Impeachment trial of Donald Trump continues: Live coverage #3

The House impeachment managers kicked off day one of Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial with a searing video of the Capitol attack, reminding senators of the stakes of the trial—and of the danger they had faced—at the beginning of an argument about the constitutionality of impeaching someone after he’s left office. Day two begins the actual arguments for convicting Trump, and it’s expected to bring more video evidence of what Trump incited and how he incited it.

The arguments will be presented by the nine House impeachment managers, led by Rep. Jamie Raskin. They have 16 hours to make the case over two days before Trump’s alternately incompetent and scary defense has the same amount of time. You can watch on most television news channels or their websites, and Daily Kos will have live coverage.

Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 · 9:17:20 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

As we return from break, Rep. Plaskett and Rep. Swalwell are working their way through the actual events of the assault on the Capitol, including some video of events on that day. This may be the portion in which we see security video that hasn’t previously been seen by the public.

Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 · 9:24:52 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Definitely getting some locations and views that we haven’t seen before.

Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 · 9:27:39 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Second person into the Capitol was a man dressed in body armor and tactical gear.

Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 · 9:33:42 PM +00:00 · Joan McCarter

As House impeachment managers show the video of Eugene Goodman's heroic actions, Eugene Goodman is actually guarding the Senate today. Saw him about 20 minutes ago just outside the chamber.

— Matt Fuller (@MEPFuller) February 10, 2021

Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 · 9:38:59 PM +00:00 · Barbara Morrill

Mitt Romney’s close call that day. He owes Officer Goodman: 

Officer Goodman turns Sen. Romney away from danger during the insurrection pic.twitter.com/gukpzQo9zZ

— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) February 10, 2021

Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 · 9:40:25 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

No point. He’s not even pretending.

The House managers are about to show graphic footage of Trump’s MAGA Mob storming the Capitol and murdering a police officer. Someone wake up @HawleyMO so he can pretend to give a shit.

— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) February 10, 2021

Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 · 9:46:02 PM +00:00 · Barbara Morrill

On the left, the orange dot is Pence, the red dot is the mob. That’s how close they came to Pence. 

Truly remarkable footage of Vice President Pence and his family being escorted out of the Senate chamber. President Trump was back at the White House, continuing to trash Pence, according to multiple people. pic.twitter.com/Vr3c5EBwTR

— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) February 10, 2021

Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 · 9:53:46 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Rep. Swalwell takes up the story of the seditionists fighting against the Capitol police and breaking through their lines.

Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 · 9:55:09 PM +00:00 · Joan McCarter

This is what Donald Trump tweeted in the moments VP Pence was being evacuated, just feet away from the mob that was out for his blood. “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country….”

House impeachment managers continue making the case against Donald Trump: Live coverage #2

The House impeachment managers kicked off day one of Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial with a searing video of the Capitol attack, reminding senators of the stakes of the trial—and of the danger they had faced—at the beginning of an argument about the constitutionality of impeaching someone after he’s left office. Day two begins the actual arguments for convicting Trump, and it’s expected to bring more video evidence of what Trump incited and how he incited it.

The arguments will be presented by the nine House impeachment managers, led by Rep. Jamie Raskin. They have 16 hours to make the case over two days before Trump’s alternately incompetent and scary defense has the same amount of time. You can watch on most television news channels or their websites, and Daily Kos will have live coverage.

Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 · 7:08:36 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Rep. Madeleine Dean steps up to continue the case, focusing on Trump’s actions to overturn the election through multiple means.

Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 · 7:11:48 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Rep. Dean reviews Trump's losses in court cases.

Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 · 7:22:05 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Rep. Dean reviewing the attacks Trump made on Republican GA Sec. of State Brad Raffensperger, is a good reminder — and clear signal of just how far Trump was willing to go. 

Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 · 7:27:18 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Rep. Ted Lieu picks up the story next, looking at Trump’s actions in the last days leading up to Jan. 6.

Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 · 7:32:39 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

There’s been a strong thread, running through all the presentations, that encourages Republicans to stand against Trump. It’s been there in how Raskin and Neguse talked about rejoining the Senators to complete the vote, in the blunt praise that was given Mike Pence in doing his job, and especially in how Dean called out courageous GOP officials. They’re giving Republicans a “brave” place to stand against Trump.

Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 · 7:38:35 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Rep. Lieu is following the last two desperate efforts from Trump:

  1. Fighting with Bill Barr, then with the rest of the DOJ, including threatening to scramble the leadership until he found someone who would support his claims of election fraud.
  2. Going after Mike Pence in an effort to intimidate him into taking an action that was completely unconstitutional and unlawful.
Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 · 7:42:52 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Between Rep. Dean and Rep. Lieu, they’ve done a really good job of showing Trump gradually backing into a corner, failing over and over in his attempts to overturn the election.

Both also did a very good job in providing Republicans a space to step up and be counted among “courageous public servants.”

Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 · 7:43:54 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

The story is now being taken up by Stacey Plaskett, Delegate to United States House of Representatives from the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 · 7:45:59 PM +00:00 · Joan McCarter

The lead seditionist in the Senate is still proud to carry that flag. Sen. Josh Hawley just told reporters “What is going on right now is people do not approve of it.[...] I mean they think it's not legitimate, they think it's a waste of time.”

Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 · 7:47:28 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Rep. Plaskett should be waking up the Senate with a passionate, firm declaration of how Trump was well aware that his words were encouraging violence. And how Trump directed that violence at the Congress.

Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 · 7:48:55 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

I just want to remind everyone of a top post on pro-Trump TheDonald forum on January 5th. pic.twitter.com/T1XhOpRUFx

— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) February 10, 2021

Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 · 7:59:30 PM +00:00 · Joan McCarter

Blast from Sen. Marco Rubio’s recent past, regarding that attack in Texas on Biden’s bus: “We love what they did.” I hope the worm was squirming through that part of Rep. Plaskett’s presentation.

Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 · 8:01:29 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Rep. Plaskett pointedly showing a scene from a Trump rally with his supporters chanting “Destroy the GOP!”  It’s not subtle. But hopefully it does make a few senators squirm.

Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 · 8:10:54 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Trump's social media team was well aware of the gathering violence.

Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 · 8:14:38 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Rep. Plaskett's presentation would seem to nix the "Trump didn't incite them, because they planned it advance" defense, by showing just how involved Trump was in that planning.

Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 · 8:21:41 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Rep. Dean back up to specifically address events of Jan. 6.

Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 · 8:31:58 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Rep. Dean’s presentation continuing to show up Trump attacked Republicans for being “weak.” They’re doing all they can to remind GOP senators how readily Trump threw them in the trash.

The second day of Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial kicks off: Live coverage #1

The House impeachment managers kicked off day one of Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial with a searing video of the Capitol attack, reminding senators of the stakes of the trial—and of the danger they had faced—at the beginning of an argument about the constitutionality of impeaching someone after he’s left office. Day two begins the actual arguments for convicting Trump, and it’s expected to bring more video evidence of what Trump incited and how he incited it.

The arguments will be presented by the nine House impeachment managers, led by Rep. Jamie Raskin. They have 16 hours to make the case over two days before Trump’s alternately incompetent and scary defense has the same amount of time. You can watch on most television news channels or their websites, and Daily Kos will have live coverage.

Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 · 5:13:19 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Rep. Jamie Raskin opening with a series of the ways in which Trump summoned and incensed those who assaulted the Capitol.

Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 · 5:21:25 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Raskin’s recounting of Trump’s statements and actions on Jan. 6 is so disturbing all on its own, it shouldn’t even be necessary to see more. But obviously, it is.

Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 · 5:28:16 PM +00:00 · Joan McCarter

The tweet that underlies a huge part of the case, which Raskin has been centering.

Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 · 5:30:53 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Rep. Joe Neguse takes up the story, repeats the sequence that the mob was “summoned, assembled, and incited” by Trump.

Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 · 5:33:29 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Rep. Neguse lays out the way in which House managers will lay out their case.

The Provocation:

  • The Big Lie: The election was stolen
  • “Stop the Steal”
  • “Fight like hell”

Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 · 5:41:54 PM +00:00 · Joan McCarter

Neguse: "He didn't just tell them to fight like hell. He told them where, how, and when."

Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 · 5:51:10 PM +00:00 · Joan McCarter

If you were wondering if they would use the words of indicted insurrectionists—“Trump made us do it”—they are. 

Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 · 5:55:27 PM +00:00 · Joan McCarter

“These defendants themselves told you exactly why they were here” pic.twitter.com/6HVsD8Kl0M

— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) February 10, 2021

Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 · 5:59:58 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Rep. Neguse finishes with a call out to the senators, telling them that his proudest moment in Congress was coming back that night “with you” to finish counting the electoral vote.

Rep. Joaquin Castro is taking over the narrative to explain in detail Trump’s incitement of his supporters.

Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 · 6:05:15 PM +00:00 · Joan McCarter

Using months of Trump’s statements about the rigged election—going back as far as May—is good strategy on the House managers’ part. Showing Trump’s supporters saying months before that they will reject a Biden win caps it. They are going to make it every Republican senator rejecting their argument look as bad as Trump.

Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 · 6:09:40 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Rep. Castro doing a good job of explaining just how unusual Trump’s statements about a rigged election. These claims are unlike anyone “at any level of government.”

People have become so used to Trump’s lies, it’s hard to realize just how out of the ordinary they are.

Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 · 6:14:18 PM +00:00 · Joan McCarter

Castro’s presentation includes footage from all the protests in the states starting in November, during the initial vote counting, all of it following Trump tweets and statements. There was ample evidence for what would happen on January 6.

Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 · 6:15:44 PM +00:00 · Joan McCarter

Igor Bobic reports from the chamber: “Hawley is the only senator sitting alone in the gallery. He spent most of the presentation with his legs crossed reading paper from a manilla envelope. He did look up and watched as Neguse showed criminal complaints from the rioters charged by DOJ.”

Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 · 6:16:55 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Rep. Eric Swalwell takes up the story of incitement, showing how Trump only increased his rhetoric over time.

Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 · 6:17:58 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

The evidence is damning, chilling, and overwhelming. Only cowardice and complicity stands in the way of conviction.

— Dan Rather (@DanRather) February 10, 2021

Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 · 6:31:46 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

It’s smart to see Rep. Swalwell bringing up tweets in which Trump insulted Republican senators.

Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 · 6:41:46 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Swalwell points out that Trump spent $50 million on national "STOP THE STEAL!" ads that ran until January 5 -- the day before the insurrection pic.twitter.com/ZKVMaG22d4

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 10, 2021

12 people besides Donald Trump spoke at January 6 rally. Remember their names, but know who to blame

On January 6, after months of telling his supporters the election had been stolen and weeks of telling them to gather in Washington, D.C., on that day to protest (“Be there, will be wild!”), Donald Trump stood in front of the White House and told a crowd “if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore,” and then moments later called on them to march on the Capitol. Trump is now on trial in the Senate following impeachment in the House. But he wasn’t the only person to speak that day, whipping up the crowd in the hours before it attacked the Capitol.

One speaker after another—12 of them—told the crowd to be angry, to believe that the election had been stolen, to believe that America itself was being stolen from them. (The not-very-buried subtext was “stolen from white people.”)

Two of the speakers were current members of the House of Representatives: Mo Brooks and Madison Cawthorn, the former telling the crowd to “start taking down names and kicking ass” and the latter urging them to hold members of Congress “accountable” if they didn’t try to overturn the election. A motion to censure Brooks didn’t get through the House Ethics Committee.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was another public official on the state, accusing states that counted their votes and named President Biden the winner of having “capitulated.” After the attack on the Capitol, he did not join every other state attorney general in signing on to a statement condemning the violence. Paxton faces legal trouble, but it’s not because of this—it’s because he’s extremely corrupt.

Other speakers included Trump’s sons Don Jr. and Eric, as well as Trump campaign fundraiser/Don’s girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle and Eric’s wife Lara. Daddy Trump “has more fight in him than every other one combined, and they need to stand up and we need to march on the Capitol today,” Eric told the crowd. Don Jr. said, “You have an opportunity today: You can be a hero, or you can be a zero. And the choice is yours but we are all watching.”

