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

Posted on February 10, 2021 (Updated February 10, 2021) by Laura Clawson

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:

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.
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

Posted on February 10, 2021 (Updated February 10, 2021) by Laura Clawson

Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 · 7:06:38 PM +00:00 · Barbara Morrill

Live coverage continues here.

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 · 5:20:18 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

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

Posted on February 10, 2021 by Laura Clawson

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.

On day one, the contest between House managers and Trump’s legal team wasn’t even close

Posted on February 10, 2021 by Mark Sumner

Tuesday wasn’t officially the start of Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial—that would be today—but as a warmup round, it certainly served as a preview of what to expect. On Tuesday, both the House impeachment managers and Trump’s legal team got their chance to make a presentation to the Senate that was supposedly meant to address the question of whether the Senate could, constitutionally, proceed with Trump’s trial even though his time in office has expired. But both sides used the time to present something that was more of an abbreviated view of the case they’ll present over the next four days of trial.

For House managers, that meant a powerful presentation filled with images of the assault on the Capitol and even their own personal stories of being driven from the chambers by the hate-filled mob. In particular, Rep. Jamie Ruskin’s story of being separated from his family as the House was evacuated was extremely moving. On Trump’s team the response was … incoherent, with lead attorney Bruce Castor performing an uncanny imitation of someone in far over his head and bereft of any plan.

The House team opened with a video presentation that recounted just a few of the moments from the Jan. 6 event. Even for those who had been there on the day, or watched the events unfold on television, the video was shocking. Compiled mostly from on the ground camera and cell phone footage, the video spoke to the anger and ferocity of Trump supporters as they beat their way past the police and smashed their way into the Capitol. By interspersing the images with shots from inside the House and Senate chambers, the video also made the timeline of events clear.

Overall, the presentation was enthralling. The Senate chamber was absolutely silent as the video unfolded, with most senators transfixed by the images. However, some Republicans—notably Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and Rand Paul—made a point of not looking at the screen, spending their time scribbling or pretending to read the papers on their desk.

YouTube Video

Following the video presentation, the House team went on to lay out both their case for why the Senate trial of Trump was absolutely constitutional. That included both citations going back into British Common Law and moving forward to the most well-known cases of impeachment in the 19th century.

When the House managers sat down, it was time for Trump attorney Bruce Castor to rise and … what happened next is difficult to summarize. Castor provided the Senate with an hour of talking for which even the word “rambling” doesn’t seem to apply. At times Castor praised the House managers. On at least two occasions he insisted that the whole event was pointless because the voters had already made a new choice and selected Joe Biden. At other times, he seemed to be threatening the Senate with some vague action. This was particularly true during a puzzling sequence in which Castor addressed Nebraska Republican Sen. Ben Sasse and appeared to announce that some court in his home state was preparing to move against him. It was a sequence that left everyone, especially Sasse, completely puzzled.

Finally, after reaching nothing that appeared to be a conclusion, and not even coming close to the question of the constitutionality of the trial, Castor sat down and handed things over to Trump’s second attorney David Schoen. In what was apparently a distracted cop/angry cop paring, Schoen spent the next hour haranguing the Senate with a presentation that featured lengthy diversions into topics such as bills of attainder, that verged on Giuliani-esque while never dropping below a boiling point of mixed disdain and disgust for his audience.

The best view of how the Trump team did may be in the response of Rep. Raskin. Given thirty minutes to reply to the statements from Trump’s attorneys, Raskin simply said that he didn’t see the need. Instead, he handed back his time, allowing the Senate to move on to a vote. In that vote, six Republicans joined with all Democrats to vote in favor of continuing the trial. That meant a gain of one from the last time the Senate voted on the constitutional question. In addition to Sasse, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Mitt Romney, and Patrick Toomey, the vote on Tuesday added Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana.

It’s a long way from six to the 17 Republicans necessary to actually convict Trump. But then, the trial is just starting. If it continues to be this lopsided in the performance of the two legal times … there could be surprises ahead.

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

Posted on February 9, 2021 by Laura Clawson

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

Posted on February 9, 2021 (Updated February 9, 2021) by Laura Clawson

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.

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 · 10:01:52 PM +00:00 · Barbara Morrill

Live coverage continues here.

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.

