In a damning summary of the case against Donald Trump to be made at his impeachment trial next week, prosecutors from the House of Representatives on Tuesday submitted an 80-page memo recording his call the president then backed supporters to Washington and released the US Capitol.
Describing scenes of violence inside the Capitol in previously unpublished details, prosecutors accused Trump of creating a “powdery mildew” of discontent among dissidents. support which on 6 January became an “armed, angry and dangerous” mob.
Lawyers for Trump issued a 14-page document arguing thinly that his speech was not a call to storm the capitol, and arguing that his lawsuit was illegal because and that he has left the post.
In his memo, House impeachment managers said Trump supporters had reached Washington “willing to do whatever it took to keep him in power. All they had to hear was that their president had to fight like hell. All they need is for President Trump to go on strike. “
They blamed the ensuing violence – five people died, hundreds were injured, members of Congress and staff were shocked and the building was left with “bullet marks in the walls, looted art, smeared feces in halls ”- squarely at Trump’s door.
“President Trump’s responsibility for the January 6 events is unparalleled,” prosecutors said.
The document cleared the way for an impressive reception next week, with prosecutors revealing they would use new photographs and witness accounts, which are thought to include the testimony of police officers, to make their case in the public eye – and to get the highest political price from a Republican ready to refuse to condemn Trump regardless of the evidence against him.
Trump is accused of inciting revolution. If convicted, Trump could be barred from political office. But Democrats are unlikely to find the 17 Republican votes they need.
Trump’s lawyers said: “It is widely denied that President Trump encouraged the public to engage in destructive behavior.
“It is denied that the phrase, ‘If you don’t fight like hell you are not going to get a country now’ had anything to do with the action of the Capitol, for he was clear about the need to fight for security selection in general, as can be seen from the speech recording. “
Trump’s strategy was the result of a late maneuver. After resigning five lawyers at the weekend, the former president announced two new lawyers, the frequent Fox News reporter David Schoen and the county’s former prosecutor Bruce Castor, in their place.
Schoen told Fox News that “President Trump has always been critical of violence” and “this has nothing to do with President Trump”. That claim seemed to shrink beside dozens of pages of Trump’s values with a six-month-old footnote revealing the document submitted by House managers. The document ended with a description of Trump’s speech to supporters before he sent them to the Capitol.
“Examining the previously tense crowd, President Trump ushered it into a frenzy, forcing fans to fight like hell [or] you will no longer have a country ‘, said the memo.
“Then he aimed them directly at the Capitol, saying: ‘You will never restore our country to weakness. You have to show strength, and you have to be strong. ‘
“He summoned a mob to Washington, drove them into the desert, and targeted them like a cannon loaded down Pennsylvania Avenue,” prosecutors added.
Trump’s defensive nature had been in question for weeks, amid reports that he was urging lawmakers to build their case around the media lie that was stolen. A team, led by South Carolina lawyer Butch Bowers, opposed the strategy but the relationship fell apart over taxes, according to multiple reports. The memo filed Tuesday said Trump could not be tried because he had already resigned.
“The 45th president believes and therefore opposes that the Senate does not have sovereignty as a private citizen in its capacity to hold office,” he said.
The prosecutors of the House expected the argument and it was strongly affirmed, writing, “That argument is wrong. It’s dangerous too … There is no ‘January Exception’ to impeachment or any other provision of the constitution. A president must respond broadly to his conduct in office from his first day in office during his last day. “
The impeachment article was approved in a bipartisan house vote. Many constitutional scholars agree that there is debate to be held over whether Trump’s speeches mean “encouragement” as alleged.
“Speaking rights and political participation mean little if the president can take lawless action if he loses at the polls,” wrote House managers. “President Trump therefore incited deadly violence to prevent a peaceful movement of power, and to reverse the election results, thus a direct attack on the fundamental principles of first change.”
The document noted the narrowness of the lawyers who captured the Capitol on January 6 and got the country out of escalating violence.
“Protesters were singing, ‘Hang Mike Pence!’ ”The memo said, noting that the vice president had told Trump that he would fill his ceremonial position about counting the election vote for Joe Biden. “Another man shouted, ‘Mike Pence, we’re coming for you … fucking traitor!’ [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi we come for that bitch ‘.
“In order to protect our democracy and national security – and to prevent any future president from considering inciting violence in the pursuit of power – the Senate should to condemn and dismiss Trump’s future federal office, ”the memo said.
“Only after President Trump is accountable for what he has done can the country move forward with unity of purpose and commitment to the constitution.”