By LIBBY CATHEY and MICHELLE STODDART, ABC News
(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump’s historic second impeachment trial is taking place in the Senate. He faces a single charge of incitement of insurrection over his actions leading up to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Here is how events are unfolding Wednesday. All times Eastern:
Feb 10, 7:29 pm
Castro highlights how Trump’s advisers ‘begged’ him to ‘stop the attack’
Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, continued to present the House impeachment managers’ detailed timeline of the events at the Capitol and White House on Jan. 6, and said Trump did nothing to quell the protests even as those close to him asked for him to do so, suggesting Trump was the only one who could stop the siege. Instead, Castro said, Trump continued to incite the mob with tweets as violence was already underway.
“As this was unfolding and the crowd grew more violent, the president, of course, was not alone at the White House. And the people closest to him, his family, his advisers who saw this unfolding in real time, begged him — implored him to stop the attack,” Castro said, showing tweets and playing media appearances of both former and current Trump officials and lawmakers as they called on Trump, during the attack, to ask his supporters to go home.
Castro highlighted how Trump tweeted — over an hour and a half into the attack at 2:24 p.m., while Pence was still sheltered inside the Senate chamber — that Pence did not have “courage” to overturn the results as some rioters repeated the tweets on megaphones outside like marching orders. He then recounted how Trump tweeted at 3:13 p.m. to his supporters, still storming the Capitol, to “remain peaceful” and ended his tweet with a “Thank you!”
“Thank you for what? Thank you for shattering the windows and destroying property? Thank you for injuring more than 140 police officers?” Castro said.
"Mike Pence is not a traitor to this country. He's a patriot," House impeachment manager Rep. Joaquin Castro says at Senate impeachment trial of former Pres. Trump. https://t.co/BY7pGN4vv8 pic.twitter.com/MA7nmnE3oT
— ABC News (@ABC) February 11, 2021
The Texas representative also drew a clear distinction between Trump and Pence, despite his personal politics not matching to either.
“Mike Pence is not a traitor to this country. He is a patriot. And he and his family, who was with him that day, didn’t deserve this, didn’t deserve a president unleashing a mob on them. Especially because he was just doing his job,” Castro said.
Feb 10, 7:08 pm
Cicilline argues Trump did not do enough to stop rioters at Capitol
Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., argued that even as the violent protests broke out at the Capitol, Trump was not working to quell the violence or helping to prevent his supporters from rioting despite requests from members of his administration and Congressional leaders.
“This wasn’t partisan politics. These were Americans from all sides trying to force our commander-in-chief to protect and defend our country. He was required to do that. Now, the extent of how many people tried to reach the president, to get him to act, is not known. But what is clear, what we know without any doubt, is that from the very beginning, the people around Donald Trump lobbied him to take command,” Cicilline said. “What’s also clear is what Donald Trump our commander-in-chief did in those initial hours to protect us — nothing, not a thing.”
Cicilline also criticized a call Trump made to Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., during the riots asking him to object to more aspects of the election’s certification rather than working to quell the ongoing violence.
“This was a breathtaking dereliction of his duty, … of his oath as our commander-in-chief,” Cicilline said. “These attackers stood right where you are. They went on that rostrum. They rifled through your desks and they desecrated this place. And literally, the president sat delighted — doing nothing to help us, calling one of you to pressure you to stop the certification.”
Feb 10, 6:57 pm
Romney speaks with Officer Goodman after video shows he diverted senator from mob
Minutes before the trial resumed, Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah was seen talking to Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman.
Earlier, Romney — and the public — for the first time saw security footage presented by House impeachment managers of Goodman directing the senator — often and publicly criticized by Trump — away from the mob during the Jan. 6 attack.
Romney told reporters after seeing the video that he planned to thank Goodman.
“Obviously very troubling to see the — the great violence that our Capitol Police and others are subjected to. It tears you at your heart and brings tears to your eyes. That was overwhelmingly distressing and emotional,” Romney said.
As he was exiting the chamber for the dinner break, Romney said that he didn’t know it was Goodman who helped him until the recording was played.
Goodman gained public notoriety for directing rioters away from the Senate chamber. He later escorted Vice President Kamala Harris to the inauguration.
Three members of Congress introduced a bill last month to honor Goodman with the Congressional Gold Medal “for his bravery and quick thinking.”
-ABC News’ Katherine Faulders and Trish Turner
Feb 10, 6:32 pm
Senate trial resumes after dinner break
The impeachment trial continues after the Senate recessed for a dinner break. House impeachment managers will continue to deliver arguments.
Feb 10, 6:32 pm
Trump tweeted attack on Pence as VP was on lockdown inside chamber
The timestamp on security footage presented by House impeachment managers shows Vice President Mike Pence being evacuated from the Senate chamber at 2:26:02 p.m.
Trump, meanwhile at the White House, posted an attack on Pence to Twitter just two minutes earlier at 2:24 p.m.
“Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!” Trump tweeted, while the Capitol building was still under attack.
House impeachment managers in arguments on Wednesday sought to lay out a comprehensive timeline of the Capitol attack.
-ABC News’ Benjamin Siegel
Feb 10, 6:12 pm
Schumer calls on Republicans to have an ‘open mind’
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer briefly spoke to reporters during the Senate dinner break following House impeachment managers playing security footage from inside the Capitol and showing Schumer’s “near miss” with the mob.
