Washington – House Democrats leading the prosecution of former President Donald Trump will present their case for sentencing on the second day of his impeachment trial, showing what the aides are saying as new video evidence showing the magnitude of the January 6 attack on the Capitol .
The Senate met on Tuesday for the opening day of the trial, arguing by House managers and Mr. Trump’s legal team about the constitutionality of bringing a former president to trial in the upper chamber. Senators voted 56 to 44 to rule that the Senate has jurisdiction in the case, with six Republicans joining all 50 Democrats.
Led by Representative Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat, the House impeachment managers plan to use “ extraordinary ” footage from Capitol security cameras that has not been made public to illustrate the magnitude of the January 6 attack and to make a case for Trump’s conviction, senior aides to the impeachment managers team said Wednesday.
“ It will provide new insight into both the extreme violence that everyone has suffered, the risk and the threat that it could have led to further violence for many without the agents’ brave actions, and it really shows the magnitude of what Donald Trump unleashed on us. Capitol, ”said an assistant.
Trump was impeached by the House during his tenure for inciting uprising over his conduct surrounding the January 6 attack on the Capitol, in which a pro-Trump mob stormed the halls of Congress and temporarily halted the election count. to vote. The then president had addressed the crowd of supporters earlier today, urging them to “fight like hell.”
During Tuesday’s session, Democrats drew up a timeline of the events leading up to the Capitol attack, with senators showing a dramatic video montage of violent gangs flooding the Capitol, laced with Mr Trump’s comments and tweets. Raskin urged senators to find the trial constitutional and ultimately vote for conviction, arguing that if Mr. Trump’s behavior “is not an unacceptable wrongdoing, there is no such thing.”
Mr. Trump’s legal team struggled to present a compelling argument against holding the trial, with a lawyer presenting a one-hour meandering monologue that bypassed the central questions. The lawyers were reprimanded by GOP senators after the arguments were finalized, and the former president himself is said to be upset about the performance of his team.
During Wednesday’s trial session, Raskin and the house’s impeachment managers will present their case for sentencing. From noon, they have eight hours to argue their case, and can continue for another eight hours on Thursdays if needed. After their arguments, Mr. Trump’s team will have the same amount of time to present their side.