Graphic video of Capitol attack opens Trump's historic impeachment trial

[webfact]

Graphic video of Capitol attack opens Trump's historic impeachment trial

By David Morgan and Richard Cowan

 

Members of the National Guard patrol at the U. S. Capitol as the second impeachment trial of former U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to begin in Washington, U.S., February 9, 2021. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Donald Trump's historic post-presidency impeachment trial began in the Senate on Tuesday, with Democrats who are hoping to disqualify him from again holding public office again showing graphic video of last month's deadly storming of the U.S. Capitol that he is charged with inciting.

 

The dramatic proceedings in the 100-seat Senate focused upon the question of whether holding a trial after Trump has left office, as he did on Jan. 20, violates the U.S. Constitution, which allows for impeachment for "high crimes and misdemeanours."

 

House of Representatives Democrats serving as prosecutors opened their case by showing video of Trump supporters violently overwhelming police at the Capitol in the Jan. 6 attack after he had encouraged people in a speech to "fight like hell" to overturn his Nov. 3 election defeat.

 

"If that's not an impeachment offence, then there is no such thing," Democratic congressman Jamie Raskin, who led the prosecution, told the assembled senators - serving as jurors - after showing the video.

 

The video showed Trump backers throwing down barriers and hitting police officers. It showed the moment that protesters tried to break through the doors of the House chamber as lawmakers sheltered within, including when a police officer shot and killed a protester, U.S. Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt, as she tried to climb through a broken window.

 

In another scene, a rioter sifting through the contents of the desk of a lawmaker can he heard saying, "There's got to be something here we can use against the scumbags."

 

As former president Donald Trump faces a second impeachment at the U.S. Senate, attorneys on both sides are pointing to the U.S. Constitution for justification of what will be the first impeachment against a president who is no longer in office.

 

In the Capitol assault, the mob attacked police, sent lawmakers scrambling for safety and interrupted the formal congressional certification of President Joe Biden's victory after Trump had spent two months challenging the election results. Five people died, including a police officer.

 

Some 170 police officers were injured.

 

Trump was impeached by the Democratic-led House on Jan. 13 on a charge of inciting an insurrection. Democrats hope to disqualify Trump from ever again holding public office.

 

Trump is the only president to go on trial in the Senate after leaving office and the only one to be impeached twice. He appears likely to be acquitted thanks to support from fellow Republicans in the narrowly divided Senate.

 

'GRAVEST CHARGES'

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, called the accusation against Trump: "The gravest charges ever brought against a president of the United States in American history."

 

Before the attack, Trump claimed falsely that widespread voting fraud lost him the election to Biden. Senators watched video of Trump addressing supporters at a rally that preceded the attack, repeating his false claims of election fraud.

 

"Presidents can't inflame insurrection in their final weeks and then walk away like nothing happened. And yet that is the rule that President Trump asks you to adopt," Democratic congressman Joe Neguse told the senators. "I urge you - we urge you - to decline his request, to vindicate the Constitution, to let us try this case."

 

Most of the senators at the trial were present in the Capitol on Jan. 6, when many lawmakers said they feared for their own safety.

 

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, was silent while watching the video montage on Tuesday. He sat still, with his hands clasped loosely in his lap.

 

Defense lawyers plan to argue that only a sitting president can face an impeachment trial. But a majority of legal experts say it is constitutional to have the trial after an official has left office, said Michigan State University law professor Brian Kalt, a leading impeachment scholar.

 

Senate Democrats are expected to prevail in a Tuesday vote on the constitutionality of the trial. A Republican effort to block the trial on those grounds was defeated 55-45 last month.

 

The trial is being held with extraordinary security around the Capitol in the wake of the siege including armed security forces and a perimeter of fencing and razor wire.

 

TUMULTUOUS FOUR YEARS

The trial could provide clues on the direction of the Republican Party following Trump's tumultuous four-year presidency.

 

Sharp divisions have emerged between Trump loyalists and those hoping to move the party in a new direction.