“I don’t think many of us feel like eating dinner,” Schumer said at first, acknowledging the break. “It was gut wrenching. The bravery of our police officers is incredible. It was compelling. And I just hope that our Republican colleagues have an open mind as they look to seeing what we’ve seen today.”
He called the House managers’ case “overwhelmingly compelling” and offered a few words signaling to his own close call.
“As for me, in my situation, I just want to give tremendous credit to the Capitol Police officers who are in my detail. Like the rest of the Capitol Police officers, they are utterly amazing and great, and we love them.”
-ABC News’ Trish Turner
Feb 10, 6:01 pm
Republican senator calls evidence against Trump ‘damning’
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska called the evidence presented by House impeachment managers “damning” and told reporters during the Senate trial’s dinner break Wednesday, “I don’t see how Donald Trump could be reelected to the presidency again.”
GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski: “I don’t see how, after the American public sees the full story laid out here…how Donald Trump could be re-elected to the presidency again.”https://t.co/BY7pGN4vv8 pic.twitter.com/yPQSvLtKWE
— ABC News (@ABC) February 10, 2021
“I’m angry. I’m disturbed. I’m sad,” said Murkowski, who is in the minority of Senate Republicans. “We lived it once and that was awful. And we’re now we’re now reliving it within a more comprehensive timeline.”
“I know what I was feeling in the Senate chamber when I could hear those voices. I knew what it meant to be running down this hallway with my colleagues. I wasn’t fully aware of everything else that was happening in the building and so when you see all the pieces come together, just the total awareness of that the enormity of this, the threat — not just to us as people, as lawmakers, but the threat to the institution and what Congress represents — it’s disturbing.”
“I think that the House managers are making a very strong case for a timeline that laid out very clearly, with the words that were used, when he used them, how he used them to really build the anger, the violence that we saw here,” she continued.
Asked if she was concerned with the Senate not acting and barring Trump from running for office again, she said she doesn’t see how he could be reelected, citing the House managers’ evidence.
“Frankly I don’t see how — I don’t see how after the American public sees the full story laid out here,” she said. “I just, I don’t see how Donald Trump could be reelected to the presidency again.”
GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski: “I don’t see how, after the American public sees the full story laid out here…how Donald Trump could be re-elected to the presidency again.”https://t.co/BY7pGN4vv8 pic.twitter.com/yPQSvLtKWE
— ABC News (@ABC) February 10, 2021
She also said she’s under no pressure from leadership to vote a certain way and feels free to vote her conscience. Murkowski did not vote to convict Trump at his last impeachment trial. She did join five other Republicans Tuesday in voting to affirm the trial was constitutional.
-ABC News’ Trish Turner
Feb 10, 5:33 pm
Trial breaks until 6:15 p.m. for dinner
After Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., spoke, the Senate took a break for dinner. Arguments will resume at 6:15 p.m.
Feb 10, 5:32 pm
Swalwell shows chilling video of lawmakers fleeing rioters
Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., presented video evidence which showed for the first time just how close House lawmakers were to rioters.
New security video showed members — many in gas masks — being escorted by Capitol Police out of the chamber and to another location, as police officers had guns drawn, with some rioters lying on the ground with their hands zip-tied.
Swalwell also played video of the senators being escorted out of the Senate chamber.
Rep. Eric Swalwell plays new security video showing “the mob attacking officers with a crutch, a hockey stick, a bullhorn—and a Trump flag.” https://t.co/OKAzzhvIne #impeachmenttrial pic.twitter.com/YWS8ce7Rke
— ABC News (@ABC) February 10, 2021
“Some of you, I understand, could hear them. But most of the public doesn’t understand how close the rioters came to you,” he said. “You were just 58 steps away from where the mob was amassing and where police were rushing to stop them.”
“If the doors to the chamber had been breached just minutes earlier, imagine what they could have done with those cuffs,” he said, showing a photo of a rioter in the chamber with plastic flex cuffs.
He then played video of senators walking by a group of Capitol Police officer barricading a hallway between them, and the rioters.
Footage shown by House impeachment managers shows congress members yelling to each other to remove their Congressional pins for fear that they’d be seen or taken by the mob. https://t.co/OKAzzhvIne #impeachmenttrial pic.twitter.com/YQpwufQUvo
— ABC News (@ABC) February 10, 2021
Swalwell also showed what he described as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s “near miss” with rioters, playing a video of Schumer being escorted down a hallway and doubling back to avoid running into the mob.
“They came within just 2 yards of the rioters and had to turn around,” Swalwell said.
House impeachment managers play security footage of Sen. Schumer walking up a ramp with an exit sign during the Capitol siege, but having to rush back with his security detail to avoid the mob. https://t.co/OKAzzhvIne #impeachmenttrial pic.twitter.com/4oTbnh0OhF
— ABC News (@ABC) February 10, 2021
He also played video from Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., from the House gallery during the riot in which Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., a Marine veteran, can be heard shouting to his colleagues, “Take your pins off!”
-ABC News’ Benjamin Siegel
Feb 10, 5:30 pm
Senators watch new videos of Capitol riots intently
While House impeachment managers shared some of the most intense video and dispatch audio, much of which had never been seen publicly before. Reporters noted that senators on both sides of the aisle were listening and watching the videos intently.