Then there was the usual assortment of Trump hangers-on, people eager to elevate themselves by associating with him, to suck up to him by lying to his supporters, to bask in the cheering of an angry crowd themselves: former campaign adviser Katrina Pierson; personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani; “Women for America First” head Amy Kremer, who had done much of the rally organizing; law professor and conspiracy theorist John Eastman; former Georgia state Rep. Vernon Jones, who announced from the stage that he was becoming a Republican.

All of these people are terrible in one way or another. They all participated in inciting the crowd to violence—to believing that violence was righteous rather than an effort to overturn a democratic election. The public officials who participated—Brooks, Cawthorn, Paxton—bear some special blame for encouraging an attack on democracy itself and, in the former two cases, on their own coworkers. So, yeah, they should all be shunned and disdained and booed when they show their faces in public. 

But Donald Trump is the root of it all. Trump is the one who refused to concede the election and instead tried to overturn it and to undermine the legitimacy of U.S. democracy. Trump is the one who pressured Mike Pence to try to block the congressional counting of the electoral votes, something Pence was very clear he could not do. Trump is the one who called the crowd there on that day to disrupt that constitutional process. The crowd was not there to hear Katrina Pierson or John Eastman or even Eric and Don Jr. They were there because Donald Trump summoned them, and once they were there, he told them what to do: “fight like hell” and march on the Capitol.

First day of Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial wraps up: Live coverage #4

The second impeachment trial of Donald J. Trump—this time for inciting an insurrection—is underway, with Tuesday bringing four hours of debate on whether it’s constitutional to hold an impeachment trial for someone who is no longer in office. If that sounds familiar, it’s because the Senate already voted once on this question, with five Republicans joining Democrats to say yes, it is.

The quality of the Trump team’s argument was previewed when one of the lawyers they cited in a pre-trial document said they misrepresented his work.

Assuming Republicans once again join Democrats in moving the trial forward, the coming days will bring up to 16 hours of arguments over two days from both the House impeachment managers and Trump’s defense team, followed by up to four hours of questions from senators, possibly followed by debate over whether to allow witnesses and subpoenas.

At no point should we lose sight of the fact that this trial is about an insurrection aimed at preventing Congress from certifying the presidential election, in which five people lost their lives.

Tuesday, Feb 9, 2021 · 10:02:19 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Raskin is back up, with 30 minutes of time, but says he “sees no reason” to make any further case that the Senate has the jurisdiction . Waives his time.

Tuesday, Feb 9, 2021 · 10:03:34 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

And we’re proceeding straight to the vote on whether the Senate can move forward. 

Tuesday, Feb 9, 2021 · 10:09:18 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Trump can’t be happy with Castor’s … whatever that was. It so bored the Senate that several members actually left the chamber. When Schoen started up, they came back and seemed to be paying attention. However, 90% of what Schoen said was also completely off target in trying to prove what Trump’s team said in their replies.

Tuesday, Feb 9, 2021 · 10:10:58 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

The vote is 56 to 44. So it looks like after the first day, Democrats have actually picked up a vote. The new “yes” is Cassidy.

Tuesday, Feb 9, 2021 · 10:12:54 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

So Republican “yes” votes are: Cassidy, Collins, Murkowski, Romney, Sasse, and Toomey. That’s a small crack … but it’s a crack.

Still, it seems like most Republicans still intend to hide behind the Constitution question to avoid saying that their vote is an endorsement of Trump’s actions.

Impeachment trial argument over whether to have an impeachment trial continues: Live coverage #3

The second impeachment trial of Donald J. Trump—this time for inciting an insurrection—is underway, with Tuesday bringing four hours of debate on whether it’s constitutional to hold an impeachment trial for someone who is no longer in office. If that sounds familiar, it’s because the Senate already voted once on this question, with five Republicans joining Democrats to say yes, it is.

The quality of the Trump team’s argument was previewed when one of the lawyers they cited in a pre-trial document said they misrepresented his work.

Assuming Republicans once again join Democrats in moving the trial forward, the coming days will bring up to 16 hours of arguments over two days from both the House impeachment managers and Trump’s defense team, followed by up to four hours of questions from senators, possibly followed by debate over whether to allow witnesses and subpoenas.

At no point should we lose sight of the fact that this trial is about an insurrection aimed at preventing Congress from certifying the presidential election, in which five people lost their lives.