Tuesday, Feb 9, 2021 · 10:00:06 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner

Schoen is reading Longfellow. Really.

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

Posted on February 9, 2021 by Laura Clawson

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.

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

Everyone would prefer no witnesses at Trump’s second impeachment, but Trump is making it hard

Posted on February 9, 2021 (Updated February 9, 2021) by Mark Sumner

Republicans are desperate to have no witness testimony at Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial. They’d much rather run on the pretense that the whole thing is unconstitutional for mumble mumble reasons, and power through the whole of the presentation from the House impeachment managers with hands clamped tightly over their ears. After all, as long as they can pretend to be voting on a technical issue about impeachment, it’s less obvious that they’re actually signing on as full participants in sedition.

On the other hand, Democrats in both the House and Senate seem content to also run the impeachment trial without witnesses. Part of that comes from a concern that if there is a trial stretching out for weeks, Republicans will be on television every day pounding the “the Senate is getting nothing done because of this trial” drum—and ignoring the fact that “getting nothing done” was the definition of almost every day that Mitch McConnell controlled the Senate. Democrats also feel like they already have a solid case against Trump without needing testimony. After all … what he’s accused of is an event that everyone in the nation saw unfold. Every member of the House and Senate was a witness.

But the one person who seems determined to force the House impeachment managers to call witnesses against Trump is … Trump. That’s because the direction he’s taking his legal defense practically screams with the need to bring in people who can explain the truth.

Over the last week, Trump’s legal team and the House impeachment managers have filed a series of letters and replies. In the latest of these, the House team walked through the response that Trump’s attorneys made to the original statement from the impeachment managers.

The first three-fourths of that response lean heavily on the idea that trying Trump after his term in office has expired is not constitutional. It’s an argument that is based largely on quotes taken from work by Michigan State University Professor Brian Kalt, only every single instance has been taken out of context, or misquoted, to completely reverse the intention of Kalt’s readings. That alone may be enough to nudge House managers into calling a witness, because having Kalt appear to take apart the statements by Trump’s legal team has to be tempting—especially since this house of straw is the shelter where every Republican in the Senate is hiding from the big bad wolf of facts.

But there are actually two other parts of Trump’s defense that are even more tempting, both when it comes to calling witnesses and focusing the the case by the House.

First, Trump’s team has inserted into the response the claim that Trump felt “horrible” about the events on Jan. 6, and “immediately” took action to secure the Capitol. That’s pretty amazing, because the most “immediate” response that Trump seems to have taken was to focus the attack on Mike Pence. Ten minutes after the first insurgents smashed their way into the Capitol building, Trump tweeted this:

"Mike Pence didn't have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!"

It was an hour and a half later that the announcement was made that National Guard forces were on their way to the Capitol. And that announcement cited approval by Pence. There was no mention of Trump. There were multiple phone calls and communications that afternoon between the Pentagon, local officials, police leadership, and Pence. Not one of these calls seems to have involved Trump.

As The Washington Post has reported, “Trump was initially pleased” by the assault on the Capitol and the resulting halt in the counting of electoral votes. According to Republican Sen. Ben Sasse, Trump was “walking around the White House confused about why other people on his team weren’t as excited as he was as you had rioters pushing against Capitol Police trying to get into the building.” Witnesses said that Trump “belatedly and reluctantly” called for peace only after ignoring people both inside and outside the White House trying to get him to stop his supporters. Then, when Trump finally appeared before the public—following a demand that he do so by Joe Biden—Trump told the people smearing feces along the halls of Congress, “We love you, you’re very special.”

The claims that Trump was immediately horrified and that he acted quickly to restore order are both clearly contradicted by events and statements on that day. In making these claims, Trump’s legal team makes it more likely that witnesses will be summoned to directly counter these false statements and show that Trump is still lying to the American people.

But there’s one last thing about Trump’s final response that may make it even more necessary to call witnesses, no matter what kind of strange threat Lindsey Graham makes. That’s because Trump has apparently made it clear to his attorneys that at no point can they admit he lost the election. Instead, as The Daily Beast reports, every mention of President Biden is only as “former Vice President Joe Biden” and at no time can the attorneys admit that Trump’s lies about voting machines, dead people voting, truckloads of ballots, sharpies affecting outcomes, or any of the other conspiracy theories raised over the course of months … are lies.

