza Collins in the Wall Street Journal, Cassidy often made a prayer movement while watching later videos.
Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio
Senator Rob Portman was also moved after watching the filming again, he told reporters that he felt he was “reliving a horrible day, a horrible day.”
Portman added that he consulted with employees after realizing the danger that many of them face from being locked in rooms.
“This is not easy. I talked to some leaders and they were, you know, in their offices, and people were knocking on doors. And that was much more frightening, ”said Portman.