Tuesday, Feb 9, 2021 · 8:44:54 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Castor still at it. Now he’s arguing … people get elected all the time. So nobody should ever be impeached. I think. It’s no more coherent than anything else he’s said.

Oh he did say “President Biden.” Trump’s going to be angry.

Tuesday, Feb 9, 2021 · 8:45:52 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Castor is genuinely arguing at this point that Trump’s antics failed to keep Biden out of the White House so … no harm, no foul.

Tuesday, Feb 9, 2021 · 8:46:31 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Bruce Castor watches a lot of television. And he wants to share everything he’s seen with you.

Tuesday, Feb 9, 2021 · 8:46:48 PM +00:00 · Joan McCarter

This is the “his attempted self-coup failed” defense.

— Daniel Goldman (@danielsgoldman) February 9, 2021

Tuesday, Feb 9, 2021 · 8:49:49 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

It always helps to have someone leading your impeachment strategy who doesn’t know what a “high crime” is.

Tuesday, Feb 9, 2021 · 8:53:50 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Now David Schoen is up. He was Roger Stone’s (losing) attorney in his (losing) case. And he’s worried, sir. “My overriding emotion is one of wanting to cry because of what I believe this proceeding will do to our Constitution.” 

Tuesday, Feb 9, 2021 · 8:56:35 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Ah. Schoen  is firing off that the House is full of “elitists” who have sneered at the “deplorables.” You have to stop this, because some people voted for Trump.

Tuesday, Feb 9, 2021 · 8:57:42 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Schoen  just threatened civil war if the trial isn’t halted. For unity, people have to just let Trump go.

Tuesday, Feb 9, 2021 · 8:59:43 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Schoen is giving the angry, Roger Stone Q-flavored version of the speech. But he also seems to have forgotten that there’s supposed to be a legal argument about whether the impeachment can go forward.

Tuesday, Feb 9, 2021 · 9:00:31 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Instead, Schoen is just threatening the Senate. That’s one approach, I guess.

Tuesday, Feb 9, 2021 · 9:04:35 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

I present trumps defense team. Gotta hold my head on while I drink water. pic.twitter.com/qls21R4suh

— Jason Overstreet 🩸🦷🗽 (@JasonOverstreet) February 9, 2021

Tuesday, Feb 9, 2021 · 9:05:53 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

You have to hand it to Schoen. He screamed about the House managers showing a movie … as an intro to his movie.

Tuesday, Feb 9, 2021 · 9:12:20 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Schoen arguing that Trump was impeached too fast, and also not in time. Which followed Castor complaining that Trump shouldn’t have been impeached before the investigation into Jan. 6 was complete, except Trump couldn’t be impeached after leaving office.

Tuesday, Feb 9, 2021 · 9:19:35 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Castor railed against House managers for referring to aspects of British common law. Now Schoen is saying their defense is grounded in "the history of Anglo-American jurisprudence."

Have these two met?

Tuesday, Feb 9, 2021 · 9:23:18 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Apparently, according to Schoen, the real villain here is Nancy Pelosi.

Tuesday, Feb 9, 2021 · 9:28:47 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Schoen has props. Holds up a copy of the Constitution, then holds up a Little Red Book.

He’s a subtle dude.

Tuesday, Feb 9, 2021 · 9:30:16 PM +00:00 · Joan McCarter

One reason that this Senate trial is happening after Trump’s departure is the McConnell recessed the Senate until January 19, so there really wasn’t any other option. Not that Trump’s lawyers would acknowledge that.

Tuesday, Feb 9, 2021 · 9:37:58 PM +00:00 · Joan McCarter

David Schoen is proving the old legal adage in the Senate today: "when you have the facts, argue the facts-when the law is on your side, argue the law-when you have neither...pull out your pocket Constitution, waive it vigorously in the air and let your angry Dad voice rip."

— Amee Vanderpool (@girlsreallyrule) February 9, 2021

Tuesday, Feb 9, 2021 · 9:45:40 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Schoen suggest impeaching Jimmy Carter “for his handling of the Iran hostage scandal.” Kind of skips over the other guy who was, illegally, negotiating with Iran to keep the hostages in order to harm Carter during the election.