 

Meanwhile, Democrats are concerned the trial could impede Biden's ability to swiftly advance an ambitious legislative agenda.

 

Trump's defense has also argued he was exercising his right to free speech under the Constitution's First Amendment when he addressed supporters at a rally in Washington on the day of the Capitol attack.

 

On Wednesday, the prosecution and defense are due to turn to the merits of the charge.

 

They will have 32 hours evenly divided over no more than four days to present their cases. The proceedings could be extended further, with senators having time to question both sides.

 

One year ago, the then-Republican-controlled Senate acquitted Trump on charges of obstructing Congress and abuse of power related to his pressure on Ukraine to launch an investigation into Biden and his son Hunter in 2019.

 

(Reporting David Morgan and Richard Cowan; Writing by Alistair Bell; Editing by Scott Malone and Will Dunham)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2021-02-10

 

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[Sujo]

Where did trump get his lawyers. They were terrible.

[webfact]

UPDATE:

 

Senators vote to proceed with Trump's impeachment trial after graphic video

By David Morgan and Richard Cowan

 

Members of the National Guard patrol at the U. S. Capitol as the second impeachment trial of former U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to begin in Washington, U.S., February 9, 2021. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. senators voted on Tuesday to move forward with Donald Trump's impeachment trial on a charge of inciting the deadly assault on the Capitol, rejecting a claim the proceeding was unconstitutional after viewing graphic video of the January attack.

 

The Senate voted 56-44 to proceed with its trial of the former president, a historic first, rejecting largely along party lines his defence lawyers' argument that a president cannot face trial after leaving the White House. Democrats hope to disqualify Trump from ever again holding public office.

 

The video presented by the team of nine House of Representatives Democrats interspersed images of the Jan. 6 Capitol violence with clips of Trump's incendiary speech to a crowd of supporters moments earlier urging them to "fight like hell" to overturn his Nov. 3 election defeat.

 

Senators, serving as jurors, watched as screens showed Trump's followers throwing down barriers and hitting police officers at the Capitol. The video also included the moment when police guarding the House chamber fatally shot protester Ashli Babbitt, one of five people including a police officer who died in the rampage.

 

The mob attacked police, sent lawmakers scrambling for safety and interrupted the formal congressional certification of President Joe Biden's victory after Trump had spent two months challenging the election results based on false claims of widespread voting fraud.

 

"If that's not an impeachment offense, then there is no such thing," Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin, who led the prosecution, told the assembled senators after showing the video.

 

He wept as he recounted how relatives he brought to the Capitol that day to witness the election certification had to shelter in an office near the House floor, saying: "They thought they were going to die."

 

In contrast to the Democrats' emotional presentation, Trump's lawyers attacked the process, arguing that the proceeding was an unconstitutional, partisan effort to close off Trump's political future even after he had already departed the White House.

 

"What they really want to accomplish here in the name of the Constitution is to bar Donald Trump from ever running for political office again, but this is an affront to the Constitution no matter who they target today," David Schoen, one of Trump's lawyers, told senators.

 

He denounced the "insatiable lust for impeachment" among Democrats before airing his own video, which stitched together clips of various Democratic lawmakers calling for Trump's impeachment going back to 2017.

 

CONVICTION UNLIKELY

Trump was impeached by the Democratic-led House on Jan. 13 on a charge of inciting an insurrection, although his conviction remains unlikely.

 

Finding him guilty would require a two-thirds majority, meaning that at least 17 Republicans would need to join the Senate's 48 Democrats and two independents in voting against Trump, who remains his party's most powerful figure even out of office.

 

Trump is the only president to go on trial in the Senate after leaving office and the only one to be impeached twice. He is just the third president in U.S. history to be impeached at all.

 

The trial was held with extraordinary security around the Capitol following the siege, including armed security forces and a perimeter of fencing and razor wire.

