Mediaboss Marketing

House Democrats use maps and never-before-seen security footage to show how close rioters got to members of Congress on January 6th. USA TODAY

House managers wrapped up their first day of arguments during the second day in former President Donald Trumps historic impeachment trial.

The managers highlighted several videos of previously unseen security camera footage from the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection, detailing how close lawmakers and their staff were to potential violence.

Several GOP senators were emotional after the videos, calling them disturbing.

House managers attempted to paint a picture that not only did Trump avoid calling off the rioters that day which Rep. Joaquin Castro described as Trump leaving everyone in the Capitol for dead" but also through his tweets, campaign speeches, and rhetoric in the months leading up, he was directly responsible for fueling the crowd.

The House prosecutorsalso relied on previous protests and acts of violence from Trump supporters, such as when Trump supporters attempted to run a Biden campaign bus off the road and protests at election centers, as examples ofincidents where his supporters acted upon his words.

Trumps legal wasnt swayed by the footage played Wednesday, with lawyer Bruce Castor saying there was nothing new that the public and Senate didnt already know.

Yesterday, we said we didn't dispute that the breach of the Capitol is a terrible thing, and that mob violence is something that President Trump abhors, so we didn't learn anything today we didn't already know, Castor said as he left the Capitol. As a matter of fact, I wonder why we sat through eight hours of videos that arent under dispute.

He added that no changes were planned on their legal team or in their presentation, even after criticism over his performance.

The trial will resume at noon Thursday.

Savannah Behrmann

Impeachment prosecutor Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., told senators a story from the final weeks of President Donald Trump's administration during his last presentation Wednesday evening.

In a last-ditch attempt to force more objections to the counting of electoral votes on Jan. 6, Cicilline recounted that Trump had reportedly attempted to call Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., but reached Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, instead.

As Cicilline spoke about Trump telling Lee to do more to object to electoral votes, Lee shook his head furiously and scribbled on a sheet of paper "this is not what happened." He then handed it to Trump's attorney David Schoen.

As proceedings concluded, Lee stood up to tell senators the account was incorrect, and he demanded the remarks be struck from the record. There was confusion in the chamber for several minutes as the senators worked to figure out what exactly was happening.

"I'm the only witness," Lee said. And as the only witness on the call, he said he "never made those statements."

Eventually, Rep. Jamie Raskin spoke from the dais that the comments would be removed and that they were not pivotal to the Democrats' case. The Senate gaveled out shortly after.

Nicholas Wu

After the House managers presentation, senators expressed how moved they were, particularly by the unseen security camera footage that displayed how close the senators were to the mob on Jan. 6.

Several key Republican players expressed how upsetting the footage was.

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said, It was obviously very troubling to see the great violence that our Capitol Police and others were subjected to. It tears at your heart and brings tears to your eyes. That was overwhelmingly distressing and emotional.

When asked if he knew how close to danger he was that day, Romney said he did not know until the footage shown at the trial, and was looking forward to thanking Officer Eugene Goodman when I next see him.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, stated: Im angry, I'm disturbed, I'm sad. We lived it once, and that was awful. And we're now reliving it with a more comprehensive timeline. ...The evidence that has been presented thus far has been pretty damning.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said the managers case was riveting and it reinforces my belief that it was a terrible day for our country.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., the one surprise GOP vote yesterday to continue the trial, said the managers presentation was very powerful.

On the second day of Trump's Senate impeachment trial, House Democrats showed security footage from the Capitol riot that had never been seen before. USA TODAY

A few staunch GOP senatorswho voted against continuing the trial yesterdayhad emotional and strong reactions to the managers case Wednesday.

Sen. Lankford, R-Okla., got emotional at one point during the footage, and said seeing all those videos again brought back the memories of that day.

There's a lot of emotion, he said. It's tough to be able to walk through that. That was a horrible day for the entire country.

Trump impeachment: Senators whisper, take deep breaths as violent footage of Capitol riot plays

Lankford said he talked with his seatmate, Sen. Steve Daines of Montana, about the footage rekindling one persons escape, someone Lankford said hes close with but wouldnt name.

I was recounting the story to Steve of their particular escape. And it just came over me again, thinking that through for them, he said.

Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said he went to talk to staff and aides after watching the footage, explaining it was reliving a horrible day.

I talked to some of the staff afterwards and, you know, for them they were in a worse position than we were, he said. I talked to some leadership staff and they were, you know, in their offices and people were banging on the doors. And that was a lot more frightening.

Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., the Republican whip, said the presentations were very effective. They had a strong, strong presentation put together in a way that I think makes it pretty compelling."

However, despite the graphic footage, several GOP senators say they cannot convict because of concerns about the constitutionality of convicting a former president.

