They have remaining. President trumps lawyers will start tomorrow and we reacquainted with the sheer terror and horror, Security Video that weve never seen before gave the nation a fresh look at the violence, the evil that gripped the seat of American Democracy and the heroism that likely saved lives of elected officials an others. We saw just how close mitt romney and majority leader Chuck Schumer came to running head on into the terrorist horde. We learned that the mop came within a hundred feet of where mike pence was forced to shelter with his family and we witnessed the mobs blood lust aimed at the democratic speaker of the house. Nancy, oh, nancy. Nancy. Where are you nancy . It is Something Like out of a horror movie. It certainly was. And senators who seemed to pay little attention on day one, they intently watched most of them on day two but the new evidence and the recreation of the January 6th Mayhem apparently did very little to sway most, most of those republican senators. The jurors. One called the trial a complete waste of time and other suggest that democratic managers did not draw a direct line between the violence of that day and the president of the United States on that day. And republicans continue to make that argument even as the Justice Department this morning drew that direct line between President Trump and at least some of the terrorists, federal prosecutors say a leader of a Para Military group called the oath keepers, she viewed her actions as a direct response to then President Trump. So now the question becomes, will any of todays proceedings influence senators on either side. Jeff zeleny joins us now from capitol hill. And you have new reporting on how the democrats say theyre going to conclude the case against the former president today. Reporter we are getting more of a sense of what the house Impeachment Managers are planninger to do. Were told theyre going to zero in on the fact that President Trump showed no remorse on that day and in the days following. So we certainly heard a sense of that yesterday. Just a minutebyminute, hourbyhour accounting of what has happening here on capitol hill. And what the president was doing back at the white house. Im told we are going to hear even more of that, shining a light on his direct role in certainly inciting and leading up to this attack On January 6th, but in the hours of what was planning to do, what he was doing on that day. So were not expecting necessarily any dramatic video like we saw yesterday that really had the Senate Chamber in rapt attention through the day here. Jeff, im sorry to interrupt you. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is speaking right now. Were going to bring that to people live. Especially our chairman, organizing their committees to get ready for our bill that we anticipate will become law as soon as possible. The American Rescue plan put forth by President Biden as part of how we meet the needs of American People. The economic crisis that go with it, continues to be devastating to the American People. This legislation is necessary. But dont take my word for it. Yesterday the chairman of the Federal Reserve stated that the real Unemployment Rate is 10 . Matching the worst point in the great recession. In his speech he said for recovery, Fiscal Policy is an essential tool for this situation. He referenced that Monetary Policy would not be enough. Chairman powell, play down the fears of inflation during the pandemic and noted that in his words inflation has been much lower and more stable over the past three decades than in earlier times and that he did not expect it to accelerate in a sustained way coming out of the pandemic. As chairman powell said, given the number of people who have lost their jobs, the likelihood that some will struggle to find work in the pandemic economy and the postpandemic economy, achieving a sustaining Maximum Employment will require more than supportive Monetary Policy, it will require a societywide commitment. Hence, the legislation that our members are working on this week. We hope to finish our markups in committee this week and then send it to the Budget Committee next week for them to do work their will on it, then to the rules committee and then to the floor and we hope to have this all done by the end of february. Certainly on the president s desk in time to offset the March 14th Deadline where some Unemployment Benefits will expire. Im particularly interested in how women are affected by the pandemic but also by this legislation. Over 2. 3 million women have been forced to leave the Work Force Entirely including 1 million moms. That is why this bill is so important, because it has a strong commitment to childcare, so that parents, moms and dads, are able to go to work, as a strong commitment to getting our kids back to school, another path to the work force for moms. Last month, january, nearly 80 of workers who left the work force were women and in december there was 90 of those who had left the work force were women. The womens Labor Force Participation rate is now just about 57 . The lowest level in 33 years, for women of color the situation is even worse. Again, that is about the livelihood of the American People. About the lives of the American People. I talked about 10 unemployment as quoted by the chairman of the fed, chairman powell. Another number that is just so somber, sobering is 470,000 americans have died of the coronavirus. 470,000. Again, this legislation that were passing now so addresses the needs of the American People, when it comes to the coronavirus. It is about the lives and the livelihood of the American People. Were proud again of our Committee Chairs who are moving ahead expeditiously with nine committees working on marking up legislation for the American Rescue plan this week. Theyre moving forward to crush the virus. The funding there for the virus production, distribution, for testing, et cetera, for other funding in terms of access to health care, again, the goal is to put vaccines in peoples arms, children back in school, workers back in their jobs, and money in peoples pockets. And the money in peoples pockets, were very proud that in the Legislation We, in the house, the education and Labor Committee marked up its bill on tuesday until 4 00 a. M. Wednesday morning. Big part of money in peoples pockets in the education and Labor Committee in addition to making our schools safe for our children to go back to school. In the bill, it gradually raises the minimum wage to 15 an hour, increases paychecks and increases them for 27 million workers and pulling nearly a Million People out of poverty. Well over 50 , closer to twothirds or 70 of people making the minimum wage are women. Many of them women of color. Again, it is secures the child tax credits helping nearly one in three adults having trouble paying for Household Expenses and 12 million children from going hungry. So so in the Legislation We have the child tax credit. That is quite remarkable. 