Trump heads to trial again Feb. 9

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump endangered the lives of all members of Congress when he aimed a mob of supporters “like a loaded cannon” at the U.S. Capitol, House Democrats said Tuesday in making their most detailed case yet for why the former president should be convicted and permanently barred from office. Trump denied the allegations and called the trial unconstitutional.

The dueling filings offer the first public glimpse of arguments to be presented to the Senate beginning next week.

The Democratic legal brief forcefully linked Trump’s baseless efforts to overturn the results of the presidential election to the deadly riot at the Capitol, saying he bears “unmistakable” blame for actions that threatened American democracy. It argued that he must be found guilty of inciting the siege.

Trump’s lawyers denied he had incited the riot by disputing the election results or by exhorting his followers to “fight like hell.” They said he was permitted by the First Amendment to challenge his loss as “suspect” and that the trial itself was unconstitutional now that Trump has left the White House.

The impeachment trial, Trump’s second, begins in earnest Feb. 9.