 

Trump's defence argued he was exercising his right to free speech under the Constitution's First Amendment when he addressed supporters before the Capitol attack.

 

"We can't possibly be suggesting that we punish people for political speech in this country," Bruce Castor, one of Trump's lawyers, said.

 

Castor said the storming of the Capitol "should be denounced in the most vigorous terms," but argued that "a small group of criminals," not Trump, were responsible for the violence.

 

Most legal experts have said it is constitutional to have an impeachment trial after an official has left office.

 

"Presidents can't inflame insurrection in their final weeks and then walk away like nothing happened. And yet that is the rule that President Trump asks you to adopt," Democratic Representative Joe Neguse told the senators.

 

Most of the senators at the trial were present in the Capitol on Jan. 6, when many lawmakers said they feared for their own safety.

 

Republican Senator Bill Cassidy called the Democrats' speeches "a very good opening." He joined six of his Republican colleagues in finding the proceeding constitutional, reversing his vote from the prior month.

 

"The arguments they gave were strong arguments," said Cassidy.

 

The trial could provide clues on the Republican Party's direction following Trump's tumultuous four-year presidency. Sharp divisions have emerged between Trump loyalists and those hoping to move the party in a new direction. Democrats for their part are concerned the trial could impede Biden's ability to swiftly advance an ambitious legislative agenda.

 

One year ago, the then-Republican-controlled Senate acquitted Trump on charges of obstructing Congress and abuse of power for pressuring Ukraine to launch an investigation into Biden and his son Hunter in 2019.

 

(Reporting David Morgan and Richard Cowan; Additional reporting by Susan Cornwell; Writing by Alistair Bell and Joseph Ax; Editing by Scott Malone, Will Dunham and Peter Cooney)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2021-02-10

 

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[Scott]

Troll posts and replies reported and removed.  

 

[Tug]

Unfortunately it won’t lead to a conviction imo the republicans are to terrified of trumps (base) to do what they know is right it would take true courage on any republicans part to convict him as he so richly deserves

[ExpatOK]

36 minutes ago, Tug said:

Unfortunately it won’t lead to a conviction imo the republicans are to terrified of trumps (base) to do what they know is right it would take true courage on any republicans part to convict him as he so richly deserves

Here is why it won't lead to conviction: Forty five Senators have already declared it unconstitutional which means they will not vote to convict, thus preventing the Democrats from getting the 2/3 majority they need. This impeachment trial is like the last one: a waste of time.

[kamahele]

5 minutes ago, ExpatOK said:

Here is why it won't lead to conviction: Forty five Senators have already declared it unconstitutional which means they will not vote to convict, thus preventing the Democrats from getting the 2/3 majority they need. This impeachment trial is like the last one: a waste of time.

should we only have trials for criminals when we are sure that the jury will convict before the trial has already begun?

[JonnyF]

A really bad move by the Democrats. I am no Trump fan but this move shows just how vindictive they really are once you remove their mask of fake Woke politics. It also gives Trump tons of publicity and unites his supporter base. And all for nothing because he won't be convicted anyway. 

 

Poor politics from the Democrat party. Very poor.

[jcsmith]

Just now, JonnyF said:

A really bad move by the Democrats. I am no Trump fan but this move shows just how vindictive they really are once you remove their mask of fake Woke politics. It also gives Trump tons of publicity and unites his supporter base. And all for nothing because he won't be convicted anyway. 

 

Poor politics from the Democrat party. Very poor.

Yeah, let's just let the guy who incited an insurrection go and blame the people trying to hold him into account. What kind of logic is that?

[mtls2005]

10 minutes ago, ExpatOK said:

This impeachment trial is like the last one: a waste of time.

 

As if mitch and the Senate did anything did anything for the last two years.

 

Process/procedure argument. Check.

 

Waste of time argument. Check

 

Guilty of Insurrection? Can't make an argument for the past president. 

 

Interesting.

 

 

5 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

I am no Trump fan

 

Good one.

