Washington — House Democrats leading the prosecution of former President Trump wrapped up the second day of his impeachment trial on Wednesday by calling into question what Mr. Trump was doing while the Capitol was under attack on January 6.
"From the very beginning, the people around Donald Trump wanted him to take command," House impeachment manager David Cicilline said. But Mr. Trump did "nothing" to protect the lawmakers trapped in the Capitol. "They were listening to him. He could have demanded them to leave. But he didn't."
Earlier on Wednesday, the impeachment managers presented dramatic new security footage that emphasized just how close the pro-Trump mob came to lawmakers and staff when they breached the complex on January 6. Senators from both parties described the footage afterward as "disturbing" and "overwhelmingly distressing."
"I know what I was feeling in the Senate chamber when I could hear those voices. I knew what it meant to be running down this hallway with my colleagues," Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski said. "I wasn't fully aware of everything else that was happening in the building. So when you see all the pieces come together, just the total awareness of that, the enormity of this, this threat, not just to us as people, as lawmakers, but the threat to the institution and what Congress represents, it's disturbing."
The managers showed the videos and new radio communications after hours of presentations by members of the impeachment team, who built a case alleging Mr. Trump deliberately stoked supporters to resort to violence not just on the day of the attack, but in the weeks and months leading up to it.
Democrats used the footage captured on surveillance cameras throughout the Capitol, as well as video posted by rioters themselves, to construct a timeline showing the attack as it unfolded inside the building, where lawmakers were debating challenges to electoral votes in their respective chambers.
"It was not until I was preparing for this trial that I understood the full scope, and learned the information that you're going to see, that I understood the effort to attack our seat of government," said Delegate Stacey Plaskett of the U.S. Virgin Islands, who presented the Democrats' reconstruction of the events.
In one of the slides from the first minutes of the attack, Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman can be seen on surveillance footage sprinting down a hallway to meet the rioters as they breached the doors, warning Utah Senator Mitt Romney to get to safety. Goodman would lead the rioters up a set of stairs and away from the Senate chamber.
During the dinner break, Romney said he did not know how close he had been to the mob — and said he was "looking forward to thanking" Goodman "the next time I see him."
Other footage outside the Senate chamber showed Vice President Mike Pence and his family being hastily evacuated from the floor. Pence had resisted pressure by Mr. Trump to obstruct the electoral count, and Democrats highlighted videos from rioters who chanted "Hang Mike Pence!" as they stormed the Capitol.
In recordings of radio communications, frantic police officers can be heard asking dispatchers to send in reinforcements. "They're starting to dismantle the reviewing stand," one said. "They're throwing metal poles at us."
Some of the most disturbing footage depicted rioters attacking Capitol Police officers as the attack unfolded. One video showed rioters brutally attacking officers as they attempted to enter the building, including one rioter appearing to claw at an officer's eyes.
New footage shows just how close Capitol rioters came to lawmakers
House impeachment managers presented new video from Capitol security cameras showing the January 6 attack. CBSN political reporter Caitlin Huey-Burns, CBS News Capitol Hill producer Rebecca Kaplan and Wall Street Journal White House reporter Tarini Parti join CBSN's "Red & Blue" host Elaine Quijano to discuss how lawmakers responded to seeing how close the rioters came to them and their colleagues.
"That was overwhelmingly distressing": Senators react to new video evidence from January 6 attack
Senators from both parties said it was difficult to relive the experience of the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol in the new evidence presented by impeachment managers that detailed the movements of rioters. On the second day of former President Trump's impeachment trial, the House impeachment managers presented evidence that included security footage not previously seen as a part of their argument that Mr. Trump incited the mob.
The evidence presented Wednesday showed how close rioters came to entering the Senate chamber while senators were still there. GOP Senator Dan Sullivan said that watching the footage made him "angry."
"We knew it was going to be an intense experience, for me at least it brings back a lot of anger," Sullivan said.
Sullivan's fellow Republican colleague, Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, said she had multiple emotions while reliving her experience that day with a "more comprehensive timeline." She called it "disturbing."
"I know what I was feeling in the Senate chamber when I could hear those voices. I knew what it meant to be running down this hallway with my colleagues," Murkowski added. "I wasn't fully aware of everything else that was happening in the building. So when you see all the pieces come together, just the total awareness of that, the enormity of this, this threat, not just to us as people, as lawmakers, but the threat to the institution and what Congress represents, it's disturbing."
Read more here.
Grace Segers and Jack Turman
Senate recesses for the night after some procedural confusion
Just as the Senate was about to recess, Senator Mike Lee of Utah stood to object to something said by House impeachment manager David Cicilline earlier in the trial.
Cicilline had cited something about a conversation Lee had that Lee said was untrue, although Lee didn't cite his specific objection. Lee said he was the only witness to the conversation.
