Democrats to open Trump impeachment trial by
recounting Capitol attack
Impeachment managers will present scene in harrowing
detail using video and audio recordings
Lauren
Gambino in Washington
@laurenegambino
Mon 8 Feb
2021 23.06 GMT
House
impeachment managers will open their prosecution of Donald Trump for
“incitement of insurrection” by recounting the deadly assault on the US Capitol
in harrowing and cinematic detail, rekindling for senators the chaos and trauma
they experienced on 6 January.
The
historic second impeachment trial will open on Tuesday, on the Senate floor
that was invaded by rioters, with a debate over the constitutionality of the
proceedings. In a brief filed on Monday, Trump’s lawyers assailed the case as
“political theater” and argued that the Senate “lacks the constitutional
jurisdiction” to try a former president after he has left office – an argument
Democrats promptly rejected.
Exactly one
week after the Capitol assault, Trump became the first president to be
impeached twice by the House of Representatives. This week, he will become the
first former president to stand trial. It would take 17 Republicans joining all
Democrats in the Senate to find Trump guilty, making conviction highly
unlikely.
Nevertheless,
when opening arguments begin later this week, House Democrats will try to force
senators to see the assault on the Capitol as the culmination of Trump’s long
campaign to overturn the result of the election he lost to Joe Biden.
Relying on
troves of video and audio recordings, impeachment managers, led by the Maryland
congressman Jamie Raskin, will try to marshal the anger and outrage many
members of Congress expressed in the aftermath of the riot, which sought to prevent
Congress from formalizing Biden’s victory based on Trump’s false claim that the
election had been “stolen”.
In a
78-page brief submitted to the Senate on Monday, Trump’s lawyers laid out a
two-pronged rebuttal, also arguing that Trump bore no responsibility for the
Capitol attack and that his rhetoric was protected under the first amendment.
“The
intellectual dishonesty and factual vacuity put forth by the House managers in
their trial memorandum only serve to further punctuate the point that this
impeachment proceeding was never about seeking justice,” his lawyers, Bruce
Castor, David Schoen and Michael van der Veen, wrote, accusing the Democratic
lawmakers of attempting to “callously harness the chaos of the moment for their
own political gain”.
Yet several
of his supporters who were arrested in connection with the Capitol assault have
directly implicated Trump in court filings and media interviews, saying they
were acting at his behest.
In their
response, the House managers said Trump’s defense was “wholly without merit”
and called the evidence proving Trump not only incited the riot but failed to
take action once it was under way “overwhelming”.
“His
incitement of insurrection against the United States government – which
disrupted the peaceful transfer of power – is the most grievous constitutional
crime ever committed by a president,” they wrote. “There must be no doubt that
such conduct is categorically unacceptable.”
The first
clash between Trump’s legal team and the House impeachment managers will occur
on Tuesday, when they will have four hours to debate and vote on the question
of whether the constitution provides for a former president to be tried by the
Senate for “high crimes and misdemeanors”.
If a simple
majority agree the proceedings are legitimate under the constitution, as is
expected, the chamber will then proceed to opening arguments on Wednesday,
according to an agreement reached on Monday afternoon between the Senate
majority leader, Chuck Schumer, and the Republican leader, Mitch McConnell.
While
constitutional scholars across the political spectrum and a majority of
senators say they believe the trial is constitutional, many Republicans have
seized on the procedural argument as a way to justify support for acquitting
Trump without appearing to condone his behavior.
All but
five Republican senators voted to dismiss the trial as unconstitutional. Yet
Chuck Cooper, a leading conservative lawyer, rejected that view in a Wall
Street Journal op-ed published on Sunday.
The trial
begins just more than a year after Trump was first impeached, for pressuring
Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden’s family. He was acquitted by the Senate.
Americans
are now more supportive of convicting Trump, according to an ABC News/Ipsos
poll released on Sunday. It found that 56% of Americans believe the Senate
should convict Trump and bar him from future office.
But with
acquittal widely expected, Democrats and Republicans expect a speedy conclusion
to the trial.
Under the
terms of the agreement by the Senate’s leaders, the prosecution and defense
will have up to 16 hours each to present their arguments to the Senate,
beginning at noon on Wednesday. After listening silently to both parties,
senators will have four hours to ask questions. House managers were also given
the option for a debate and vote on calling witnesses, a major point of
contention during Trump’s first trial.
The former
president declined their request to testify voluntarily at the trial. It
remains unclear if the managers will try to subpoena Trump or any other
witnesses.
The trial
was set to break Friday evening for the Jewish Sabbath at the request of
Trump’s defense team, and resume Sunday. But Schoen told senators in a letter
late Monday he was concerned about a delay and withdrew the request. The
schedule will likely be adjusted, according to a person who spoke to the
Associated Press and was granted anonymity to discuss the planning.
The
managers have indicated that they intend to lay out a comprehensive case,
tracing Trump’s extraordinary efforts to reverse his defeat, including a call
in which he pressured the Georgia secretary of state to “find” enough votes to
overturn Biden’s victory there. After being dismissed by the courts and
Republican election officials, Trump turned his attention to the certification
vote on Capitol Hill, encouraging supporters to attend a rally held to protest
against the result, the managers will argue.
At that
event, Trump implored them to “fight like hell” and march to the Capitol to
register their discontent.
“He has no
valid excuse or defense for his actions,” they wrote. “And his efforts to
escape accountability are entirely unavailing. As charged in the article of
impeachment, President Trump violated his oath of office and betrayed the
American people.”
The Associated Press contributed reporting
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