Trump impeachment trial opens with video of mob attack on Capitol
WASHINGTON – Donald Trump’s historic second impeachment trial opened on Tuesday with a video showing a mob storming the Capitol after his exhortation to “fight like hell” to overturn his defeat – and a solid bipartisan rejection of his claims that he’s no longer subject to the Senate’s jurisdiction.
That vote was 56-44, with a half-dozen Republicans agreeing that even a former president can be tried for alleged misdeeds.
House managers used the footage to condemn Trump with his own words on
MJan. 6 and to remind senators of the terror as rioters scuffled with police, sent lawmakers into hiding and briefly occupied the very chamber where they are sitting in judgment on whether Trump incited insurrection.
As a former president, Trump can’t be fired anymore. But the verdict will determine whether he can run for office ever again. It will color his legacy, affect his grip over the GOP in coming years, and set a precedent for future presidents.
“People’s eyes were gouged... . An officer lost three fingers that day,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-MD., the lead House manager, his voice breaking with emotion. “Senators, this cannot be our future. ...We cannot have presidents inciting and mobilizing mob violence against our government and our institutions because they refuse to accept the will of the people.”
David Schoen, Trump’s lead attorney, accused Democrats of trying to use their “insatiable lust for impeachment” as retribution for the
2016 election, and to prolong their own grip on Washington.
He decried an effort
“to eliminate Donald Trump from the American political scene and seeking to disenfranchise 74 million American voters” who supported him and share his vision of America.
“This trial will tear this country apart,” he argued, accusing Democrats of turning to Hollywood to “chill and horrify you” with a gratuitous video of events still fresh in memory.
“They don’t need to show you movies to show you that the riot happened.”
Democrats would need 17 Republicans to reach the two-thirds needed and after the first day of trial, only a half-dozen Republicans showed any willingness to convict, though Democrats aim also to turn public opinion against those who continue to stand by Trump.
The first day focused on the legality of the trial itself, with Trump’s lawyers insisting that as a private citizen, an ex-president is no longer subject to impeachment.
“Their argument is that if you committed an impeachable offense in your last few weeks in office, you do it with constitutional impunity,” Raskin argued.
Two weeks ago, the vote was 55-45 on an effort by Sen. Rand Paul, R-KY., to block the trial on grounds that Trump is no longer in office.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-maine, added her vote Tuesday to those of Sens. Mitt Romney of Utah, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Ben Sasse of Nebraska and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania.