Managers show rioters violently attacking Capitol to begin trial
Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the lead impeachment manager, opened his presentation with a lengthy video showing how protestors overran police and ransacked the Capitol, forcing lawmakers in the House and Senate to flee their chambers.
The video was an early sign about how the House impeachment managers intend to confront senators with the violent events of the riot and charge that Trump is culpable for inciting the insurrectionists that attacked the Capitol and placed their lives in danger. The opening session of the trial was a debate on the constitutionality of the trial itself, but Democrats quickly turned their attention to the harrowing attack on the Capitol itself.
The Democrats video concluded with Trump’s deleted tweet as the riot was unfolding, saying that “these are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away.”
“If that’s not an impeachable offense, then there’s no such thing,” Raskin said.
Trump’s team will have two hours to respond to the managers later Tuesday before the Senate will vote on the constitutionality of the trial for a former president.
The aides would not tip their hand on whether they might call witnesses at the trial, but they told reporters that the managers’ argument would be a detailed and compelling case that leaves no doubt about Trump’s guilt. The managers planned to present new evidence, the aides said, but they would not elaborate.
The case would be like a “violent crime criminal prosecution,” one aide said.
Trump’s lawyers have countered that Trump did not incite the rioters, and that his speech about the election was protected by the First Amendment.
Democratic senators came away from a conference call Tuesday morning with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer under the belief that a final vote on conviction could occur Sunday or Monday if there are no witnesses, according to multiple senators on the call.
The House’s lead impeachment manager, Jamie Raskin of Maryland, will kick off the House’s two-hour presentation, followed by Joe Neguse of Colorado and David Cicilline of Rhode Island, the aides said.
The House aides argued that once the Senate votes on Tuesday on the matter, which only needs a majority vote, the constitutional question should be considered settled like any other trial motion.
But while Democrats are sure to win this vote, the constitutionality question looms over the entirety of the trial, because Republicans have coalesced around the argument as a reason to acquit Trump. Conviction requires two-thirds majority, or at least 17 Republican senators to join all members of the Democratic caucus.
Democrats have argued there’s plenty of precedent to hold the trial for Trump, who was impeached by the House while he was still in office. They’ve pointed to legal scholars from both sides of the political spectrum saying the Senate has jurisdiction to convict Trump, as well as the Senate precedent holding trials previously for former officials who were impeached.
Trump’s lawyers and many Republican senators, however, say they believe the trial is unconstitutional because Trump is no longer president.
Last month, five Republican senators voted against Paul’s motion to dismiss the trial, and it’s not clear if there have been any shifts. In a key sign showing the hurdles for convicting the former President, Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt, a member of Senate GOP leadership, said Monday he believes the proceedings are unconstitutional and he’s seen nothing that will change his mind so far.
Blunt said he will vote the same way Tuesday on the constitutional question as he will on the ultimate acquittal vote.
“I don’t know of anyone that their mind is not made up ahead of the impeachment trial,” said Sen. James Lankford, an Oklahoma Republican. “The first question on the issue of constitutionality, that drives a lot of it and everything else. I think people are pretty locked down.”
Unlike the last trial, senators will not be required to sit at their desk throughout the proceedings, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. They will be able to instead watch from the gallery above the Senate chamber or in a room off the floor that will show the trial on television. Masks will not be required on the floor, unlike on the House floor, but the expectation is the managers and Trump’s lawyers will wear masks unless they are speaking.
Senators are not allowed to speak during the trial as jurors.
After Tuesday’s debate and vote, the House managers will have 16 hours over two days to make their presentation beginning Wednesday, followed by two days for Trump’s lawyers. Senators will then have four hours to ask questions submitted in writing to both sides, and the Senate could debate and vote on whether to subpoena witnesses, though it remains unclear whether any will be sought at trial.
This story and headline have been updated with additional developments Tuesday.
CNN’s Ryan Nobles contributed to this report.