The clearly confused Senate seemed unclear on how to proceed.
Eventually, Raskin said Cicilline "correctly and accurately" quoted a newspaper article, but withdrew the evidence since it couldn't be proven and Lee claimed it was false.
Lee yelled something inaudible after that, but was ignored.
The Senate adjourned as a court of impeachment at 7:43 p.m.
Castro says Trump "further" incited the mob against Pence
House impeachment manager Joaquin Castro tried to make the case that Mr. Trump, despite knowing what was happening at the Capitol, did nothing to protect his own vice president. Instead, Castro said, he "further" incited the mob against then-Vice President Mike Pence.
"Even when president trump knew what his words were causing, he didn't do any of those things to stop the crowd. In fact, he did the opposite — he fueled the fire," Castro said.
After Pence had already been evacuated, Mr. Trump tweeted: "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!"
The violent mob echoed Mr. Trump's tweet, according to the video Castro played.
"They were paying attention. And they also followed instructions," Castro said.
It is unclear at this point — when Mr. Trump fired off that tweet — whether Mr. Trump knew Pence had been evacuated. But the rioters were already inside the Capitol, and Mr. Trump's first was criticizing his vice president, who was in the building.
It wasn't until later that Mr. Trump even acknowledged the mob attacking the Capitol.
Castro recalled the tweets and television pleas from Republicans and former Trump associates, who urged the president to call off the attack. Castro recounted how Mr. Trump said "thank you" in his comments to his supporters who stormed the Capitol:
"Thank you for what? Thank you for shattering the windows and destroying property? Thank you for injuring more than 140 police officers?" Castro said.
Castro replayed Mr. Trump's video in which he called his riotous supporters "very special" and said "we love you."
"This was not a condemnation. This was a message of consolation," Castro said.
Senate trial reconvenes with argument from Cicilline
Congressman David Cicilline picked up when the Senate reconvened after the dinner break, outlining what Mr. Trump was doing while the Capitol was under attack. Cicilline played video of Mr. Trump's speech at the rally of his supporters shortly before a mob stormed the Capitol.
Cicilline noted that "we heard nothing" from Mr. Trump while his supporters were beginning to breach the Capitol. The former president tweeted a video of his speech shortly before 2 p.m., after the mob had already broken the line of officers around the building. He also cited reporting that members of Congress trapped in the Capitol had tried to contact the White House to plead the president to tell his supporters to stand down.
"From the very beginning, the people around Donald Trump wanted him to take command," Cicilline said. But Mr. Trump did "nothing" to protect the lawmakers trapped in the Capitol. "They were listening to him. He could have demanded them to leave. But he didn't."
Cicilline also cited reporting that Mr. Trump called Senator Tommy Tuberville shortly after 2 p.m. to ask him to raise further objections to the Electoral College results, simultaneous to when rioters were breaching the building.
Schumer calls presentation from House Democrats "gut-wrenching"
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the House impeachment managers made an "overwhelmingly compelling case" for why Mr. Trump should be convicted of incitement of insurrection.
"It was gut-wrenching," he told reporters of Democrats' presentation. "The bravery of our police officers is incredible. It was compelling, and I just hope that our Republican colleagues have an open mind as they look to seeing what we've seen today."
Speaking to his own close call with the rioters, as captured on Capitol security cameras and played in the Senate chamber, Schumer thanked the Capitol Police officers in his security detail.
"They are utterly amazing and great and we love them," he said.
While the Senate is on a dinner break, Schumer said he does not believe many members will feel like eating in the wake of the presentation.
Murkowski: Evidence from House managers "pretty damning"
Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska, said the videos obtained and played by the House impeachment managers were "greatly disturbing," but vowed to keep an open mind for when Mr. Trump's legal team presents their defense of the president.
"The evidence that has been presented thus far is pretty damning," she said. "But I also know that I have an obligation and responsibility, and one that I accept, to listen to what the defense will present."
Murkowski was one of six Republicans who voted Tuesday to proceed with Mr. Trump's trial, as a question of its constitutionality was raised. She is viewed a key GOP member to watch, as Murkowski was not shy in criticizing Mr. Trump for his conduct related to the riots and called for him to resign.
"I don't see how after the American public sees the full story laid out here, not just in one snippet on this day and another on that, but this whole scenario that has been laid out before us, I just don't see how Donald Trump could be reelected to the presidency again," she said. "I just don't see that."
Murkowski also said Republican leaders in the Senate were not pressuring members to vote a certain way and she "absolutely" feels free to vote her conscience.
Romney says he was "very fortunate" that Goodman steered him to safety
Senator Mitt Romney, who was seen in the new surveillance video being directed to turn around by Officer Eugene Goodman as rioters approached, told reporters that he wasn't aware how close the rioters were, and didn't realize it was Goodman who steered him to safety.