JUST IN: House impeachment managers play security footage of Officer Eugene Goodman, who “passes Sen. Mitt Romney and directs him to turn around in order to get to safety.”
“On the first floor, just beneath them, the mob had already started to search for the Senate chamber.” pic.twitter.com/wuyZLxhgtX
— ABC News (@ABC) February 10, 2021
Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, didn’t move and watched intently when they showed the video of U.S. Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman directing him away from rioters.
When the new videos were playing, there were a handful of empty seats, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., was one who was not at his desk. Some GOP senators opted to watch the proceedings from their cloak room. Reporters can’t see them in there so it is unknown if they were watching it.
-ABC News’ Trish Turner
Feb 10, 5:17 pm
Swalwell shares personal text he sent during attack
Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., continued presenting chilling security footage as part of House impeachment managers’ case charging Trump with “incitement of insurrection” and also shared a personal text he sent while the building was under siege.
“Uncertain what would happen next, I sent a text message to my wife. ‘I love you and the babies. Please hug them for me,"” Swalwell said. “I imagine many of you sent a similar message.”
Security footage showed those who broke intro the Capitol overwhelmingly wearing Trump flags and merchandise and, separately, showed members of Congress being evacuated from their chambers.
“Throughout this presentation, we’ve been careful not to show where representatives got out,” Swalwell added, “But that issue was under discussion by the insurrectionists themselves.”
“One example comes from an FBI affidavit which stated the leader of a militia group known as the Oath Keepers received messages while at the Capitol. The leader was given directions to where representatives were thought to be sheltering and instructions to quote ‘turn on gas, reel them in,"” Swalwell said.
Notably, video has surfaced showing Trump’s longtime adviser Roger Stone in Washington on the morning of Jan. 6, flanked by members of the Oath Keepers militia group just hours before the deadly insurrection at the Capitol building.
Feb 10, 5:02 pm
Plaskett says rioters would’ve killed Pence, Pelosi ‘if given the chance’
Del. Stacey Plaskett, D-Virgin Islands, described rioters intent on finding and killing former Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during the violent protests.
“As Pence was being evacuated, rioters started to spread throughout the Capitol. Those inside helped other rioters break in,” House impeachment manager Del. Stacey Plaskett says. https://t.co/BY7pGN4vv8
“The mob was looking for Vice President Pence because of his patriotism.” pic.twitter.com/98q9Zd1pIE
— ABC News (@ABC) February 10, 2021
“They were talking about assassinating the vice president of the United States. During the course of the attack, the vice president never left the Capitol, remained locked down with his family — with his family — inside the building. Remember that as you think about these images and the sounds of the attack,” Plaskett said. “Vice President Pence was threatened with death by the president’s supporters because he rejected President Trump’s demand that he overturn the election.”
Plaskett showed videos of rioters running through the hall screaming “Nancy, where are you?” The House managers also showed security video showing staffers in Pelosi’s office running into a conference room, where Plaskett said they barricaded themselves in an inner chamber. Just seven minutes later, she said, the video shows rioters entered the speaker’s office, where they destroyed property and searched for Pelosi.
“The vice president, the speaker of the house, the first and second in line to the presidency, were performing their constitutional duties, presiding over the election certification. And they were put in danger, because President Trump put his own desires — his own need for power — over his duty to the Constitution and our democratic process,” Plaskett said. “President Trump put a target on their back and his mob broke into the capitol to hunt them down.”
Feb 10, 4:48 pm
House managers play disturbing ‘never-seen-before’ footage of attack
Congressman Stacey Plaskett, D-Virgins Islands, presented disturbing evidence that had not been made public before of security footage inside the Capitol on Jan. 6 and of audio of 911 calls from law enforcement officers in distress.
“They’re throwing metal poles at us,” one officer said on a 911 dispatch. “13:49 hours. Declaring it a riot,” said another.
“At 12:53 p.m., senators, members of Congress, Vice President Pence were in their respective chambers. Outside rioters, including some linked to the Proud Boys, broke through the outer barricade surrounding the lawn of the Capitol,” Plaskett said, laying out the timeline of the attack.
“What you are about to hear has not been made public before.”
House impeachment managers play radio communications from Metropolitan PD to highlight how “Trump supporters descended on the Capitol and become increasingly violent.” https://t.co/OKAzzhvIne #impeachmenttrial pic.twitter.com/IUcjZpoXHn
— ABC News (@ABC) February 10, 2021
She played “never-seen-before” security footage from inside the Capitol around the time Vice President Mike Pence was whisked out of the Senate chamber which showed rioters ramming through the doors of the Capitol, shattering glass and overcoming Capitol Police.
She said rioters were “within 100 feet” from the vice president and that it wasn’t until 2:26 p.m. when he was evacuated.
“While Vice President Pence was being evacuated from the Senate chamber, rioters were, at that time, breaking into the Capitol,” Plaskett said. “When I first saw this, that was created for this, I thought back to Sept. 11,” she added of the video exhibits.
Plaskett went on to show security footage of Officer Eugene Goodman directing Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah to turn around in order to get to safety to avoid the mob heading straight in his direction.
She said it was clear Pence was a target “for his patriotism” — for following through with his duty to certify election results — and had rioters gotten ahold of him, they would have hurt or killed him, she said, citing their own chants of, “Hang Mike Pence.”