Tuesday, Feb 9, 2021 · 9:54:30 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Honestly, I thought Schoen was wrapping this up an hour ago. But he just goes on.

Senate considers whether Trump can be convicted after leaving office: Live coverage #2

The second impeachment trial of Donald J. Trump—this time for inciting an insurrection—is underway, with Tuesday bringing four hours of debate on whether it’s constitutional to hold an impeachment trial for someone who is no longer in office. If that sounds familiar, it’s because the Senate already voted once on this question, with five Republicans joining Democrats to say yes, it is.

The quality of the Trump team’s argument was previewed when one of the lawyers they cited in a pre-trial document said they misrepresented his work.

Assuming Republicans once again join Democrats in moving the trial forward, the coming days will bring up to 16 hours of arguments over two days from both the House impeachment managers and Trump’s defense team, followed by up to four hours of questions from senators, possibly followed by debate over whether to allow witnesses and subpoenas.

At no point should we lose sight of the fact that this trial is about an insurrection aimed at preventing Congress from certifying the presidential election, in which five people lost their lives.

Tuesday, Feb 9, 2021 · 7:24:22 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Rep. Cicilline continues to address the arguments concerning whether a former president can be tried. It’s hard to think how Trump’s attorneys will respond … except by resting on the knowledge the Senate Republicans aren’t really concerned about the law or Constitution. 

Tuesday, Feb 9, 2021 · 7:33:30 PM +00:00 · Barbara Morrill

Cicilline on the Republican promises to push false equivalencies during the trial: "That's a gimmick. That's a parlor game meant to inflame partisan hostility and play on our divisions." pic.twitter.com/d83dBR4jDK

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 9, 2021

Tuesday, Feb 9, 2021 · 7:33:48 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Cicilline makes a stirring call that holding Trump responsible for his actions is necessary for the nation to move forward, and that allowing Trump to escape consequences would endanger the nation.

Tuesday, Feb 9, 2021 · 7:36:42 PM +00:00 · Hunter

Officer Goodman entered the chamber a few minutes ago and is watching the proceedings from the back of the room.

— Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) February 9, 2021

Tuesday, Feb 9, 2021 · 7:39:00 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Raskin closing with the story of his personal experience on Jan. 6. Just a day after burying his son, Raskin was separated from his daughter and son-in-law as the House was invade. Extremely moving.

Tuesday, Feb 9, 2021 · 7:41:14 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Raskin: “Senators, this can not be our future.”

Tuesday, Feb 9, 2021 · 7:42:56 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

A ten minute break before Trump’s attorneys address the constitutional question. 

Tuesday, Feb 9, 2021 · 8:06:19 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Trump’s lead attorney is up. And is comparing the insurrection to “something bad happening” and people wanting someone to pay. 

In other words … Trump is being lynched.

Tuesday, Feb 9, 2021 · 8:11:44 PM +00:00 · Joan McCarter

Q: Any reaction to the opening arguments by the House managers? HAWLEY: No. Q: None at all? HAWLEY: *no response*

— Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) February 9, 2021

Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial opens with a familiar question: Live coverage #1

The second impeachment trial of Donald J. Trump—this time for inciting an insurrection—kicks off Tuesday with four hours of argument on whether it’s constitutional to hold an impeachment trial for someone who is no longer in office. If that sounds familiar, it’s because the Senate already voted once on this question, with five Republicans joining Democrats to say yes, it is.

The quality of the Trump team’s argument was previewed when one of the lawyers they cited in a pre-trial document said they misrepresented his work.

Assuming Republicans once again join Democrats in moving the trial forward, the coming days will bring up to 16 hours of arguments over two days from both the House impeachment managers and Trump’s defense team, followed by up to four hours of questions from senators, possibly followed by debate over whether to allow witnesses and subpoenas.

At no point should we lose sight of the fact that this trial is about an insurrection aimed at preventing Congress from certifying the presidential election, in which five people lost their lives.

Tuesday, Feb 9, 2021 · 6:11:06 PM +00:00 · Barbara Morrill

Things kick off with a procedural vote on the rules for the trial—that were agreed upon by the House Managers, Democratic and Republican senate leadership, and Trump’s legal team—so naturally the usual suspects will be voting no. 