"No, I did not know that was Officer Goodman, but I look forward to thanking him when I next see him," Romney said. "I was very fortunate indeed that Officer Goodman was there to get me in the right direction."
Romney 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," he said. "That was overwhelmingly distressing and unemotional."
Officer warned "we've lost the line" as mob overtook Capitol
Swalwell then played a series of videos and audio from police radios demonstrating the violent actions taken by the rioters against law enforcement protecting the Capitol.
One Metropolitan Police Department officer radioed, "We're still taking rocks, bottles and pieces of flag and metal pole."
"The crowd is using munitions against us," the officer says. "They have bear spray in the crowd."
Another officer says, "We have been flanked and we've lost the line."
Capitol security footage shows rioters hurling poles and other objects at officers protecting the Capitol, while body camera footage, obtained from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, shows a protester hurling himself at an officer and attempting to yank his baton from him.
Another video showed rioters brutally attacking officers as they attempted to enter the building, including one rioter appearing to claw at an officer's eyes.
Swalwell concluded his presentation with brutal footage of Officer Daniel Hodges being crushed in a door and screaming in pain. The congressman exited the floor without making additional remarks.
The Senate then recessed for a dinner break, and will reconvene at 6:15 p.m. Raskin appeared to be crying after Swalwell finished his presentation.
Grace Segers and Melissa Quinn
58 steps away: New footage shows lawmakers fleeing as rioters amass
Swalwell displayed a series of videos taken from Capitol rioters as they made their way through the House side of the Capitol and, ultimately, steps from the House chamber.
One photo showed Congressman Jason Crow of Colorado comforting Congresswoman Susan Wild of Pennsylvania, while in a video from Congressman Dan Kildee of Michigan, members crouched in the House chamber can be heard telling one another to remove the pins identifying them as lawmakers.
Another portion of Capitol security footage shows Ashli Babbitt, draped in a Trump flag, walking through the Capitol. Babbitt was shot and killed by law enforcement as she attempted to climb through a shattered window outside the House lobby.
Video from another angle shows lawmakers carrying gas masks and being evacuated from the chamber. Just inside the Capitol, rioters were fighting with Metropolitan Police Department officers who responded to the attack.
On the Senate side, a video shows senators moving down a flight of stairs as they exited the chamber.
"You know how close you came to the mob. Some of you, I understand, could hear them," Swalwell told senators, adding members of the public don't realize how close the rioters were.
The California congressman said senators were just 58 steps from where the mob was amassing.
New video also shows Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer as he is evacuated by his security detail. Schumer and officers walk up a ramp and disappear from the frame, but a few seconds later the group is seen running back down the ramp in the direction they just came.
Once they walk through a pair of doors at the base of the ramp, the glass doors are slammed shut.
Swalwell hailed the bravery of the Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police Department, saying they spent hours engaged in "hand-to-hand combat" with the insurrectionists.
Video shows Pelosi's staff rushing for cover as rioters hunted for House speaker
Displaying social media posts and affidavits filed in support of criminal complaints against those charged for their role in the riots, Plaskett underscored that the mob entered the Capitol with the intent of killing Pence and Pelosi.
Despite the threat to the Capitol, Pence remained in the building after he was whisked off the Senate floor.
"The vice president, our second in command, was always at the center of it," Plaskett said.
Pelosi, meanwhile, was evacuated entirely away from the Capitol complex and rushed to an off-site location.
"We know from the rioters themselves that if they had found Speaker Pelosi, they would've killed her," Plaskett said.
Footage from a member of the mob shows one man chanting "Nancy, oh Nancy?" and "where are you Nancy?"
Security video from a hallway in Pelosi's suite shows her staff running from an office, across the hallway and into another room, where they barricaded a door with furniture and hid under a table. In a subsequent video, rioters carrying Trump flags flow into the hallway, while one throws his body against a door repeatedly, ultimately breaking through it before turning away.
In audio from Pelosi's staff broadcast for senators, a male aide says "we need Capitol Police to come into the hallway," and "they're pounding on the doors trying to find her."
Pelosi's office was ransacked and damaged, and a man, identified as Richard Barnett and later arrested, took a photo with his feet up on a desk. Plaskett highlighted that Barnett was carrying a stun gun in his waistband.
"President Trump put a target on their backs, and his mob broke into the Capitol to hunt them down," Plaskett said of Pelosi and Pence.
New security footage shows how Capitol attack unfolded
Impeachment manager Stacey Plaskett walked the senators through the timeline of the rioters' entry into the Senate side of the Capitol, using security footage from inside the building that had not been released publicly.