"We want justice. But that doesn't mean that we can go against what we believe to be constitutionally limited authority," Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., told Capitol Hill reporters.

Savannah Behrmann, Christal Hayes and Nicholas Wu

U.S. Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman watches never-before-seen security footage of rioters storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, during the second day of former President Donald Trump's second impeachment trial on Wednesday. Goodman, who has been lauded as a hero, warned Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, the rioters were headed his way. Goodman also directed the mob away from the Senate chamber and toward other officers.(Photo: Brandon Bell, AP)

The Senate chamber went quiet as House impeachment managers offered the first pieces of never-before-seen footage.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, held her head between her hands several times as clips played. She jotted down notes sporadically between videos.

Allturned their heads, almost in one motion, as the first radio transmissions and footage played loudly on a pair of TVs in the chamber. Nearly every senator sat attentive for the footage.Some, like Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., readjusted their chairs to get a better view. Several senators in the back row of the chamber, including Mark Warner, D-Va., stood for several minutes to see the screens.

Senators mostly remained motionless. Some jotted down notes, others leaned in toward the screens, and quite a few whispered to one another as more and more videos were shown to them.

Sen. Kysten Sinema, D-Ariz., shook her head several times during several clips. During one that showed rioters banging on the doors of the Capitol, she held her hands on her stomach and to her chest for several moments, appearing to take a deep breath.

Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga. who was sworn in after the attack, continued staring at the screen even when it turned black after several clips played. He bowed his head for several moments and had his hands clasped.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., crossed her arms and shook her head several times after Democrats played footage of a man who stormed House Speaker Nancy Pelosis office.

Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., pointed to the screen as impeachment managers played a clip showing Vice President Mike Pence being evacuated from the Capitol. He whispered to several senators seated nearby.

As the Senate went into recess for dinner after Swalwell finished his presentation, Sen. James Lankford appeared to get emotional at his desk, bending his head down. Sen. Steve Daines, who sits next to him, put his hand on Lankfords arm as if to comfort him.

Christal Hayes

New security footage showed senators being ushered out of the Senate chamber in a single-file line to safety.

Swalwell says he paced it off and they were just 58 steps away from the mob.

Additional footage showed police officers blocking the rioters in at one end of the hallway, stopping them from reaching the senators and their staff as they ran toward safety.

This footage was played twice during the trial by Swalwell.

Trump impeachment: Harrowing new footage shows how close mob got to Pence, Congress

Other security footage showed Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer hurrying up a ramp in the Capitol building basement near the Senate subway with his security detail.

Seconds later, he and his security detail are seen turning and running back, with the officers closing the glass doors and use their bodies to keep them closed.

Swalwell said they had been close to encountering the mob.

Savannah Behrmann

Richard Barnett, the Arkansas man who was photographed with his feet propped on a desk in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office on Jan. 6, had a 950,000-volt stun gun tucked into his waistband, Rep. Stacey Plaskett, D-Virgin Islands, revealed.

House impeachment managers showed security footage of staffers rushing to safety, locking themselves in rooms just minutes before rioters into Pelosi's offices.

Plaskett played audio from one of Pelosi's aides pleading for help in a phone call after staff members barricaded themselves in a conference room.

"They're pounding on the doors trying to find her," the staffer whispered into the phone.

A Pelosi aide later said they could hear the mob rummaging through her offices and yelling, "Where are you, Nancy?"

Plaskett argued the mob of rioters intended to harm Vice President Mike Pence and Pelosi, threatening violence against both as they ransacked the Capitol.

"President Trump put a target on their backs and sent his mob to hunt them down," she said.

Courtney Subramanian

Listen to U.S. Capitol Police radio calls as they attempt to hold back pro-Trump rioters during the January 6 electoral vote. USA TODAY

Rep. Stacey Plaksett, D-V.I., one of the Democratic House prosecutors, showed new security footage detailing some close calls from the Capitol breach.

One video showed Vice President Mike Pence as he was spirited out of the Senate chamber on Jan. 6. Pence was seen turning his head around as he was taken out of the chamber at the same time rioters smashed their way into the Capitol.

"The mob was looking for Vice President Pence because of his patriotism, because the vice president refused to do what the president demanded and overturn the election results," Plaskett said.

Pence, in his role as the president of the Senate, had been presiding over the chamber on Jan. 6 as it counted electoral votes.

Plaskett also showed videos of rioters calling for Pence's death that day, and a video from another rioter calling Pence a "treasonous pig."

"They were talking about assassinating the vice president of the United States," Plaskett said.

Another video showed Officer Eugene Goodman, who has gone viral for video of him redirecting rioters from the doors of the Senate chamber, running and passing Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, in the hallway and directinghim to turn around.