Tuesday, Feb 9, 2021 · 6:20:00 PM +00:00 · Joan McCarter

The sedition caucus voting against the rules for the trial: 11 Republicans voted Cruz (TX), Hawley (MO), Hagerty (TN), Johnson (WI), Lee (UT), Marshall (KS), Paul (KY), Rubio (FL), Scott (FL), Scott (SC) and Tuberville (AL)

Tuesday, Feb 9, 2021 · 6:27:48 PM +00:00 · Laura Clawson

The House managers are showing video evidence that stitches together what was happening in the House and Senate chambers with the approaching mob. The message to Republican senators: This is what was coming for you as you tried to do your jobs.

Tuesday, Feb 9, 2021 · 6:31:45 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

The video from the House managers is incredibly shocking and disturbing, even if you watched every moment of video coverage on Jan. 6.

Tuesday, Feb 9, 2021 · 6:33:18 PM +00:00 · Hunter

Here’s part of the powerful video House managers are presenting. We’ll be posting it in full when available.

Tuesday, Feb 9, 2021 · 6:34:27 PM +00:00 · Joan McCarter

Raskin, after the video: "You ask what high crime…and misdemeanor is, that's what a high crime and misdemeanor is under the Constitution."

Tuesday, Feb 9, 2021 · 6:42:44 PM +00:00 · Joan McCarter

Raskin: "President Trump may not know much about the Framers, but they knew a lot about him."

— emptywheel (@emptywheel) February 9, 2021

Tuesday, Feb 9, 2021 · 6:51:17 PM +00:00 · Barbara Morrill

Here’s the video presentation (shown in two parts). Graphic images and language:

Rep. Cori Bush recounts her determination to go down fighting if the Capitol mob had reached her

Republicans want to sweep the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol under the rug. They want us to forget how violent, how brutal, how hateful it was, and most of all how seriously it threatened our democracy. Republicans want us to forget this even though in some cases their own lives were at risk, too. Because they’ve decided it’s politically expedient to stand by their man and defend Donald Trump against impeachment for having incited an insurrection.

House Democrats, led by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, are not interested in letting this be swept under the rug. One of their most powerful tools is a simple one: They’re telling their stories. Following AOC’s powerful Instagram Live recounting of her experience on Jan. 6, a group of Democrats rose Thursday night to speak. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee compared fleeing the Capitol on Jan. 6 to fleeing it on 9/11, describing the smoke from the Pentagon in one case and the sounds of shooting in the other.

“We must get to the bottom of this. We cannot let white supremacy … dominate the goodness of what this democracy and this Constitution stands for,” she said. “I’m here on the floor to say that we shall not be denied. We are never going to give up our love for democracy, nor its vitality, nor are we going to let this country be dominated by the insurrectionists who came to this place to do nothing but act in a bloodthirsty manner. We are not afraid of you.”

Rep. Dean Phillips—an average-looking white guy from Minnesota—recounted how the Capitol attack made him understand white privilege in a new way. “Recognizing that we were sitting ducks in this room as the chamber was about to be breached, I screamed to my colleagues to follow me. To follow me across the aisle to the Republican side of the chamber, so that we could blend in—so that we could blend in,” he said. “For I felt that the insurrectionists who were trying to break down the doors right here would spare us if they simply mistook us for Republicans.

”But within moments I recognized that blending in was not an option available to my colleagues of color. So I’m here tonight to say to my brothers and sisters in Congress and all around our country. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. For I had never understood—really understood—what privilege really means. It took a violent mob of insurrectionists and a lightning bolt moment in this very room. But now I know. Believe me, I really know.”

Phillips’ emotional apology adds context to the testimony from some of the colleagues he was referring to—people who could not hope to blend in with House Republicans. He described his fear that day, but some of his colleagues have lived with fear like that and experienced the insurrection as too close to what they already knew.

Rep. Cori Bush showed how she became a movement leader with a searing speech tying the experience of being in the Capitol on that day to her experience of protest, saying, “People were calling this a protest. Let me say this: That was not a protest. I’ve been to hundreds of protests in my life. I’ve co-organized, co-led, led, and organized protests.” Sitting in her office, with her staff, watching the attack on the Capitol on television, Bush vowed “If they touch these doors, if they hit these doors the way they hit that door and come anywhere near my staff—and I’m just going to be real honest about it, my thought process was, we bangin’ till the end. I’m not letting them take out my people and you’re not taking me out. We’ve come too far.”