Feb 10, 4:17 pm
Raskin warns of violent content to come
Lead House impeachment manager Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., warned after an afternoon break that managers would soon present video footage viewers may find disturbing.
“I want to alert everyone there is very graphic violent footage coming, just so people are aware,” Raskin said, after warning teachers earlier in the day and members of the public watching from home of the graphic footage to come.
He then handed the floor to Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett of the Virgin Islands to present the material.
Feb 10, 4:10 pm
Senate trial resumes
The Senate has returned from a nearly 25-minute break to resume arguments from the House impeachment managers.
Feb 10, 4:01 pm
Dean shares personal experience during Capitol riots
Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., one of the House impeachment managers momentarily lost her composure when talking about her experience in the Capitol during the Jan 6 riots.
“I stood with colleagues in the gallery above the House floor to observe the Arizona challenge. Moments later, police radios reported a breach of the Capitol grounds. Someone shouted up to us: ‘duck,’ then ‘lie down,’ then ‘ready your gas masks.’ Shortly after, there was a terrifying banging on the chamber doors. I will never forget that sound. Shouts and panicked calls to my husband and to my sons, instructions to flee and then the constant worrying of the gas masks filtering the air,” Dean said. “The chamber of the United States House of Representatives turned to chaos.”
Dean then criticized the speech made by Trump made to protesters right before they stormed the Capitol and she showed videos of how crowds of rioters reacted to the former president’s remarks.
“He’d assembled thousands of violent people, people he knew were capable of violence, people he had seen be violent,” Dean said. “They were standing now in front of him, and then he pointed to us, lit the fuse, and sent an angry mob to fight the perceived enemy, his own vice president and the members of Congress, as we certified an election.”
Dean laid out a timeline of the events after the rally and emphasized that it was just one hour after Trump’s speech that rioters breached the Capitol.
“At 1:10, the president ended his speech with a final call to fight and a final order to march to the Capitol. At 1:45, the president’s followers surged past Capitol Police, shouting: “this is a revolution.” Just after 2:10, an hour after President Trump ended his speech, the insurrectionist mob overwhelmed Capitol security and made it inside the halls of Congress. Because the truth is, this attack never would have happened but for Donald Trump. And so they came, draped in Trump’s flag, and used our flag — the American flag — to batter and to bludgeon. And at 2:30, I heard that terrifying banging on House chamber doors,” Dean said. “For the first time in more than 200 years, the seat of our government was ransacked on our watch.”
Feb 10, 3:46 pm
Senate takes short break
The Senate is taking another roughly 15-minute break before continuing with arguments from the House impeachment managers.
Feb 10, 3:44 pm
Plaskett describes disturbing social media posts leading up to Jan. 6
Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett, D-Virgin Islands, argued Trump’s repeated patterns and practices of violent incitement led to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and went through social media posts that she claimed were monitored by Trump officials, which spelled out his supporters’ plans for violence on his behalf.
“Donald Trump over many months cultivated violence, praised it and then when he saw the violence his supporters were capable of he channeled it to this big, wild, historic event,” Plaskett said. “He made sure that those violent people would literally march right here — to our steps — from the Ellipse to the Capitol to ‘stop the steal’ — his cavalry,” she called them.
She also said that a permit to march from the Ellipse to the Capitol was not authorized until Trump got involved in planning.
“The permit stated in no uncertain terms that the march from the Ellipse was not permitted. It was not until after President Trump and his team became involved in the planning that the march from the Ellipse to the Capitol came about,” she said.
Plaskett repeated, as most managers have, Trump’s Dec. 19 tweet to “save the date” before ticking through disturbing social media posts from Trump supporters leading up to the Jan. 6 event — showing the attack, at least for some, was meticulously planned out.
“They treated it as a war and they meant it,” Plaskett said. “His supporters took it as a call to arms to attack the Capitol. There were detailed posts of plans to attack online.”
She closed her remarks using Trump’s own words to his “cavalry” — once he had them assembled before him in Washington.
“When those thousands of people were standing in front of President Trump, ready to take orders and attack, this is what he said: ‘We’re going to the Capitol, and we fight. We fight like hell, and if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore,"” Plaskett said. “And that’s why this is different, and that’s why he must be convicted and disqualified.”
Feb 10, 3:38 pm
Inside the chamber, exhibits capture senators’ attention
Inside the Senate chamber, some senators have been listening intently and taking notes, while others chatted with each other or moved in and out of the chamber.
One moment when everyone in the chamber seemed to turn to pay attention — including Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., up in the gallery and those on the floor who were otherwise distracted: When House manager Rep. Joe Neguse quoted rioters saying they were inspired by Trump. Neguse showed slides of tweets and news stories and played clips of video.
After this moment played out and Neguse turned it over to Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, there was a lot of shuffling in the chamber and a number of senators got up to go to their respective cloakrooms.
Two of Trump’s staunchest allies left the floor to confer: Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., rose and tapped Ted Cruz, R-Texas, on the shoulder. They then stood in the cloakroom, in view of reporters through the glass in the doors, and spoke for several minutes.
Of all senators taking notes, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., was the most notable — he voted with Democrats Tuesday night and said he was approaching the trial as an impartial juror. He wrote vigorously and almost unceasingly until a break was called.
Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., also took notes on a stack of small notecards. When videos of protesters shouting “stop the steal” were shown by House managers, almost all of the members looked up at the screen. The senators seemed less interested during videos of president Trump.
Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., read a tweet of Trump’s that mentioned Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sens. John Thune, R-S.D., and John Cornyn, R-Texas., by name. When the tweet was read, Cornyn looked directly at Thune. But Thune stared straight ahead at the screen. McConnell was stoic and remained still.
-ABC News’ Allison Pecorin and Kathrine Faulders
Feb 10, 3:08 pm
Plaskett says Trump ‘fanned the flame of violence — and it worked’
Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett, D-Virgin Islands, was tasked with arguing the case for how Trump was aware of the violence on Jan. 6 and amplified supporters’ plans for insurrection instead of calling them off, a pattern the president had already established in his repeated refusals to directly denounce violence in his presidency, she said.
“Some of you have said there’s no way the president could have known how violent the mob would be. That is false, because the violence, it was foreseeable,” Plaskett said. “The violence that occurred on Jan. 6 — like the attack itself — did not just appear. You’ll see that Donald Trump knew the people he was inciting. He saw the violence that they were capable of, and he had a pattern and practice of praising and encouraging that violence never, ever condemning it.”
“This violent attack was not planned in secret,” Plaskett continued, noting many rioters — whom she referred to as “Trump’s cavalry” — were proud to be a part of the attack. “The insurgents believed that they were doing the duty of their president. They were following his orders, and so they publicized it openly, loudly, proudly — exact blueprints of how the attack would be made.”
“He fanned the flame of violence and it worked,” she said. “There are many examples where the president engaged in this pattern and I’m just going to walk you through a few of them.”
Plaskett went on to tick through instances to support the managers’ case including Trump calling on the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by” in the first 2020 presidential debate — instead of denouncing them — and tweeting videos praising his supporters attempting to drive a Biden campaign bus off the road ahead of the election.
Lead impeachment manager Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., in introducing Plaskett called it a moment of “special pride” because Plaslett is not only the first delegate ever to be on a team of impeachment managers in American history, but she is also but also Raskin’s former law student.
Feb 10, 2:46 pm
Louisiana GOP criticized Cassidy over his vote Tuesday
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., is facing criticism from his home state party for his vote siding with Democrats in favor of the constitutionality of impeachment.
Sen. Cassidy says he voted in favor of the constitutionality of Trump’s impeachment trial because of the “compelling argument” by House managers.
“Pres. Trump’s team was disorganized, they did everything they could but to talk about the question at hand.” https://t.co/gdGr2qrbwk pic.twitter.com/7PtHS3MEhC
— ABC News (@ABC) February 10, 2021
“The Republican Party of Louisiana is profoundly disappointed by Senator Bill Cassidy’s vote on the constitutionality of the impeachment trial now underway against former President, now private citizen, Donald J. Trump,” the statement says.
Cassidy told reporters Tuesday night that he is an “impartial juror,” and he voted in favor of the constitutionality after the compelling argument made by House managers.
The statement from the Louisiana GOP further echoes what many Trump backers, in the lead-up to the trial, have said — that impeaching a private citizen “is not only an unconstitutional act, but also an attack on the very foundation of American democracy.”
-ABC News’ Alisa Wiersema
Feb 10, 2:31 pm
Rep. Dean chronicles Trump’s pressure campaign on officials
Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Penn., one of the House impeachment managers, focused her remarks on Trump’s specific efforts to try to overturn the 2020 election results.
“To be clear, not a single court, not a single judge agreed that the election results were invalid or should be invalidated,” Dean said of the 62 post-election legal challenges she said were brought on behalf of Trump.
Dean noted that Trump’s attempts to thwart the election ultimately ended up with him “pressuring the Justice Department” and “bullying his own vice president.”
She went on to outline how Trump’s pressure campaign on election officials, including Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, led to death threats against him and his family. She also noted how Trump “doubled down” on the attacks instead of easing up when the deaths threats went public.
“Let that sink in,” Dean said. “A Republican public servant doing his job, whose family had just received death threats, and the president of the United States labeled him an ‘enemy of the people."”
Going on to play the recording of Trump asking Raffensperger to find the precise number of the votes he needed to win, Dean highlighted the impact of call.
“This is the president of the United States telling a secretary of state that if he does not find votes he will face criminal penalties,” Dean said. “Senators, we must not become numb to this. Trump did this across state after state. So often, so loudly, so publicly.”
“Public officials like you and me receive death threats and calls threatening criminal penalties all because Trump wanted to remain in power,” she added.
Feb 10, 2:26 pm
Sen. Lindsey Graham spoke to Trump, who thinks his legal defense will get better
Sen. Lindsey Graham. R-S.C., told reporters he spoke to Trump Tuesday night and again Wednesday and that Trump didn’t express anger to him about the performance of his legal team, but Graham said he told Trump that “his team will get better.”
Graham reassured Trump that “the case is over. It’s just a matter of getting the final verdict now.”
“Bottom line is I think his team will do better, can do better. I think (Schoen), did a pretty good job and bottom line is I reinforced to the president, the case is over,” Graham said. “It’s just a matter of getting the final verdict now.”
Graham also offered his estimate of how many Senate Republicans he thinks will vote against conviction.
