Vice President Donald Trump’s historic lawsuit began in Senate Tuesday, with Democrats hoping to disqualify him from holding public office again showing a graphic video of Capitol’s monthly deadly storm the U.S. which he is accused of inciting.
The dramatic arguments in the 100-seat Senate focused on the question of whether a lawsuit should be held after Trump resigns, as he did on Jan. 20, goes against the U.S. Constitution, which allows for impeachment for “high crimes and misconduct.”
Former US President Donald Trump
(Photo: AP)
Prosecuting House Democrats opened their case by showing a video of Trump supporters getting the upper hand over police at the Capitol in Jan. 6 attack after urging people in a speech to “fight like hell” to turn his November. 3 election losses.
“If that is not a crime of impeachment, there is no such thing,” Democrat convener Jamie Raskin, who led the charge, told the assembled elders – serving as jurors – after they show video.
The video showed Trump supporters throwing down barriers and hitting police officers. It showed the moment protesters tried to break through the doors of the House chamber while lawyers took shelter inside, including when a police officer shot and killed a man. campaign, U.S. Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt, as she tries to climb through a broken window. .
In another view, riot filtering through the contents of a lawyer ‘s desk hears say, “There must be something here that we can use against the spit fire.”
Trump supporters storm U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6
(Photo: Reuters)
Trump would have to cast a two-thirds majority, meaning at least 17 Republicans would have to join 48 Senate Democrats and two independents in voting against Trump. That is a high order.
In a Capitol attack, the mob attacked police, fired out lawyers scrambling for safety and suspended a formal conference testimony on the influence of President Joe Biden after Trump two months challenging the election results. Five people died, including a police officer.
About 170 police officers were injured.
Jamie Raskin (D-MD) delivers a House impeachment article against former President Donald Trump on allegations that he instigated a Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, on the floor of the U.S. Senate
(Photo: Reuters)
Trump was introduced to the Democratic-led House on Jan. 13 on a charge of inciting rebellion. Democrats hope to disallow Trump from holding public office again.
Trump is the only president to go on court in the Senate after leaving office and the only one to be introduced twice. He seems to have gotten free with the support of a Republican in the narrowly divided Senate.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, cited the accusation against Trump: “The grave charges have always been against the president of the United States in American history.”
Prior to the attack, Trump falsely stated that widespread voting fraud lost the election to Biden. The senators watched a video of Trump talking to supporters at a rally that preceded the attack, reiterating his false claims about an election rally.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Languages Director Chuck Schumer
(Photo: EPA)
“Presidents can’t stop a revolution in their final weeks and walk away like nothing happened. And yet that’s the rule that President Trump wants you to accept , “Democrat convener Joe Neguse told the senators. “I urge you – we urge you – to refuse his request, to confirm the Constitution, to allow us to try this matter. “
Most of the elders at the trial were present in the Capitol on Jan. 6, when many lawyers said they feared for their own safety.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, was silent as he watched the montage video Tuesday. He sat still, his hands clasped loosely in his chest.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
(Photo: AP)
Defense lawyers intend to argue that only a presidential president can oppose an impeachment lawsuit. But a majority of legal experts say it is constitutional to take the lawsuit after an official leaves office, said Michigan State University law professor Brian Kalt, a senior impeachment scholar.
Senate Democrats are expected to gain the upper hand in Tuesday’s vote on the basis of the lawsuit. A Republican attempt to block the lawsuit on those grounds was defeated 55-45 last month.
The trial is being held with astonishing security around the Capitol after the siege involving armed security forces and the edge of a fence and razor wire.
The lawsuit could reveal the Republican Party’s leadership after Trump’s false four-year presidency.
Sharp divisions have emerged between Trump loyalists and those hoping to move the party in a new way. At the same time, Democrats are concerned that the lawsuit could hamper Biden’s ability to quickly advance an ambitious agenda.
Members of the National Guard on duty outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on Jan. 14, 2021
(Photo: TNS)
Trump’s defense has also argued that he was exercising his right to free speech under the First Amendment to the Constitution when he spoke to supporters at a gathering in Washington on the day of the Capitol attack.
On Wednesday, the prosecution and defense are going to turn to the merits of the indictment.
They will have 32 hours evenly distributed over a period of no more than four days to present their cases. The proceedings could be further extended, with seniors having time to question each side.
One year ago, the then Republican-controlled Senate received Trump’s accusations of obstruction of Congress and abuse of power in connection with his pressure on Ukraine to investigate. launched on Biden and his son Hunter in 2019.