WASHINGTON (AP) – Relaxing security video of last month’s deadly uprising at the US Capitol, including rioters threatening House President Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence, became a major figure in Donald Trump’s indictment while lawmakers are pursuing the case, summing up their opening arguments as to why Trump should be found guilty of inciting the siege.
The House continues Thursday with Trump’s lawyers to tackle their defense by the end of the week. Democrats plan to use their remaining hours’ arguments to explain the physical and mental damage caused by the attack, discuss Trump’s lack of action as it unfolds, and make a final submission on the relevant legal issues, according to assistants who worked on the prosecution team. The assistants were given anonymity to anticipate the arguments.
The footage shown during the trial, many of which had never been seen before, included a video of the mob entering the building, troubled members of Congress seeking solace, rioters fighting hand in hand with police and sound of police officers in Capitol pleading for support. It highlighted how dangerously close the rioters came to the country’s leaders, shifting the focus of the trial from an academic debate on the Constitution to a raw version of the January 6 attack.
From the day of the riot, videos of the siege have been circulating, but the graphic composition shown to the senators on Wednesday came down to a more complete story, which is told for a moment again about one of the country’s most worrying days. . It provides fresh details about the attackers, scenes of police heroism and whispering of staff.
The footage included rioters wandering around the halls with ‘Hang Mike Pence’, some equipped with combat equipment. Outside, the mob set up a temporary gallows. And at one point, police were alerted to the shooting of a San Diego woman, Ashli Babbitt, while the mob was trying to break through the doors near the living room.
Pence, who had a session to ratify Joe Biden’s election victory over Trump – and thus deserved Trump’s censorship – was shown rushed to safety, where he was just 100 meters from the rioters in an office with his family hide. Pelosi was seen being evacuated from the complex when her staff hid behind doors in her suite offices.
While most of the Senate jurors seem to have decided what Trump’s acquittal probably did, they got stuck while the shocking video was played in the room. Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Lankford bows his head at one point while another GOP colleague puts his hand comfortably on his arm.
“They did it because Donald Trump sent them on this mission,” Stacey Plaskett, the Democratic delegate representing the Virgin Islands, told them.
“President Trump has put a target on their backs and his mob has broken into the Capitol to hunt them down.”
Senator Mitt Romney, R-Utah, saw himself in the footage and rushed into a hallway to avoid the crowd. Romney said he did not realize that Officer Eugene Goodman, who was praised as a hero for luring rioters out of the Senate doors, was the one to lead him to safety.
“It was overwhelming and emotional,” he said.
Earlier in the day, prosecutors argued their case by methodically linking Trump’s attacks on the election to the violence that erupted when hundreds of loyalists stormed the building. “Trump did nothing to stop the violence and looked on with ‘cheerfulness,'” the Democrats said as the mob walked through the building. Five people were killed.
The purpose of the presentation was not to portray Trump as an innocent bystander, but rather as the ‘instigator’ who spent months spreading falsehoods about the election. Using provocative language intended to match the horror of the day, they compared Trump to a fire chief who wanted to see fires spread, not put out, and they compared his supporters to a cavalry in war.
“This attack would never have happened, but it would have happened to Donald Trump,” said Madeleine Dean, one of the accusation managers, when she choked on emotion. “And so they came, draped in Trump’s flag, and used our flag, the American flag, to loot and blow.”
Thursday marks the second and final full day of the House’s arguments, with the Trump legal team taking the desk for up to 16 hours Friday and Saturday to lay out their defense. The difficulty faced by Trump’s defense team became clear at first when, unlike any other, they relied on the trial process, rather than the former president’s case.
Prosecutors on Wednesday aimed to refute arguments that Trump’s attorneys centralized in their defense, arguing, for example, that there was no protection for the first amendment to encourage the president of the rioters. His advocates are likely to blame the rioters themselves for the violence, but the Democrats’ submission made it clear that they consider Trump ultimately responsible.
Trump is the first president to face an indictment after leaving office and the first to be charged twice. He is charged with ‘inciting rebellion’, although his lawyers say his words were protected by the Constitution’s first amendment and only a form of speech. Prosecutors say Trump’s words were not just freedom of speech, but part of “the big lie” – his relentless attempts to cast doubt on the election results. It started long before the votes were tabled, prompting his followers to stop ‘stealing’, although there was no evidence of significant fraud.
As the House of Representatives holds it accountable to Trump, the defense has argued that the constitution does not allow accusations from a president who is not in office. Although the Senate rejected the argument during the vote to proceed to the trial, the legal issue may resonate with Republicans in the Senate who are eager to acquit Trump without considering his behavior.
While six Republicans voted with Democrats Tuesday to proceed with the trial, the 56-44 vote was far from the two-thirds threshold of 67 votes needed for conviction.
Minds does not appear to be changing Wednesday, not even after senators watched the graphic video.
“I’ve said many times that the president’s rhetoric has been overheated at one time, but it’s not a referendum on whether you agree with everything the president says or tweets,” said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. said. the attempt to challenge the Electoral College that confirms the election. “It’s rather a legal process.”
It appears unlikely the Home Prosecutor will call witnesses, and Trump has denied a request to testify. The trial is expected to continue this weekend.
Trump’s second indictment is expected to deviate from the long, complicated case of a year ago. In that case, Trump is accused of privately pressuring Ukraine to oust Biden, then a Democratic rival for the presidency. It can be over in half the time.
The Democratic-led House quickly prosecuted the president, one week after the attack.