Trump is insisting on running a defense that doesn’t just make false claims about his actions on Jan. 6, but one that extends his incitement to violence right into the impeachment trial itself. And that needs to be made clear enough that no flimsy shelter of “we’re only here to talk about technical issues” can protect Republicans when they give the last scrap of their party to Trump.

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

Posted on February 9, 2021 by Laura Clawson

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.

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:

YouTube Video

Rules for second impeachment trial have been set, with House managers to begin their case on Weds.

Posted on February 9, 2021 by Mark Sumner

On Monday evening, House impeachment managers, Senate leadership, and Donald Trump’s legal team reached agreement on the rules under which the impeachment trial will proceed. In many ways, the trial will look like the one that followed Trump’s first impeachment: Each side will have up to 16 hours over two days to present their case, there will be a period of debate in which senators can submit written questions to either side, then the Senate will vote on whether to hear from witnesses. That last vote will happen only if the House impeachment managers request witnesses, and at the moment it doesn’t appear this will be the case because the crimes Trump committed were done in front of the nation, and every senator and representative present bore witness to the results of those crimes.

The rules for the trial will be voted on in the Senate on Tuesday. Assuming everything goes as expected, House managers will begin presenting their case on Wednesday. But as the Senate heads into the second impeachment trial in a year, Trump is looking for more than an acquittal from Republicans. He’s looking for a vote that confirms the party is his, now and forever.

As The Washington Post reports, the stage is set for a trial over what are by far the most serious impeachment charges ever to be considered. Last year, Donald Trump was impeached for using his office in an attempt to extort the leader of a foreign government into interfering in a United States election. It appeared to be—and was—a clear case of violating the oath of office, exploiting the power of the presidency for personal gain, and threatening an allied nation to generate false claims against a political opponent.

In that Senate trial, Republicans signaled Trump that their support was absolute, and that they would not even consider the evidence against him. Bolstered by the knowledge that he was free to do as he pleased, Trump went on to spend the period before the election preparing his followers with this message: “The only way we can lose this election is if it’s rigged.” Trump delivered this statement not once but dozens of times at rallies, on Twitter, and before the media. When Trump did lose the election—by a wide margin—he doubled down on the idea that the election wasn’t valid, repeatedly attempted to overturn the results, and drove his followers with claims that ultimately generated the events on Jan. 6.

Now Trump is hoping to do it again. According to the Post, Trump’s lawyers will continue to argue that the Senate trial is somehow unconstitutional. To do so, they’ve leaned heavily on statements from Michigan State University Professor Brian Kalt, citing Kalt’s statements in both sets of replies they have provided to the House charges. However, as NPR reports, the statements aren’t just taken out of context. They’ve been turned inside out.

"The worst part is the three places where they said I said something when, in fact, I said the opposite," Kalt said in an interview with NPR.

Kalt’s argument is not that someone’s impeachment trial can’t go forward after they’re out of office, but that they can’t be impeached for actions taken while out of office. He also argues that impeachment is about more than just removal, though his work is cited by Trump’s attorneys as if he claims the reverse.

But it doesn’t matter that there’s not real support for the claim that Trump can’t be tried over crimes which he carried out in office, and for which he was impeached while still in office. What’s important is that Republicans intend to use this claim of “big constitutional issues” to simply ignore all evidence put forward against Trump. Just as with the 2020 trial, Republicans have already set up Trump’s “Get Out of Jail Free” card and are prepared to execute on that plan no matter what evidence the House managers provide.

The end result is that Donald Trump expects to emerge from this trial, as he did in 2020, with an even firmer control of the Republican Party. As Politico reports, the Republican Party has already “coalesced back behind” the “Teflon” Trump. Trump and his allies are confident that he will emerge from the trial as the only real power in the party, able to punish every Republican who doesn’t go along with his acquittal.

Trump’s not wrong. Criminals have long known that the best way to secure the loyalty of others is to involve them in a crime. It’s not just the people on the receiving end of knuckle-breaking goons who fall in line. Once you’re a goon, it’s very, very hard to ever be human again.

In 2020, Senate Republicans went along with Trump’s crimes against an American ally and American elections. In 2021, they’re expected to sign on again, this time to the destruction of democracy and sedition.

And how do you come back from that?