Extract from ABC News
By Emily Olson in Washington DC
As Donald Trump's second impeachment trial continues Democrats are expected to show more video footage and focus on the former president's lack of remorse over the Capitol riots.
Follow all the action as it happens.
Key events
Live updates
By Emily Olson
Keep the questions coming please
I'm seeing quite a few folks are joining us (morning sleepyheads!), and I'm digging how many questions are coming in. It makes my job easier knowing what you want to know so don't hesitate to tap that blue "leave a comment" button.
Hi Emily
With all the discussion about how Trump reacted during the riot, could they call Mike pence or Lindsay Graham as witnesses about their conversations with him or his staff?
-Caro
They could, Caro. Once Trump's lawyers finish their arguments (we expect that'll be Sunday morningish AUS time), the Senate can vote on whether or not to call witnesses if the House managers request it.
There was some debate on this early on, but it's sounding more and more like the House managers will decline to call any witnesses simply because Trump's lawyers would get the chance to call witnesses too. That could draw out the trial for a long, long, long time, keeping Trump in the media spotlight and slowing their progress on kickstarting Biden's agenda. Plus, it'd be unlikely to change the trial's outcome with the Republicans looking this united. All each side would be doing is trying to make the other side look bad...
By Emily Olson
Democrats are making good time
House managers are moving fairly quickly through the timeline and their structured legal arguments, well on pace for to finish up before their allotted 16 hours are up. But don't be surprised if they draw this out, ending with the same sort of emotional video they kicked things off with.
The conclusion of this trial may be preordained, but America's long-term view of the Capitol riot is not. The Democrats' arguments are as much about swaying public perception as they are about going through the motions of democracy.
With US politics, the stakes are always a little higher than the partisan sheen you see on the surface. The trial here is just one example of how a single idea -- or a single event, a single politician, a single election -- can snowball into a movement.
By Emily Olson
House managers say Trump's lack of remorse extended the danger
Representative Ted Lieu addressed a Republican argument head-on, saying that "Some people have argued that President Trump made a mistake. That he gets a mulligan. But we know President Trump didn't make a mistake. Because, you see, when you or I make a mistake and something very bad happens, we would show remorse".
Lieu pointed to Trump's delay in lowering the flag at the White House, decision not to attend Officer Brian Sicknick's funeral and staff resignations -- 16 of them in total -- as evidence.
"He does not say the one sentence that matters. He does not say the one sentence that would stop future political violence: The election was not stolen. He still hasn't said that sentence. That is why National Guard troops in full body armor still patrol outside."
Representative Diana DeGette returned to the dias to connect the dots between Trump's response to the riots and the threat of violence around Inauguration.
One example she pointed to was a post from a Trump supporter that read, ""I'd like to come do this, but want to know, does out president want us there? Awaiting instructions".
"This must be our wake up call. We must condemn it. Because the threat is not over," DeGette said.
By Emily Olson
How are Republican Senators feeling?
House impeachment manager's video presentation yesterday provoked similar reactions -- palpable grief, visible concern, personal reflection -- from Senators on both sides of the aisle.
But attitudes towards conviction are still as partisan as predicted. All signs suggest that the Democrats are not going to convince the 17 required Republicans to vote to convict.
Here's a quick look of what Senators were saying to reporters last night.
CNN's Manu Raju:
Sen. Lindsey Graham said he couldn't believe "we could lose the Capitol like that" but added that it didn't change his mind on whether to acquit Trump during the trial. "I think there's more votes for acquittal after today than there was yesterday," the South Carolina Republican said.
NPR's Deidre Walsh:
Ohio GOP Sen. Rob Portman said it was "not easy" to relive that day. But he also admitted that senators had believed they were secure, and "based on the footage, maybe not as protected as we thought we were. But at the time, people — I mean, I think very few of my colleagues felt that they were in danger."
PBS's Yamiche Alcindor:
Sen Roy Blunt says Democrats showing that people were planning the attack for months made their case weaker.
Sens Rubio & Graham said their minds are unchanged.
By Emily Olson
Justice Department announces more Capitol riot arrests
How's this for timing, eh? Right as the House managers are saying the President has failed to condemn extremists, US media outlets report that the Justice Department just unsealed conspiracy charges against five men associated with the extremist group called the Proud Boys.
The charges accuse the men of leading crowds through multiple police lines and breaching the Capitol building. The men are in custody.
These charges are just some of several laid against members of the Proud Boys in the last few days, signaling the Justice Department has its focus on the group.
According to a database from NPR, more than 200 individuals have been charged in connection to the Capitol riot so far, with new charges nearly every day.
By Emily Olson
House Managers use rioters' words to say Trump summoned them
Representative Diana DeGette began the Democrats' arguments today by listing example after example of the rioters saying Trump directly summoned them to the Capitol on January 6th. She relied on a mix of media reports, legal briefs and direct footage to make her point.