The security footage shows the attackers breaking windows and climbing into the building. One police officer inside responded, but was quickly overwhelmed by the rioters. Some rioters were wearing full body armor, and others were carrying riot shields, indicating that they were prepared for violence. Members of the Proud Boys were among the people who stormed the Capitol. One person in the video is seen carrying a Confederate flag.
Security footage also showed Officer Eugene Goodman running towards where the rioters entered, and directing Senator Mitt Romney to return to the chamber. Goodman then led many of the rioters away from the chamber, buying crucial time for lawmakers to get to safety.
Plaskett noted that Vice President Mike Pence was in a room near the Senate chamber, within 100 feet of the rioters. Security footage showed Pence's hasty evacuation as the mob poured into the building.
"As Pence was being evacuated, rioters started to spread throughout the Capitol," Plaskett said. "The mob was looking for Vice President Pence because of his patriotism."
Another video showed how some of the rioters sought to assassinate Pence, chanting "hang Mike Pence" and "bring out Pence." A gallows had been erected outside the Capitol.
The videos show how close Pence and several lawmakers may have come to being harmed or even assassinated.
House Democrats play radio communications from police as rioters stormed Capitol: "This is now effectively a riot"
The Senate reconvened roughly 10 minutes after 4 p.m., and Delegate Stacey Plaskett played video footage and radio communications that demonstrated the threats to former Vice President Mike Pence, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the joint session of Congress and law enforcement.
"I do want to alert everyone that there is some very graphic violent footage coming, just so people are aware," Congressman Jamie Raskin, the lead impeachment manager warned as the proceedings resumed.
Plaskett began by highlighting the pressure Mr. Trump put on Pence to toss out states' electoral votes, followed by his rejection of those efforts, saying he displayed "courage" and "patriotism."
In a timeline laid out by Plaskett, the rioters made their way through metal barriers set up outside the Capitol as Pence gaveled in the joint session, with the House and Senate gathered to count electoral votes.
Radio communications from the Metropolitan Police Department highlight how during and following the president's speech, his supporters descended on the Capitol and became increasingly violent.
A dispatcher warned officers to "be advised, the speech has ended," meaning the president's speech.
One officer warns of "multiple Capitol injuries," while another says there are a "group of about 50 charging up the hill on the West Front."
Officers warn the rioters are throwing metal poles and pulling down gates, while another calls for additional support and alerts dispatch there was "multiple law enforcement injuries."
One officer then warns of an explosion, though it's unclear whether it's fireworks. Then, an officer says "this is now effectively a riot."
Video footage, meanwhile, shows the crowd of officers yelling "f**k you" at Capitol police and becoming closer and closer to breaching the Capitol building, while Pence continues to preside.
At 2:12 p.m., Pence is evacuated from the Senate chamber by U.S. Secret Service, as captured on C-SPAN video from inside the chamber.
Senate take brief recess
The Senate is taking a break until 4 p.m.
Dean says Trump was "desperate to retain power by any means necessary"
Representative Madeleine Dean laid out the events of the morning of January 6, repeating the point that Mr. Trump gave his supporters a time and a place to gather.
"You saw a man who refused to lose, who was desperate to retain power by any means necessary," Dean said.
"This was not just one speech, this was weeks and weeks of deliberate effort" to overturn the results so he didn't have to give up the presidency, she added.
There was one aspect that made this different, however: "He was finally telling them, now is the time to do it. Here's the place, and here's how."
Dean described how Mr. Trump appeared on stage for that fateful rally near the White House "with the seal of the presidency" on his podium, and the White House in the backdrop.
Dean played clips from Mr. Trump's roughly 70-minute speech on January 6. Dean claimed Mr. Trump confronted violence with praise.
A key part of Mr. Trump's defense is that he told his supporters to "peacefully" march on the Capitol. But that was the only time Mr. Trump used that work or encouraged nonviolence, while he used the word "fight" roughly 20 times, Dean said.
"In a speech spanning almost 11,000 words — yes, we did check — that was the one time, the only time, President Trump used the word 'peaceful' or any suggestion of nonviolence," Dean said.
Plaskett says Trump "channeled" violence by his supporters "to his big, wild, historic event"
Delegate Stacey Plaskett of the U.S. Virgin Islands highlighted previous acts from Mr. Trump's supporters who then traveled to Washington on January 6, arguing the former president was aware of the violence he was inciting with his rhetoric about the election.
"Truth and facts are overwhelming that our president, the president of the United States, incited a mob to storm the Capitol, the attempt to stop the certification of a presidential election," Plaskett said.
Like other managers before her, Plaskett declared the violence perpetrated by Mr. Trump's was foreseeable given the former president's conduct in the months, weeks and days before the assault, and previous incidents of violence from groups who attended the riots.
"The violence that occured on January 6, like the attack itself, did not just appear," she said.