 

 

[bobbin]

2 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

A really bad move by the Democrats. I am no Trump fan but this move shows just how vindictive they really are once you remove their mask of fake Woke politics. It also gives Trump tons of publicity and unites his supporter base. And all for nothing because he won't be convicted anyway. 

 

Poor politics from the Democrat party. Very poor.

The majority of Americans polled don't agree with you.. I believe the latest figure is 56% want to see Trump convicted.

[Slip]

5 minutes ago, jcsmith said:

Yeah, let's just let the guy who incited an insurrection go and blame the people trying to hold him into account. What kind of logic is that?

Right wing logic.

[JonnyF]

4 minutes ago, bobbin said:

The majority of Americans polled don't agree with you.. I believe the latest figure is 56% want to see Trump convicted.

 

Thankfully the USA is slightly more sophisticated in terms of it's legal process than allowing the verdict to be reached based upon an opinion poll. 

[mtls2005]

1 minute ago, JonnyF said:

 

Thankfully the USA is slightly more sophisticated in terms of it's legal process than allowing the verdict to be reached based upon an opinion poll. 

 

This is a polital process, not a legal one.

 

Public opinion is driving the republicans to stand wit the past president.

 

But thanks for lumping all of us into one bucket..."the USA".

 

 

 

 

[ExpatOK]

3 minutes ago, mtls2005 said:

 

This is a polital process, not a legal one.

 

Public opinion is driving the republicans to stand wit the past president.

 

But thanks for lumping all of us into one bucket..."the USA".

 

 

 

 

That President Trump did nothing wrong has something to do with it, too. ????

[J Town]

2 hours ago, Sujo said:

Where did trump get his lawyers. They were terrible.

When you cheat Giuliani, that's the best you can expect. No decent lawyer would stain their reputation doing business with the former president.

 

 

[Walker88]

2 minutes ago, ExpatOK said:

That President Trump did nothing wrong has something to do with it, too. ????

Yes, 45 only incited the terrorists to go storm the Capitol, "You have fight, and fight hard, if you want to get our country back" (I'll be right behind you....in my bunker, with my SS Agents)

 

Oh, and while the Capitol was being attacked and the EC votes were being acknowledged by 45's VP, 45 Tweeted that Pence had let him down. After that 45's terrorists began chanting "Hang Mike Pence".

 

That was being broadcast on live TV, and 45 refused, for several hours, to authorize the national Guard to go quell the insurrection. Several Hours.

 

Apparently inciting insurrection by terrorists is okay in magaworld and the (R)---or now more properly called (Q) Party.

[bobbin]

6 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

 

Thankfully the USA is slightly more sophisticated in terms of it's legal process than allowing the verdict to be reached based upon an opinion poll. 

I think you know as well as I do, that it's not about a conviction..

 

Given the shamefully cynical actions of many Republicans in the senate, there is little chance of conviction.

 

It's a holding him accountable for his outrageous behaviour after losing the election.. He was always an embarrassment to the American people, most of whom, unlike yourself, declined to drink the Kool-Aid. His post-election schemes to hold onto the Presidency are shameful. The recent lawsuits for defamation with malicious intent will hopefully see him added as a defendant

[ExpatOK]

Just now, Walker88 said:

Yes, 45 only incited the terrorists to go storm the Capitol, "You have fight, and fight hard, if you want to get our country back" (I'll be right behind you....in my bunker, with my SS Agents)

 

Oh, and while the Capitol was being attacked and the EC votes were being acknowledged by 45's VP, 45 Tweeted that Pence had let him down. After that 45's terrorists began chanting "Hang Mike Pence".

 

That was being broadcast on live TV, and 45 refused, for several hours, to authorize the national Guard to go quell the insurrection. Several Hours.

 

Apparently inciting insurrection by terrorists is okay in magaworld and the (R)---or now more properly called (Q) Party.

Let's see if President Trump gets convicted. That could happen, but the odds are overwhelmingly against it.