Where Bush emphasized her readiness in that moment to go down fighting—a measure of the level of threat she felt, but also a truly stirring call—Rep. Rashida Tlaib described herself as “paralyzed” by the threats she has received. Sobbing almost from the beginning, she recounted getting her first death threat on the first day of orientation after her election to Congress. “I didn’t even get sworn in yet and someone wanted me dead for just existing,” she said. “More came later, uglier, more violent.” One even mentioned her son by name. Tlaib wasn’t in the Capitol on Jan. 6, but with years of death threats in her experience, the sight traumatized her again.

These are amazing moments and they are profound witness to the horror of Jan. 6—the horror of what Donald Trump spent years laying the groundwork for, months setting the stage for as he tried to overturn the election results, and a morning inciting live and in person. Trump of course had a solid bedrock of U.S. racism to build on, but this specific event was something he really worked for and owns. Republicans want to wish it away to protect their own. That must not happen.

House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy gushes about ‘unity’ as he embraces extremism

Top Republicans are looking for big gains in the House in 2022, and they’ve decided that their best path to those gains is to welcome extremists to their party. Make that: to keep welcoming extremists to their party.

That’s the message they sent when House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy first refused to discipline Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene for her violent rhetoric, anti-Semitism, and embrace of conspiracy theories, and it’s the message they put an exclamation point on Thursday night when all but 11 Republicans voted to keep her in her committee assignments. Those assignments included the education committee, despite Greene’s harassment of survivors of the Parkland school shooting and her claims that the Parkland and Sandy Hook shootings had been hoaxes.

To McCarthy, the fact that Republicans voted both to keep Rep. Liz Cheney in leadership despite her vote to impeach Donald Trump and to protect Greene’s committee assignments is big evidence of the unity that will carry the party through 2022 successfully. “The number one thing that happened in this conference was unity,” he said after the five-hour meeting to fight over two women’s political fates. “Two years from now, we are going to win the majority.”

Both Democrats and Senate Republicans think McCarthy might be making the wrong bet in keeping the QAnon, insurrectionist far-right under the tent of the Republican establishment.

”House members never like us judging them, but I do think as a party we have to figure out what we stand for,” Republican Sen. John Thune said. “I think we’ve got to be the party, as I said, of ideas and policies and principles, and get away from members dabbling in conspiracy theories.”

”It’s only going to get worse unless we do something about it,” an unnamed adviser to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told The Washington Post. But McCarthy doesn’t think the direction of his caucus is bad and getting worse, apparently. He didn’t have to make a decision between Cheney and Greene this time, and he seems to see that as a road map for the future.

The question is whether Democrats—facing the traditionally very difficult midterms for a party with a first-term president—can find the right message to voters. One Democratic group is already running ads saying “The QAnon conspiracies sound wild. But the danger is real” as they tie McCarthy to Greene’s offensive statements, including her denial of 9/11.

”You can do QAnon, and you can do swing districts, but you can’t do both,” said Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. His Republican counterpart, Rep. Tom Emmer, though, said “This is the same QAnon playbook they tried in 2020, and they lost 15 seats.”

A few other things happened in the 2020 elections, mind you. And it’s not just QAnon. It’s Proud Boys and other hate groups. It’s the non-Q things Greene and Rep. Lauren Boebert and Donald Trump himself will do and say between now and November 2022. QAnon is an easy shorthand, but the full constellation of awful things that shorthand encompasses is pretty staggering, and not terribly popular with voters.

But it should be undeniable that Democrats need a message beyond QAnon. Passing a strong COVID-19 relief package, including a minimum wage increase, would be one great message. Competently administering vaccinations and getting the country back on track would be another. Democratic policies are popular. Get them into place now and then spend the next 20 months or so hammering the contrast between those accomplishments and Republican efforts to block those popular polices and Republican embrace of extremism. There should be plenty of material to work with on the Republican side—it’s getting the material on the Democratic side in place that’s the priority right now.