"Have you noticed throughout this presentation the uncanny similarity over and over and over again of what all these people are saying? They said what Donald Trump said and they echoed each other. Stand back and stand by. Stop the seal. Fight like hell. Trump sent us," she said.
Lead Manager Jamie Raskin then played a video montage pointing to several instances throughout Trump's term when the then-President's comments could be read as condoning violence, including:
- joking about a congressional candidate who assaulted a reporter
- saying there were "very fine people on both sides" during a White Supremacist rally in Charlottesville that left one dead
- tweeting "liberate Michigan" in response to an armed protest against COVID lockdowns
None of the evidence I've seen so far this morning is new. But the Democrats are trying to establish patterns, with an eye towards warning the Senate that further violence could occur should Trump's power not be checked.
"January 6th was a culmination of the president's actions. Not an aberration from them. The insurrection was the most violent and dangerous episode — so far — in Donald Trump's continuing pattern and practice of inciting violence. But I emphasize so far," Raskin said.
By Emily Olson
Democrats aren't the only ones airing new facts
Yesterday's trial ended in a dust-up over the factual accuracy of a CNN article, one of many news reports that the Democrats have used to build their case.
The gist is that Republican Senator Mike Lee, of Utah, wanted to remove the mention of the article from the congressional record. The article claimed that Donald Trump had called accidentally Lee during the Capitol riot, looking for a different Republican Senator: Tommy Tuberville. Lee said that phone call never happened.
In following up on the facts, though, reporters uncovered a new detail that reveals Trump tweeted a threatening message about his Vice President Mike Pence even when Trump had credible reason to believe that Pence's life was in danger.
Kyle Cheney, who covers congress for POLITICO, spoke with Tuberville last night. Here's what he learned:
"From what I can establish from the record:
-Trump spoke to Tuberville sometime between 2-2:15 (Deseret News)
-Pence was evacuated at 2:15pm, prompting Tuberville to relay this to Trump and end the call (Tuberville comment)
-Trump tweeted his attack against Pence at 2:24pm"
Here's the full thread on Twitter:
By Emily Olson
Where to watch
Annnddd we're off! The chaplain delivered a short prayer and the acting judge, Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy, gaveled in, then gave the floor to Lead House Impeachment Manager Jamie Raskin. We're getting straight into the arguments again.
Since we're not sure what the Democrats have in store, footage-wise, we're going to hold off on embedding a livestream at the top of this article. Here's a few options for watching you're eager to follow along at home (but keep the blog open too! It's no fun if I'm doing this alone):
CSPAN (youtube)
By Emily Olson
What we expect today
Yesterday, the Democrats spent roughly 8 hours trying to convince the 100 jurors (AKA: the Senators) that Donald Trump 1) provoked the January 6 attack on the Capitol by spreading false claims about election fraud and encouraging violence 2) failed in his duties as President by failing to stop the attack once it occurred.
Their use of never-before-seen security camera footage, which revealed how narrowly members of congress escaped the armed rioters, was the emotional centerpiece of their argument. Republican Senators agreed that the videos were harrowing. A few looked shaken. But few signs suggest enough of them will change their minds to lead to Trump's conviction. 17 would need to flip for the Democrats to reach the two-thirds majority necessary, triggering a second vote on whether to bar Trump from holding federal office again.
The Democrats have up to 8 hours at their disposal today to continue their arguments, but it's likely they'll only use a fraction of that time. Reports from several US media outlets suggest they plan to focus in on Trump's lack of remorse for the damage, and warn of the potential harm of letting Trump go unpunished.
It's possible that Trump's lawyers step up to begin the 16 hours allotted for their defence, but that seems unlikely given what we've heard from Senators regarding timing.
The Senate plans to take a 10-minute recess every two hours and a longer break for dinner if needed.
By Emily Olson
Joe Biden's been busy this morning
With so much attention on Donald Trump, the current President has been quietly continuing to advance his legislative agenda and kick off diplomatic efforts in his first 100 days in office.
This morning he told reporters he had a two-hour phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping. "If we don't get moving, they're going to eat our lunch,” he said.
Biden also weighed in on the Senate trial (kinda):
"My guess is some minds may have been changed, I don't know," he said, consistent with his reluctance to discuss the trial in general.
Later in the morning, Biden delivered a notice to Congress effectively ending a Trump-era national emergency declaration regarding the US-Mexico border. The move, which decreases federal funding for border policies, is the latest in Biden's effort to walk back tough immigration policy. Reporters say Biden's tactics are leading thousands of migrants to the US border and worrying officials about pandemic consequences.
By Emily Olson
Welcome!
Day 3 of Donald Trump's 2nd impeachment trial is set to get underway in just about 30 minutes.
Today, the Democrats will finish presenting their case for why the former President should be convicted. They charge that Trump incited an insurrection against the US government.
I'm Emily Olson, a digital journalist based in the ABC's Washington DC bureau. Thanks so much for being here!
No comments:
Post a Comment