[Jeffr2]

37 minutes ago, ExpatOK said:

Here is why it won't lead to conviction: Forty five Senators have already declared it unconstitutional which means they will not vote to convict, thus preventing the Democrats from getting the 2/3 majority they need. This impeachment trial is like the last one: a waste of time.

So you are ok with a sitting president potentially committing a crime and getting away with it? Sad times in the US when people think like this.

 

It's
 definitely not a waste of time. Future presidents will know they can't commit a crime in the last few weeks of their term. A huge benefit.

 

Unfortunately, the spineless Republican senators won't honor their oath of office. Again.

[jcsmith]

8 minutes ago, ExpatOK said:

That President Trump did nothing wrong has something to do with it, too. ????

He did nothing wrong... Aside from:

• Lying about the election being stolen and voter fraud.
• Instilling the basis of that lie months in advance of the election.
• Refusing to concede the election after it was clear that he lost.
• Allowing Rudy to call it a trial by combat.
• While the mob was stirring up and it was obvious there could be violence he riled them up and told them to fight like hell or they would have no country.
• His lawyers are going to try to argue it was a known issue before the riots, which they claim prove he didn't cause it. But the fact is he knew good and well about that before he went out and gave his speech. 
• He lied and told the mob he was going with them.
• While the riots raged he tweeted negatively about Pence, further riling up the mob.
• He refused to call the national guard for hours, and reportedly they were eventually called by Mike Pence rather than Trump.
• It took hours for him to give his video asking people to disperse and even then he softened it.
• Even now he wanted to go with the election fraud thing at his trial prompting his defense team to quit and be replaced at the last minute.

 

 

[J Town]

18 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

A really bad move by the Democrats. I am no Trump fan but this move shows just how vindictive they really are once you remove their mask of fake Woke politics. It also gives Trump tons of publicity and unites his supporter base. And all for nothing because he won't be convicted anyway. 

 

Poor politics from the Democrat party. Very poor.

Heavy sigh . . .

 

Osama Bin Laden did not attack the twin towers yet he was responsible. Was it vindictive to hold him accountable?

 

It certainly divides the country into those who support Q and those who are capable of critical thinking. I SO hope the former president creates his own party and takes that base with him.

 

It's not for nothing (which has been pointed out again and again and again and . . .).  It will put those (R) Senators on record ignoring their oath, selling their souls, and voting against the wishes of the majority of Americans.

 

Poor politics would have been to ignore this. Yes, we all know the sycophants in the (R) Senate will acquit, but their votes will be history, and a number of them are up for re-election in 2022.

 

[ExpatOK]

8 minutes ago, Jeffr2 said:

So you are ok with a sitting president potentially committing a crime and getting away with it? Sad times in the US when people think like this.

 

It's
 definitely not a waste of time. Future presidents will know they can't commit a crime in the last few weeks of their term. A huge benefit.

 

Unfortunately, the spineless Republican senators won't honor their oath of office. Again.

Though this is an anonymous forum, I will give a hint as to my identity: I am not a US Senator! So of course I will not be voting. ????

 

Sorry you want to control how people think.  

 

At this point there appears to be at least 45 patriots who have the courage to vote against conviction.

[JonnyF]

7 minutes ago, bobbin said:

I think you know as well as I do, that it's not about a conviction..

 

Given the shamefully cynical actions of many Republicans in the senate, there is little chance of conviction.

 

It's a holding him accountable for his outrageous behaviour after losing the election.. He was always an embarrassment to the American people, most of whom, unlike yourself, declined to drink the Kool-Aid. His post-election schemes to hold onto the Presidency are shameful. The recent lawsuits for defamation with malicious intent will hopefully see him added as a defendant

As I said, I am no fan of Trump so please drop the Strawman, it's tedious.

 

I was simply pointing out that politically this is a bad move. It makes the Democrats look spiteful and petty. It will fail and therefore it won't hold anyone to account. It also puts American politics in a very poor light on the international stage. He's gone, it would be better to let people forget and heal, allow him to slip out of the limelight rather than keep putting his name on every news report. It's playing into his hands.

