Trump trial: House Democrats offer case for ‘incitement’ on Day 3 | Donald Trump News
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On third day of US Senate proceedings, House managers to continue presentation of evidence Trump ‘incited insurrection’.
- The third full day of arguments in the Senate impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump is under way on Thursday.
- House managers had presented video evidence of the January 6 attack by Trump supporters on the US Capitol in Wednesday’s proceedings.
- Trump’s defence lawyers are to begin their arguments on Friday, relying on the argument that the former president’s rally remarks are protected by free speech principles.
- House managers argued Trump’s actions before and after the rally, including tweets he sent while the mob was attacking the Capitol, show he supported the actions of his followers.
Welcome to Al Jazeera’s coverage of the impeachment trial. This is Steve Chaggaris and William Roberts.
Senator Hawley says House managers presentation ‘absurd, offensive’
Senator Josh Hawley, a Republican, said in an interview on television outlet Fox News, that the presentation of video evidence by Democratic House managers on Wednesday had been “absolutely absurd and offensive”.
“What we’re watching is a total kangaroo court. It is an illegitimate proceeding. It is unconstitutional,” Hawley told an interviewer.
“They’re trying to pursue a personal political vendetta against an ex-president, and really against the 74 million people who voted for him,” Hawley said.
Biden: “Some minds may be changed” by Dems’ impeachment presentation
President Joe Biden, who has tried to avoid commenting directly on the Trump impeachment process, said that he watched news coverage of Democratic prosecutors’ arguments on Wednesday and thinks that some Republicans may have been swayed by the graphic footage of the US Capitol riot.
Biden told reporters at the White House on Thursday he “didn’t watch any of the hearing live” but based on the news coverage, “my guess is some minds may be changed”.
Republican senator told Trump of Pence evacuation during riot
Filling in a key blank in the timeline of the January 6 US Capitol riot, Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville said that he informed Donald Trump about Mike Pence’s evacuation from the Senate, minutes before Trump fired off a highly critical Pence tweet.
“I said ‘Mr. President, they just took the vice president out, I’ve got to go.’” Tuberville said to Politico on Wednesday night about his January 6 phone call as rioters breached the Capitol building.
The existence of the call was part of the Democratic impeachment managers’ evidence, but the detail that Trump knew of Pence’s peril prior to sending the critical tweet is new.
“Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution,” Trump fumed on Twitter at 14:24 EST that day.
Pence was evacuated from the Senate chamber nine minutes prior, according to security footage presented at the impeachment trial on Wednesday.
www.aljazeera.com 2021-02-11 16:54:56