On the second day of Donald Trump’s impeachment trial on Wednesday (10), the prosecution officially launched its arguments to try to prove that the former president is responsible for the invasion of the Capitol on January 6 in a deliberate and violent attack. . have been pregnant for months.
In front of the US Senate, Democratic lawmakers – a sort of prosecutor in the process – are betting on unprecedented evidence, with audios and videos recorded by congressional security cameras and documents showing the invaders couldn’t walk towards Capitol Hill only after Trump’s approval.
The prosecution’s effort was to create some sort of timeline to argue that the Republican incited violence from his supporters for several months and made it easier for the crowd to access the path that resulted in the most attack. brutal against the US Congress in 200 years, in one action. which killed five people.
One of the prosecutors, Democratic Representative Stacey Plaskett, was responsible for showing senators the reproduction of the license for the January 6 protests that initially did not allow the protesters to move.
“The permit clearly indicated that he would not be allowed to walk,” Plaskett said in front of television screens showing the documentation.
“It was only after Trump and his team got involved in the planning that the march to Capitol Hill took place, in direct violation of the original permit. It was no coincidence.”
With strong testimony, Democrats said Trump has stepped down from his role as US commander-in-chief and has become “the main instigator of a dangerous insurgency.”
“The evidence will show that he [Trump] “clearly sparked the uprising on January 6,” said Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin, chief prosecutor. “It will show that Donald Trump has resigned his role as Commander-in-Chief and has become the main instigator of a dangerous insurgency.”
Among the unpublished videos recorded by the congressional security system, senators watched the exact moment ex-Vice President Mike Pence walked out of plenary and taken to safety with his family. Downstairs, the invaders shouted slogans against Pence and threatened to kill him – the Republican presided over the session that certified Joe Biden’s victory and refused to falter any further outcome, even under pressure from Trump.
In other footage, a Capitol Hill policeman identified as Eugene Goodman is seen running as he walks past Republican Senator Mitt Romney. In a split second, he manages to stop the congressman from crossing with the invaders, leading him across the hall.
Democrats say the Capitol invasion was predictable to anyone who knew about Trump’s position – not just at the rally hours before the attack, when he called on the crowd to “fight like never before” – but long before that.
For months, the accusers said, the Republican has “cultivated violence,” with speeches and actions that fueled lies and aroused hatred among his constituents, under the fanciful idea that the election that drove Biden in the White House had been stolen.
On Wednesday, according to the New York Times, prosecutors in Georgia opened a criminal investigation against Trump for his attempt to overturn the national election result. The request includes evidence related to former president’s appeal to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to push him to “find” more votes to change the final election result.
The prosecution’s strategy on Wednesday was to divide its arguments into three parts – provocation, attack and harm. In Mr. Joe Neguse’s assessment, the false allegations of electoral fraud raised by Trump “were the drumbeat used to inspire, incite, inflame and anger” his supporters.
The session began at noon (2 p.m. GMT), a day after the Senate ruled, by 56 votes to 44 votes, that trying Trump even out of office was constitutional, contrary to what the Republican defense claimed.
The prosecution has until 4 p.m. to present its formal arguments against Trump, then the former president’s defense will have the same time to present their thesis. At 8 p.m., Wednesday’s session was not yet over.
Early next week, the trial is expected to result in a verdict, which should be absolved for Trump.
Indeed, for there to be a conviction, 67 votes of 100 senators would be necessary. Today, the U.S. Senate is divided into 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans, and on Tuesday only 6 Republicans voted for the constitutionality of the trial, an indication that 17 Republican dissidents for conviction is a highly unlikely scenario.
Trump’s lawyers must maintain the position that the former president’s speech is protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which deals with free speech, and cannot be held responsible for the actions of a “small criminal group”.
Tuesday’s defense presentation, still on the constitutionality of the trial, was widely criticized by analysts, and a New York Times report said Trump was angered by the performance deemed too generic, which was denied by his lawyers.
The point is that, in this case, the performance of each side will be an all-time high, but it will not really impact a result that is already taken for granted.