 

However, the hatred towards him from the left is so strong that they simply cannot help themselves from pursuing this vendetta. It's damaging and counter productive. And all for nothing since the impeachment process will ultimately fail, which Trump will publicly celebrate as another victory for him and his supporters.

 

If only the left could calm down enough to see it. However, the red mist has descended and they are blinded by it.

[Jeffr2]

3 minutes ago, ExpatOK said:

Though this is an anonymous forum, I will give a hint as to my identity: I am not a US Senator! So of course I will not be voting. ????

 

Sorry you want to control how people think.  

 

At this point there appears to be at least 45 patriots who have the courage to vote against conviction.

Courage to vote against conviction?  More like afraid of Trump and his clueless supporters.

[Jeffr2]

2 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

As I said, I am no fan of Trump so please drop the Strawman, it's tedious.

 

I was simply pointing out that politically this is a bad move. It makes the Democrats look spiteful and petty. It will fail and therefore it won't hold anyone to account. It also puts American politics in a very poor light on the international stage. He's gone, it would be better to let people forget and heal, allow him to slip out of the limelight rather than keep putting his name on every news report. It's playing into his hands.

 

However, the hatred towards him from the left is so strong that they simply cannot help themselves from pursuing this vendetta. It's damaging and counter productive. And all for nothing since the impeachment process will ultimately fail, which Trump will publicly celebrate as another victory for him and his supporters.

 

If only the left could calm down enough to see it. However, the red mist has descended and they are blinded by it.

Hatred isn't just coming from the left. Plenty of conservatives are 100% against what Trump did.

[mtls2005]

12 minutes ago, jcsmith said:

He did nothing wrong... Aside from:

 

You forgot "Danced awkwardly to The Village People's hit YMCA".

 

 

 

 

[ExpatOK]

6 minutes ago, mtls2005 said:

 

You forgot "Danced awkwardly to The Village People's hit YMCA".

 

 

 

 

And some people think President Trump is homophobic!

[helpisgood]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

The trial is being held with extraordinary security around the Capitol in the wake of the siege including armed security forces and a perimeter of fencing and razor wire.

 

The fact that these precautions is obviously a sensible thing to do is a setback for the "Great American Experiment" of democracy.  The cry of "take back my country" with a violent mob trespassing and looting the republic's Capitol was surely not what the Founding Fathers had in mind.   

 

It is scary that so many believed that the election "was stolen" with no evidence given.  I think that they believed because they wanted to believe.  Hopefully, lessons can be learned and better days will follow.  

[J Town]

8 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

As I said, I am no fan of Trump so please drop the Strawman, it's tedious.

 

I was simply pointing out that politically this is a bad move. It makes the Democrats look spiteful and petty. It will fail and therefore it won't hold anyone to account. It also puts American politics in a very poor light on the international stage. He's gone, it would be better to let people forget and heal, allow him to slip out of the limelight rather than keep putting his name on every news report. It's playing into his hands.

 

However, the hatred towards him from the left is so strong that they simply cannot help themselves from pursuing this vendetta. It's damaging and counter productive. And all for nothing since the impeachment process will ultimately fail, which Trump will publicly celebrate as another victory for him and his supporters.

 

If only the left could calm down enough to see it. However, the red mist has descended and they are blinded by it.

You're not new to this, so why do you continue to post erroneous bs? It's been pointed out again and again it's not hatred for the former president, it's his policies that people capable of critical thinking are outraged at.  The former president has the blood of innocent Americans on his hands. His corruption is on record and he will be taken to task, possibly doing jail time (this is looking more credible for meddling in the Georgia election), his disgusting behavior has made the US the laughing stock of the world.

 

The question is, and I mean this sincerely, how can you defend the former president? Is it a 401k thing? Not one 45 supporter has been able to answer that question.