Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) arrives to meet fellow House Impeachment Managers before walking through the US Capitol Rotunda to the Senate Chamber on Monday, February 8, 2021 in Washington, DC.
Sarah Silbiger | Getty Images
Prosecutors in the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump will present new evidence and show that he laid the groundwork for the January 6 uprising at the Capitol for weeks and also “turned it on” when the violence began, senior aides said Tuesday.
“The evidence of Trump’s guilt in this case is overwhelming,” aides to the House impeachment managers told reporters hours before the impeachment process was due to begin in the Senate.
Aides said it is possible that after hearing what they called a devastating case, “Republican senators will decide to vote to condemn Trump and prevent him from ever holding the presidency again.
“Once they see that this president has indeed instigated a violent uprising to hold on to power, I think it may well be that unwilling senators will change their minds and vote for conviction,” said aides.
But those aides wouldn’t give details of that new evidence against Trump.
“Keep watching,” they said.
To convict Trump, at least 17 Republican senators will have to join the Senate’s 48 Democrats and two independents to find Trump guilty.
That seems unlikely, at least for now, as 45 Republicans previously voted in favor of an impeachment lawsuit against a former president like Trump.
Some of those senators had said this didn’t necessarily mean they would vote to acquit Trump at trial.
The impeachment managers’ assistants said they are confident in the strength of the case.
“The House will determine at trial that President Trump deserves conviction and disqualification for holding and enjoying any office of honor, trust, or profit among the United States,” the aides said.
They also said the presentation by the House prosecutors will be like a “violent crime prosecution” because
Trump is accused of sparking the violent invasion of Congressional halls shortly after a rally he spoke near the White House calling on supporters to help him in the “fight” for Joe Biden’s confirmation. victory as president.
Thousands of Trump supporters rose up around and in the Capitol complex on the heels of that rally, which interrupted a joint session of Congress formally signing Biden’s victory.
Five people died in the chaos, including a Capitol police officer and a female Trump supporter who was shot by a police officer while trying to climb through a window near the House room.
The riot sent senators and members of the House of Representatives to flee for safety and hiding for hours in safe locations.
Assistants speaking to reporters Tuesday morning said that “this is personal” to the House members of the impeachment team, as they were among those targeted in the riot.
“They don’t take this lightly,” said the assistants.