Plaskett noted by the time of the assault January 6, Mr. Trump "had every reason to know that they were armed, that they were violent and that they would actually fight. He knew who he was calling and the violence they were capable of."
She also stressed that rather than calling off his supporters, Mr. Trump "fanned the flame of violence and it worked."
Focusing on the Proud Boys, a far-right group, Plaskett highlighted its members' histories of violence and played footage from the September 29 presidential debate, during which Mr. Trump told the Proud Boys to "stand back and stand by" when asked to condemn them. The Proud Boys then sold merchandise bearing the phrase.
She also recalled an October incident in Texas in which a caravan of Mr. Trump's supporters surrounded a Biden-Harris campaign bus filled with staff and volunteers in an attempt to run it off the road. Mr. Trump shared a video of the incident on Twitter, stating "I LOVE TEXAS!"
"For anyone who says Donald Trump didn't know the violence he was inciting, I ask you to consider his supporters tried to drive a bus off the highway in the middle of the day to intimidate his opponent's campaign workers," Plaskett said, adding he called those supporters who participated in the caravan "patriots."
Plaskett said the organizer of the caravan in Texas was involved in the January 6 rally near the White House and was among those who breached the Capitol, making his way to the Rotunda before urging the crowd to go inside.
"These are the people that President Trump cultivated, who were standing by," she said.
Plaskett said those who were involved in earlier Trump campaign events were brought back to assist with planning the January 6 rally, and Mr. Trump himself played a role.
"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," she said. "He organized January 6 with the same people that had just organized a rally resulting in substantial violence and made absolutely sure this time these violent rally-goers wouldn't just remain in place. He made sure that those violent people would literally march right here, to our steps, from the Ellipse to the Capitol, to stop the steal. His cavalry. This was deliberate."
Plaskett said Mr. Trump and his team monitored public forums where posts alluded to violence at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, and she showed photos of Proud Boys members inside the building wearing ear pieces and using walkie-talkies to better coordinate with one another.
"The exact thing that happened on January 6, that was their goal. And they said it out loud on sites that the Trump administration was actively monitoring," she said.
She also cited a Washington Post article on a FBI report warning of "war" at the Capitol, as well as a warning from D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser for residents to stay away from the area and arrests made before the riots.
"This is all in public view. All of it," Plaskett said. "The truth is usually seen and rarely heard. Truth is truth whether denied or not, and the truth is President Trump had spent months calling his supporters to a march on a specific day at a specific time in specific places to stop the certification. And leading up to the event, there were hundreds, hundreds of posts online showing that his supporters took this as a call to arms to attack the Capitol."
Plaskett added that rather than seeking to quell the violence in the face of these warnings, Mr. Trump instead appeared before his supporters and urged them to "fight like hell or you're not going to have a country anymore."
"And that's why this is different," she said. "And that's why he must be convicted and disqualified."
Lieu argues Trump "ran out of nonviolent options to retain power"
Representative Ted Lieu of California outlined the numerous times Mr. Trump targeted members of Congress who didn't do enough to fight for him and go along with his false claims of the election being rigged.
Lieu showed tweet after tweet in which Mr. Trump mocked members of Congress for failing to pretend that he won. Those tweets were largely aimed at Republicans.
"President Trump was telling you that you owe him," Lieu said.
Lieu recalled how Mr. Trump also encouraged and pressured the Justice Department to investigate his claims of election fraud. The Justice Department ultimately found no evidence of widespread fraud.
"But President Trump refused to follow the facts and the law," Lieu said.
Lieu went on to describe how Mr. Trump pressured his own vice president, Mike Pence, who ultimately said he would not block the certification of the election results. Pence lacked the power to do so.
"Vice President Pence stood strong and certified the election. Vice President Pence showed us what it means to be an American, what it means to show courage," Lieu said.
But at that point, Mr. Trump "ran out of nonviolent options to retain power," Lieu said, claiming that he then turned to violent options.
Dean implores senators not to "become numb" to Trump's conduct
Congresswoman Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania laid out Mr. Trump's far-reaching campaign to secure a second term in the White House, which began with legal challenges, then pressuring local and state election officials, followed by attacks on lawmakers, then pressuring the Justice Department and concluding with an attack on Pence.
"Not a single court, not a single judge agreed that the election results were invalid or should be invalidated," Dean said, noting that of the 62 post-election challenges brought on behalf of Mr. Trump in court, he lost all but one.
Dean highlighted Mr. Trump's failed attempts in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia to push election officials and state lawmakers to reverse the outcome of the election, as well as his repeated attacks on Georgia Secretary of State Brian Raffensperger, a Republican who received death threats after certifying the state's presidential election results for Mr. Biden.