“I think the vote for ‘not guilty’ will probably grow beyond 44,” Graham said.
-ABC News’ Trish Turner
Feb 10, 2:15 pm
Senate trial resumes
The Senate has returned from a roughly 15-minute break to resume opening arguments from the House impeachment managers.
Feb 10, 2:15 pm
What does it take to convict?: VIDEO
As Trump faces an unprecedented second impeachment trial, here’s how the impeachment process works.
Feb 10, 2:12 pm
Swalwell reads Trump tweets pressuring GOP senators to stop certification
Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., in helping to lay out opening arguments for House impeachment managers, said that Trump’s conduct leading up to Jan. 6 was “deliberate, planned and premeditated,” matching the criteria for prosecuting a violent crime.
“This was not one speech, not one tweet. It was dozens in rapid succession with the specific details,” Swalwell said, displaying tweets and recordings. “In fact, when he had assembled his inflamed mob in D.C., he warned us that he knew what was coming.”
“This was one of his dozens of statements on Twitter in the hours leading up to the attack, ‘I hope the Democrats and even more importantly the weak and ineffective RINO section of the Republican party are looking at the thousands of people pouring into D.C. They won’t stand for a landslide victory to be stolen. @Senatemajorityleader. @Johncornyn. @Senatejohnthune,"” Swawell said, appearing to look at those senators while he said their names. “He tags senators to pressure you to stop this.”
Rep. Eric Swalwell: “He built this mob over many months with repeated messaging until they believed that they had been robbed of their vote… and incited them so he could use them to steal the election for himself.” https://t.co/oSkbMMnLcI #impeachmenttrial pic.twitter.com/RLidptFObM
— ABC News (@ABC) February 10, 2021
“He built this mob over many months with repeated messaging until they believed that they had been robbed of their vote, and they would do anything to stop the certification,” Swalwell continued. “He made them believe that their victory was stolen and incited them so he could use them to steal the election for himself.”
Swalwell, attempting to appeal to Republican senators, also made a point to say Trump’s actions were different than those senators in the room who raised election concerns.
Feb 10, 2:10 pm
Inside the chamber, exhibits capture attention of senators
A pool of reporters inside the Senate chamber observed that nearly every seat was filled when the House managers arguments began at noon and that almost every senator wore a mask. One notable absence was Sen. John Hawley, R-Mo.
Some senators, such as Sens. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and and Pat Toomey, R-Penn., intently took notes as the House impeachment managers made this assertions. Though reporters noted that the vast majority of senators appeared to be at least partially engaged with the content arguments from Rep. Raskin, D-Md., and Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colo.
During the prayer and pledge, as Chaplain Barry Black said, “during this impeachment trial, give our lawmakers the gift of discernment so that they will know truth from falsehood,” several seats on both sides of the aisle were empty. Republicans who were there bowed their heads while standing over their desks, and Democrats, like Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J. and Maize Hirono, D-Hawaii, were gathered in the back of the chamber.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., sat on the Republican side talking to Sens. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and Toomey before going to her seat on the other side of the aisle. After the pledge, once Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., stepped up to the microphone, Democrats and Republicans filed in from the cloakrooms — some of them still chewing underneath their masks.
Some Republicans came in late, like Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Roy Blunt, R-Mo., Susan Collins, R-Maine, and James Risch, R-Idaho. Hawley, when he came in alone, watched from the gallery above. He was seen flipping through manila folders and — at one point — put his feet up on the desk. He rarely looked at the arguments on the Senate floor.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell sat with his hands folded in front of him.
When House managers used video exhibits, reporters noted that many GOP senators took notice. During some videos, they described every GOP senator turning and watching the exhibit or reading the exhibits for an extended period of time.
-ABC News’ Katherine Faulders
Feb 10, 1:41 pm
Senate takes short break
The Senate is taking a 15-minute break following the start of opening arguments from the House impeachment managers.
Feb 10, 1:38 pm
Swalwell argues Trump could have stopped the attack
Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., laid out the framework for how Trump, in the days after the election continued to falsely tell his supporters the election was “rigged” and “stolen,” using a series of Trump’s own tweets and remarks to make his point.
“Just like to build a fire, it doesn’t just start with the flames, Donald Trump for months and months assembled the tend, the kindling, threw on logs for fuel to have his supporters believe that the only way their victory would be lost was if it was stolen. That way, President Trump was ready if he lost the election to light the match,” Swalwell said.
Rep. Eric Swalwell on former Pres. Trump’s false election claims: “He had absolutely no support for his claims. But that wasn’t the point. He wanted to make his base angrier and angrier. And to make them angry, he was willing to say anything.” https://t.co/2hUgAMeV0H pic.twitter.com/YibCxCl26T
— ABC News (@ABC) February 10, 2021
Swalwell went on to remind how some election officials across the country were berated in the weeks following the election and played video of protesters surrounding the secretary of state’s house in Michigan.
“There is plenty of evidence to show words have consequences — and if he wanted to stop it, he could stop it,” Swalwell said. “President Trump was never shy about using his platforms to try and stop something. He could have very easily told his supporters, stop threatening officials, stop GOP going to their homes, stop it with the threats. But each time he didn’t.”
Swalwell said Trump did the “polar opposite” of what anyone else in that chamber would have done had they lost an election. He started running ads falsely claiming election fraud and spent $50 million from his legal defense fund to amplify his message, Swalwell said.