Romney turns andstarts running to safety.

Nicholas Wu and Savannah Behrmann

Del. Stacey Plaskett. who represents the U.S. territory of the Virgin Islands, laid out evidence to argue former President Donald Trump "welcomed and amplified" his supporters plans for Jan. 6 by whipping them up and praising them for violent behavior in the weeks leading up to the attack.

Plaskett pointed to one incident in Texas in which a caravan of Trump supporters deliberately tried to run a bus carrying Biden-Harris campaign workers off a highway. One truck adorned in Trump flags eventually crashed into a Biden-Harris campaign volunteer's car. Trump "made light" of the event, Plaskett said, by retweeting the video with a fight song and exclaiming "I LOVE TEXAS!" After the FBI announced an investigation into the incident, Trump tweeted: "In my opinion, these patriots did nothing wrong."

"Engaging in violence for him made them patriots to Donald Trump," Plaskett said.

She argued Trump encouraged members of the Proud Boys, an extremist group with ties to white nationalism, who were present for the Jan. 6 Capitol siege as well as a pro-Trump protest in Washington, D.C., in December, which escalated into violence between rallygoers and counterprotesters.

When asked during a September debate whether he was willing to condemn white supremacy and militia groups, including the Proud Boys, Trump said, "Stand back and stand by." The words were later used as a Proud Boys slogan, and Trump supporters were spotted wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the phrase at Trump rallies.

Trump did not attend the Dec. 12 march but tweeted throughout the day, including one morning tweet that read: "We have just begun the fight."

"This was not a coincidence," Plaskett said. "Donald Trump, over many months, cultivated violence, praised it. And then when he saw the violence his supporters were capable of, he channeled it to his big wild historic event."

Following the December march, Trump became actively involved in the planning for the Jan. 6 rally that preceded the Capitol attack, Plaskett said.

"The exact thing that happened on January 6 that was their goal," Plaskett said. "And they said out loud on sites that the Trump administration was actively monitoring."

Courtney Subramanian

At the crux of Democratic prosecutors argument to convict Donald Trump is the notion that the then-president knew exactly what would happen when he encouraged his followers at a rally near the White House to head to the Capitol on Jan. 6.

This was not just one speech, Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., told the senators referring to the weeks and weeks of deliberate attempts by Trump to overturn the election. The only thing different about his speech on January 6 from all these other times was that he was no longer telling his base just to stop the steal. He was finally telling them now is the time to do it.

Dean forensically picked apart his speech (nearly 11,000 words, she noted) lasting nearly 40 minutes.

She noted that while he mentioned that his supporters should march peacefully to the Capitol, he only used that word once. In contrast, she said, he uttered the word fight or fighting 20 times, including one line where he said they needed to fight like hell to save our democracy.

We know how the crowd responded to Donald Trumps words, she told the senators. And he knew how they responded to his words.

Ledyard King

Rep. Ted Lieu told senators former President Donald Trump was "a man so desperate to cling to power that he did everything he could to keep it, and when he ran out of non-violent measures, he turned to the violent mob that attacked your Senate chamber on Jan. 6."

The California Democrat said that in his quest to stay in office, Trump determined anyone who stood in his way was an enemy, even his Republican allies.

"Let me be very clear," Lieu said. "The president wasn't just coming for one to two people, or Democrats like me. He was coming for you, for Democratic and Republican senators. He was coming for all of us. Just as the mob did at his direction."

Lieu pointed to Trump's failed efforts to pressure former Attorney General William Barr to find evidence of voter fraud. He said that when Trump continued to make that demand, even after federal investigators found no evidence of widespread fraud, it "was a bridge too far" for Barr, prompting his resignation.

"Trump's actions time and time again make clear that he would do anything, and pressure anyone, if it meant overturning the election results," Lieu said.

His final desperate attempt to stay in power centered on the false belief that Vice President Mike Pence had the authority to refuse to certify the election results in the joint session of Congress on Jan. 6. Trump mounted a campaign on social media and at rallies aimed at pressuring Pence to use this imagined power to overturn the election.

"Behind closed doors President Trump applied significant pressure to his second in command," Lieu said, citing news reports that Trump would tell anyone he could to call on Pence to refuse to certify the Electoral College result. Lieu said it was those efforts that fueled the mob's calls for Pence's hanging. But Pence "refused the president and fulfilled his duty," Lieu said.

"Even after the Capitol was attacked; even after he was personally targeted; even after his family was targeted; Vice President Pence stood strong and certified the election. Vice President Pence showed us what it means to be an American."

See the rest here:
Live impeachment updates: Second day of Trumps impeachment trial wraps up - USA TODAY