"Donald Trump was trying to undermine our election by taking votes away from the American people so that he could remain president, and he was willing to blame and betray anyone, anyone, even his own supporters if they got in the way," she said.
Dean implored senators not to "become numb" to Mr. Trump's attempts to reverse the election outcome.
"Trump did this across state after state, so often, so loudly, so publicly," she said. "Senators, ours is a dialogue with history, a conversation with the past with a hope for the future."
Senate reconvenes as court of impeachment
The Senate reconvened as a court of impeachment at 2:04 p.m., with impeachment managers Congresswoman Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania and Ted Lieu of California set to detail Mr. Trump's attempts to reverse the outcome of the election.
Senate recesses for 15-minute break
The Senate is taking a 15-minute break before continuing with the House managers' presentations.
Trump "doused the flames with kerosene," Swalwell argues
California Congressman Eric Swalwell, a member of the House team, argued Mr. Trump stoked the outrage among his supporters in the weeks after Election Day by making unfounded claims that ballots were illegally cast and the election was rife with fraud, costing him a second term.
"He doused the flames with kerosene," Swalwell said of Mr. Trump, adding he repeatedly claimed the election was "stolen" in phone calls, during rallies and in television interviews. "This wasn't just some random guy at the neighborhood guy blowing off steam. This was our commander-in chief."
Playing video of Mr. Trump's supporters outside the home of Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson chanting "stop the steal," the California Democrat said the former president could have lowered the temperature after the election, but opted not to.
"President Trump cannot say, 'I didn't know what I was inciting,'" Swalwell said. "There was plenty of evidence that his words had consequences, and if he wanted to stop it, he could stop it."
Mr. Trump, he continued, "was never shy about using his platforms to try and stop something."
Swalwell pointed to numerous tweets from the former president posted throughout December directing them to January 6, "the day they needed to show up and be ready to fight," as well as tweets from his supporters highlighting the rally January 6.
"This was not just any old protest. President was inciting something historic," he said. "The cavalry was coming."
Swalwell said the former president's conduct before the assault was "deliberate, planned and premeditated."
"This was not one speech, not one tweet. It was dozens in rapid succession with the specific details. He was acting as part of the host committee," he said.
Castro details how Trump laid groundwork for January 6 riots before election
Congressman Joaquin Castro of Texas focused on Mr. Trump's conduct before Election Day on November 3 and in its immediate wake, arguing he laid the groundwork for the January 6 assault by claiming to his supporters early in the campaign the election would be "rigged" and "fraudulent" if he lost to President Joe Biden.
Castro also showed senators clips from interviews in which Mr. Trump cast doubt on whether he would accept the results of the election and commit to a peaceful transfer of power.
"This is clearly a man who refuses to accept the possibility or the reality, in our democracy, of losing an election," he said.
Castro said Mr. Trump made his base believe the only way he could lose to Mr. Biden was if the election was rigged.
"Senators, all of us know and all of us understand how dangerous that is for our country, because the most combustible thing you can do in a democracy is convince people that an election doesn't count, that their voice and their vote don't count and that it's all been stolen, especially if what you're saying are lies," he said.
Shifting his focus to the days immediately following the election, Castro showed headlines of news articles about Mr. Trump's supporters, some of them armed, protesting at vote-counting sites and attempting to stop the ballots from being tallied.
The president, he said, repeatedly told his supporters "nearly every day" across various mediums "that their most precious right in our democracy, their voice, their vote was being stripped away and they had to fight to stop that. And they believed him and so they fought."
"President Donald John Trump incited this violence, and that's the truth," Castro said.
Neguse: Trump "assembled the mob, he summoned the mob and he incited the mob"
Impeachment manager Congressman Joe Neguse of Colorado outlined a roadmap describing how Mr. Trump's remarks in the run-up to the January 6 assault served as a "call to arms" to his supporters and provoked the pro-Trump mob that descended on the Capitol building.
"If we are to protect our republic and prevent something like this from ever happening, he must be convicted," Neguse said.
The Colorado Democrat said the managers, throughout their presentation, will demonstrate how Mr. Trump spurred the attack, making it "predictable" and "foreseeable."
"He had the power to stop it. And he didn't," Neguse said.
The congressman said Mr. Trump's words, which he showcased repeatedly, had a "specific meaning" to the mob of his supporters who stormed the Capitol building January 6.
To demonstrate how Mr. Trump provoked the rioters with his rhetoric, Neguse said the president followed a pattern, repeating in a series of public speeches that the "election was stolen," and they needed to "stop the steal" and, later, "fight like hell" to "stop the steal."
"When in our history has a speech led thousands of people to storm our nation's Capitol with weapons, to scale the walls, break windows, kill a Capitol police officer?" Neguse asked. "This was not just a speech, it didn't just happen."