“These ads were designed to run all the way up to Jan. 5, and then, they stopped. This was purposeful and deliberate planning to target his base to rally around that day. And it wasn’t just his ads. He continued to use his own platform. He told his supporters who truly believed their victory had been stolen and who were ready to fight when, where and how to stop what he believed was a steal,” Swalwell said.
Feb 10, 1:23 pm
Castro asserts baseless election fraud claims provoked riots
Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, one of the House impeachment managers, asserted that Trump’s baseless claims of election fraud well before and after the election provoked his base and led to the riots on Jan 6.
“In tweet after tweet, he made sweeping allegations about election fraud that couldn’t possibly be true. But that was the point. He didn’t care if the claims were true,” Castro said. “He wanted to make sure that his supporters were angry, like the election was being ripped away from them.”
Castro argued that the president’s “big lie” about election fraud fanned the flames of anger in his base, leading to the riots.
House impeachment manager Joaquin Castro: “The most combustible thing you can do in a democracy is convince people that an election doesn’t count, that their voice and their vote don’t count…especially if what you’re saying are lies.” https://t.co/pJy5JaDq1D #impeachmenttrial pic.twitter.com/OPPJBPMatb
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) February 10, 2021
“There’s a saying that a lie can travel halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to put on its shoes. And that was before the internet,” Castro said. “The point of that saying is that a lie can do incredible damage and destruction, and that’s especially true when that lie is told by the most powerful person on earth, our commander-in-chief, the president of the United States.”
Feb 10, 1:14 pm
House manager calls Trump’s speech a ‘call to arms’
House manager Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colo., presented three categories in his remarks to illustrate the impeachment managers’ case that Trump “planted the seeds” in the lead up to the insurrection and used the Jan. 6 rally as a final “call to arms.”
“He didn’t condemn the violence,” Neguse said of Trump. “He incited it further. And he got more specific. He didn’t just tell them to ‘fight like hell.’ He told them how, where and when. He made sure they had advance notice — 18 days advance notice. He sent his save the date for Jan. 6. He told them to march to the Capitol and fight like hell.”
“He incited it. It was foreseeable. And again, you don’t have to take my word for it,” Neguse said, before playing a CNN clip of Trump’s former chief of staff John Kelly saying it’s “no surprise” the attack happened after Trump’s actions.
Neguse reminded that five people died from the attack, dozens were injured but more harm was hoped to be inflicted on some, according to disturbing criminal complaints in the aftermath.
“We learn that members of this group said, I’m going to, quote — they would’ve killed Mike Pence if given the chance. In another, we learn of a tweet in real time while they were in the building stating, we broke into the Capitol,” Neguse said.
On Trump repeating at his Jan. 6 rally to “stop the steal,” Neguse said to the senators, “Of course, each of you heard those words before. So had the crowd. The president had spent months telling his supporters that the election had been stolen. And he used his speech to incite them further, to inflame them, to ‘stop the steal,’ to stop the certification of the election results.”
Of the mob, Neguse said, “They did it all in plain sight — proudly, openly and loudly. Because they believed, they truly believed, that they were doing this for him.”
House impeachment manager Joe Neguse on threats against election officials: When Donald Trump “saw firsthand the violence that his conduct was creating—he didn’t stop it. He didn’t condemn the violence. He incited it further. And he got more specific.” https://t.co/K4aQT8zx7B pic.twitter.com/VqJYtbILt1
— ABC News (@ABC) February 10, 2021
Neguse went on to ask what would have happened if Trump had said “stop the attack” with “even half as much force as he said ‘stop the steal."”
“How many lives would we have saved?” Neguse said.
Feb 10, 12:53 pm
Neguse cites Trump’s false claims of election fraud as incitement
House manager Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colo., discussed Trump’s speech ahead of the Jan 6 riot as one of the moments of inciting the mob, though he said that false claims about election fraud the president made long before contributed to the riots.
Rep. Joe Neguse on Capitol rioters: “They did it all in plain sight—proudly, openly and loudly. Because they believed, they truly believed, that they were doing this for [Pres. Trump
“Now, some have said that president Trump’s remarks, his speech on Jan. 6th, was just a speech. Well, let me ask you this. When in our history has a speech led thousands of people to storm our nation’s capital with weapons, to scale the walls, break windows, kill a Capitol Police officer? This was not just a speech,” Neguse said. “It didn’t just happen.”
The House managers showed video exhibits predating the election and predating the riots on Jan. 6 in which Trump asserted to his base, false claims that the election would be stolen from him.
“He was telling Americans that their vote had been stolen, and in America our vote is our voice,” Neguse said. “So his false claims about election fraud, that was the drumbeat being used to inspire, instigate and ignite them — to anger them.”
The House managers argued that Trump’s remarks were an incitement to violence on Jan 6.
“He didn’t condemn the violence. He incited it further. And he got more specific. He didn’t just tell them to fight like hell. He told them how, where and when. He made sure they had advanced notice — 18 days advance notice. He sent his save the date for Jan. 6,” Neguse said. “He told them to march to the Capitol and fight like hell.”
Feb 10, 12:43 pm
Raskin blasts portrayal of Trump by defense team
Lead impeachment manager Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., opening arguments on Wednesday, projected confidence in the House managers’ case which he said should compel the Senate to convict the former president and ensure he cannot run for federal office again.