Neguse noted Mr. Trump's conduct went beyond provocation of his supporters, as he also attempted to pressure state election officials to overturn the outcome of the presidential election, though his efforts were fruitless. When that failed, he turned to his vice president to attempt to stop the counting of the Electoral College votes, Neguse said. Pence ultimately resisted Mr. Trump's pressures.
"None of it worked. So, what does he do? With his back against the wall, when all else has failed, he turns back to his supporters, who he'd already spent months telling them that the election was stolen. And he amplified it further, he turned it up a notch. He told them that they had to be ready not just to 'stop the steal,' but to 'fight like hell,'" Neguse said.
In the months after Mr. Trump's comments, the Colorado Democrat said "people listened," and noted that even as Georgia election officials received death threats and received law enforcement protection, Mr. Trump didn't stop his fiery rhetoric.
"He didn't condemn the violence, he incited it further. And he got more specific," Neguse said. "He didn't just tell them to fight like hell. He told them how, where and when. He made sure they had advance notice, 18 days advance notice. He sent his save the date for January 6."
The congressman said the attack "didn't just happen" but rather was part of a "carefully planned months-long effort with a very specific instruction," to show up in Washington on January 6 to derail the counting of electoral votes.
To demonstrate that Mr. Trump invited the violence, Neguse cited comments from John Kelly, former White House chief of staff, who told CNN the president "knows who he's talking to" when he tweets and makes public statements.
"The president had every reason to know that this would happen because he assembled the mob, he summoned the mob and he incited the mob. He knew when he took that podium on that fateful morning that those in attendance had heeded his words and they were waiting for his orders to begin fighting," he said.
Melissa Quinn and Kathryn Watson
Trump has "no credible constitutional defense," Raskin argues
In response to Mr. Trump's defense that he was exercising his First Amendment rights when he made false claims about reversing the outcome of the election, Raskin likened the president to a fire chief who sends a mob to set a theater on fire.
"This case is much worse than someone who falsely shouts 'fire' in a crowded theater. It's more like a case where the town fire chief who's paid to put out fires sends a mob not to yell fire in a crowded theater but to actually set the theater on fire," Raskin said.
The lead impeachment manager said Mr. Trump's actions represented the greatest breach of the presidential oath of office in history. Raskin made the argument that Mr. Trump's words were not protected speech, but rather, incitement to violence, which is not protected by the First Amendment.
"When he incited insurrection on January 6, he broke that oath. He violated that duty. And that's why we're here today. And that's why he has no credible constitutional defense," Raskin said.
Melissa Quinn and Kathryn Watson
Senate convenes for second day of impeachment trial
The Senate convened for the second day of the impeachment trial promptly at 12 p.m. The House impeachment managers have up to eight hours to present their arguments today. There is expected to be two breaks in the afternoon, as well as a dinner break.
Although the sergeant of arms makes a proclamation commanding senators to stay silent throughout the trial, this rule is not enforced.
Lead House impeachment manager Jamie Raskin began the argument by saying the case is not a partisan debate between lawyers.
"It's a moment of truth for America," Raskin said. He also noted that the constitutional issue of jurisdiction was settled after yesterday's vote, and now the Senate is "having a trial on the facts."
"The evidence will show you that ex-president Trump was no innocent bystander," Raskin said, adding that Mr. Trump "surrendered his role as commander in chief and became the inciter in chief."
Schoen says he wants to do "better job" for senators disappointed in opening argument
David Schoen, one of Mr. Trump's attorneys, told reporters before the start of the impeachment trial's second day he wants to improve his defense of the former president after he and Castor received less-than-stellar reviews from GOP senators after Tuesday's proceedings.
"To the extent that they were critical of anything I did, I want to just try to do a better job," Schoen said of Senate Republicans who criticized the lackluster first day from Mr. Trump's legal team.
Schoen said he spoke with the former president but would not divulge the details of their conversation, citing attorney-client privilege. He did, however, say Mr. Trump "always gives good advice."
"We're just getting started," Schoen said. "We'll do the best we can to prepare the best we can."
Zak Hudak and Melissa Quinn
Castor says Trump was not displeased with his performance
Following reports that Mr. Trump was displeased with attorney Bruce Castor's rambling argument on Tuesday, Castor told reporters that the former president had not expressed any annoyance with him.
"Far from it," Castor replied after reporters asked if Mr. Trump had expressed any displeasure with him.
Castor demurred when asked if the critiques of his performance yesterday bothered him.
"Only one person's opinion matters and that's what I'm going by," Castor said.
Who are the House impeachment managers?
Nine Democrats from the House are serving as impeachment managers, or the prosecutors who are presenting the case against the former president.
The group of Democrats, all of whom have expertise in law, are led by Congressman Jamie Raskin, a lawyer from Maryland. None of the impeachment managers for this trial argued the case in Mr. Trump's first impeachment trial, when the Senate acquitted the former president for obstruction of justice and abuse of power.
For this year's trial, House Speaker Pelosi has selected a diverse group of House members, including Congressman Joe Neguse, who is the youngest impeachment manager in U.S. history.
Here is the list of impeachment managers:
Jamie Raskin, lead manager
Diana DeGette of Colorado
David Cicilline of Rhode Island
Joaquin Castro of Texas
Eric Swalwell of California
Ted Lieu of California
Stacey Plaskett of the U.S. Virgin Islands
Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania
Joe Neguse of Colorado
Read more about the impeachment managers here.
Lauren Peller
House Democrats to show "extraordinary" unseen security footage of Capitol attack
The House impeachment managers plan to use "extraordinary" footage from Capitol security cameras that has not been made public to illustrate the extent of the attack on January 6 as they make their case to convict Mr. Trump, senior aides on the impeachment managers' team said Wednesday.
"It will provide new insight into both the extreme violence that everyone suffered, the risk and the threat that it could have led to further violence to many but for the brave actions of the officers, and shows really the extent of what Donald Trump unleashed on our Capitol," one aide said, though they would not elaborate on whether they will use video from other sources, such as Metropolitical Police body cameras.
The managers also relied on video footage during the first day of arguments, opening their case before the Senate with a compelling 13-minute production that wove together sections of the former president's speech to supporters that day with social media video posted by the rioters themselves as they stormed the Capitol.
Despite the presentation, one aide described the first day of the trial as the "dry constitutional argument."
"Today the actual trial begins. We have the goods, we will be presenting the goods," the aide said. "We will be tying the evidence all together in a compelling case that will make it clear for everyone — Democrats, Republicans, everyone — that Donald Trump committed the most heinous constitutional crime possible."
Even Republicans who ultimately voted that a trial was unconstitutional acknowledged that the impeachment managers had a strong first day, especially when it was followed by a comparatively weaker performance by the former president's attorneys. When the Senate voted on whether it had jurisdiction to try the president — a subject of debate given that he has left office — Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy surprised both sides by joining five other Republicans to vote with the Senate Democrats. He previously voted not to proceed with a trial in January, giving aides on the impeachment team hope that they can still sway more Republicans.
"We believe in the power and the strength of the overwhelming evidence in this case and we believe that evidence still has the power to persuade 11 Republicans who are just now waking up from the grip of the president," an aide said.
Reflecting on Cassidy's vote, the aide added, "I don't know that we expected that to happen."
Cassidy did say in a statement that his vote to proceed with a trial was not a "prejudgment" on whether he would ultimately vote to convict Mr. Trump. Even if he does so in the end, it seems unlikely that 11 other Republicans would switch their position so the necessary two-thirds of the Senate will vote to convict.
On Wednesday, each of the managers is expected to deliver a portion of the opening statements, and then will proceed to deliver separate sections of the argument after that.
An aide on the impeachment managers' team would not say whether they plan to call witnesses to make their case against the former president in addition to the video evidence they will present.
How to watch Day 2 of Trump's impeachment trial
What: Former President Donald Trump's Senate impeachment trial
Date: Trial resumes Wednesday, February 10, 2021
Time: 12 p.m. ET
Location: U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.
Online stream: Live on CBSN in the player above and on your mobile or streaming device
On TV: CBS broadcast stations (Full list of CBS stations here)
GOP senators baffled by Trump's legal team on first day of trial
While most GOP senators determined there is no constitutional basis for a trial, many were unimpressed by the presentation by the former president's lawyers.
"President Trump's team was disorganized. They did everything they could but to talk about the question at hand. And when they talked about it, they kind of glided over it, almost as if they were embarrassed of their arguments," GOP Senator Bill Cassidy told reporters after the first day of the trial.
"If I'm an impartial juror and one side is doing a great job and the other side is doing a terrible job on the issue at hand, as an impartial juror I'm going to vote for the side that did a good job," added Cassidy, who was one of only six Republicans who voted in favor of the constitutionality of holding a trial.
Much of the criticism from Republicans was directed at Bruce Castor, the attorney who presented first. In a rambling speech, Castor argued that it would violate Mr. Trump's right to free speech to hold an impeachment trial. But his argument was derailed with seemingly unrelated digressions, such as when he extensively praised the integrity and patriotism of senators.
"In fairness, I was really stunned at the first attorney who presented for former President Trump. I couldn't figure out where he was going," said Senator Lisa Murkowski, another Republican who voted that the trial was constitutional. Senator Susan Collins, who also voted in favor of the trial's constitutionality, said she was "perplexed" by Castor's argument.
Read more here.