“We believe that the managers’ comprehensive and meticulous presentation will lead to one powerful and irresistible conclusion: Donald Trump committed a massive crime against our Constitution and our people, and the worst violation of the presidential oath of office in the history of the United States of America,” Raskin sad. “For this, he was impeached by the House of Representatives and he must be convicted by the United States Senate.”
Striking back against arguments raised by the defense team Tuesday, Raskin blasted Trump’s attorneys for suggesting Trump cannot be convicted or disqualified from office after leaving — noting a president’s oath of office goes through noon on Jan. 20 and that there is no “January exception.”
“Portraying Trump as a guy on the street being punished for his ideas is a false description of his actions, his intent, and the role that he played on Jan. 6 when he willfully incited an insurrection — an insurrectionary mob to riot at the Capitol,” Raskin said.
Lead House impeachment manager Rep. Jamie Raskin: “If you’re president of the United States, you’ve chosen a side with your oath of office—and if you break it, we can impeach, convict, remove and disqualify you permanently from holding any office.” https://t.co/K4aQT8zx7B pic.twitter.com/i9S4SXMHLQ
— ABC News (@ABC) February 10, 2021
Raskin said the political leanings of the group have “nothing to do with” why they impeached the president but warned if Trump, as the “singular” person responsible, is not held accountable, then it could happen again.
“It makes no difference what the ideological content of the mob was,” Raskin said. “If we license and forgive incitement to violent insurrection by militant Trump followers this week, you can be sure there will be a whole bunch of new ideological flavors coming soon.”
Feb 10, 11:49 am
House impeachment managers to begin presenting their case
Trump’s second impeachment trial — the first for a former president — resumes Wednesday at noon with opening arguments from House impeachment managers who will begin making their case that Trump incited an insurrection.
They have up to 16 hours to convince 17 Republicans to join the Democrats in voting to convict Trump and bar him from federal office. To compel senators, and the American public, they are expected to use “never-seen-before” video footage of the attack, aides to the House impeachment managers said.
On Tuesday, the group, led by Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., presented a 13-minute montage video of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, interspersed with Trump’s remarks at the rally outside the White House, and argued acquitting Trump would allow a “January exception” to the Constitution not intended by the Framers.
Trump’s defense team argued that the trial was unconstitutional because Trump is now a private citizen and that moving forward would encourage “snap impeachments.” However, lead attorney, Bruce Castor, first setting the tone for the trial, spent most of his 48 minutes on the Senate floor meandering through topics that weren’t related to the constitutional questions facing the Senate.
Trump, watching from Mar-a-Lago, was unhappy with Castor’s performance, sources told ABC News.
After the first day’s arguments, in an unexpected move, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., joined Democrats and five other Republicans in voting that the trial is constitutional, changing his vote from an earlier motion on the issue, citing the Democrats’ “compelling argument.”
John Cornyn, R-Texas, and other Republicans also criticized the performance of Trump’s legal team, but the majority of Republicans, 44-56, voted not to move forward with the proceedings, signaling it’s all but certain Democrats won’t have the votes to convict Trump. At Trump’s impeachment trial last year, only one Republican, Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, voted with Democrats.
Feb 10, 11:48 am
Fulton County DA opens criminal probe into Trump’s efforts to overturn Ga. election results
The district attorney’s office in Fulton County, Georgia, has formally launched a criminal probe into Trump’s efforts to overturn his election loss in the state, after Trump was heard in a January phone call pleading with Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to help him “find 11,780 votes,” the exact number he needed to win Georgia.
The launching of the investigation was revealed in a letter from District Attorney Fani Willis to state officials asking them to preserve any documents potentially related to the 2020 general election, “with particular care given to set aside and preserve those that may be evidence of attempts to influence the actions of persons who were administering” it, which would include Trump’s Jan. 2 phone call with the secretary. The existence of the letter was first reported by the New York Times and obtained by ABC News.
“This investigation includes, but is not limited to, potential violations of Georgia law prohibiting the solicitation of election fraud, the making of false statements to state and local governmental bodies, conspiracy, racketeering, violation of oath of office and any involvement in violence or threats related to the election’s administration,” Willis writes in the letter.
Feb 10, 10:44 am
Biden to deliver remarks to Department of Defense personnel
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will meet with newly-confirmed Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other senior military and civilian leadership at the Pentagon Wednesday afternoon.
After the meeting, Biden, Harris and Austin are expected to give remarks to Department of Defense personnel.
Then, Biden and Harris, joined by Austin — the first Black defense secretary — will tour the African Americans in Service Corridor at the Pentagon.
Feb 10, 10:07 am
Impeachment managers plan to use ‘never seen before’ footage: Senior aides
Senior aides to the House impeachment managers said they plan to show “never before seen” security camera footage offering a view of the Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot “that has never been published before.”
“We have the goods, we will be presenting the goods,” said a senior aide.
When asked about whether they had body camera footage from law enforcement, aides dodged the specifics, but said it would provide “new insight into the extreme violence and risk” people faced on Jan. 6.
They plan to try the case against Trump like a criminal prosecution with “a beginning, middle and an end.”
“The Trump team really has one strategy, and that is to talk about anything and everything else, besides the President’s actions on that day in the lead up,” an aide said.
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