3,000 for a child and then six years and under, it is 3,600. This is pulling these children out of poverty. The bill also addresses those who are food insecure, rent insecure and the rest. So it is a very important piece of legislation. It is what this country needs. And i salute not only the president and Vice President for their leadership in recognizing that in this important work. But also to do so in a way that is robust and meets the needs of the American People but also meets the needs of the strength of our economy. We plan all right. Speaker pelosi there talking about the covid relief bill. Were going to dip out of that and come back if there is any news. Lets continue with our conversation about this Impeachment Trial of former President Trump. With me now, cnn chief Political Correspondent dana bash and correspondent abby phillip. And dana, i want to start with something that we heard from South Carolina representative Lindsey Graham last night on fox. Take a listen. The not guilty vote is growing after today. I think most republicans found the presentation by the House Managers Offensive and absurd. The managers have got this cockamamie idea that donald trump was monitoring the proud boys website and other far right websites an he and dan scavino knew this was going to happen and they encouraged it. That is looney tunes. So i reached out to a bunch of republican senators this morning to see if they agreed with what senator graham said. They said first of all, three of them told me that they did not think it was true that most republicans found the Presentation Offensive and absurd. And of the five senators that i communicated with, none of them thought it was offensive and absurd. Now two of them did say that they thought that perhaps the house Impeachment Managers were pushing A Bridge Too Far. Were going A Bridge Too Far in the sense that they could make the case that donald trump knew that a lot of people were violent and he incited them to go down to the capitol and he is therefore responsible for what happens after that as well as the fact that he didnt do everything that he could to protect the legislative branch but the idea that President Trump and his team were in cahoots with these far right military might be A Bridge Too Far. That is the feedback i got from five republican senators today. You know what, it depends on how you define or you interpret in cahoots. If that is having private conversations, maybe. But we know, just in general from observing donald trump for five years and more specifically from the presentations that weve seen over the last two days, is he doesnt need to do anything in private. He does it all in public. That is what is so remarkable about this. And the fact is that he is a veracious consumer of information. Never mind if he is getting it through his pdb or official channels, he could just watch it on television and when i say it, i mean the effect that he was having on these people. As this is is going on, in the senate, what we see is case after case being moving through the federal courts. For example, one man dominic pizzola, who was indicted last month about this insurrection on conspiracy and other charges, here is what his lawyer told the federal judge. The lawyer said, the president maintained that the election had been stolen and it was the duty of loyal citizens to Stop The Steal. Admittedly, there was no rational basis for the claim but it is apparently pizzola was one of millions misled by the president s deception. This is one of the perpetrators that we saw in those videos and his lawyer is saying that he was he felt that he was being directed by the president of the United States. It is a little bit of a straw man i think for Lindsey Graham to claim the only way that donald trump could be responsible for the violence is if he was Text Messages with members of the proud boys. I dont think that is the point they were making. It doesnt require them to have direct contact or trump saying to them oh, go and break into the capitol, but at the same time, what i think was laid out yesterday was the president repeatedly encouraging violence in general, pushing the Conspiracy Theory that undergirded the riot on the capitol and created the means by which it would happen, by way of the march from the ellipse to the capitol. On some level there are graham and others who have pointed this out, are right that there is a need to continue to make that connection, or to make a stronger connection between what trump wanted and what happened, but the reality is it doesnt require, you know, that he get on the phone with the head of the proud boys and make a phone call saying go riot on the capitol. I think that the point of Lindsey Graham might be making if i could try to read his mind, which im not particularly good at, i should admit, there was one House Impeachment Manager and i forget it was delegate Stacey Plaskett for congressman s sis illini was talking about the planning on far right Message Boards and sugging that the Trump Administration had to have known. And obviously there is a big difference between the fbi monitoring these hate groups and then like bill bar telling President Trump, hey, it looks great, the far right is coming in. There was a suggestion there that the trump team knew. Right. But weve all covered white houses. We have covered politics and National Security and Law Enforcement and all of those things for a very long time. It is really hard for any of us, legitimately to wrap our mind around the fact that somebody, at least close to the president , if not the president himself, was not informed about these Message Boards. That is, again, in the formal channels. Never mind the fact that because, as i said before, he is somebody who watches tv all of the time, had to have known this was coming up. All im saying is what graham said and a different republican senator said. I get it. Theyre not saying what might or could have happened but they brought this up as if this was some sort of proof. But let me throw is back to wolf blitzer. President biden is meeting with a Bipartisan Group of senators to talk about infrastructure. This is his next big agenda item after the Coronavirus Relief package. The president s message last hour mirrors what he and his team have repeated this week, that hes not, not focusing in on the Impeachment Trial in the senate, but on running the country. My job is to deal with the promises i made and we all know we have to move on. I think the senate has a very important job to complete and i think my guess is some minds may have been changed but i dont know. Lets discuss with our chief national correspondent, john king. On tuesday he met with business leaders, the president , on wednesday he went to the pentagon, spoke about myanmar, had a phone call with xi jinping and what do you think about the strategy to try to suggest, hes not really paying attention to the Senate Impeachment trial. I think it is a reflection that the new president understands his first 100 days are critically important. He will be judged on the Vaccine Rollout and what the covid numbers look like two months, three months, four months from now and what the economy looks like and the covid impact two months, three months, and the party two and three years from now. Hes focusing on the biden agenda not the trump impeachment. Which is smart for him. Hes also losing, hes losing seven to ten days of those precious first 100 days of a new administration where the congress normally would be debating on this day the covid Relief Package or some piece of it or more of the subcabinet team, losing some time in the oxygen of washington and trying to make sure that for people in the country who will judge him and hold him accountable, hes doing the legos, putting the foundation together. Ill add this at the end, when this is over, however it ends in this trial, number one, we expect to hear from the former president , the defendant and at that point American People will want to hear from the current president. We dont know the outcome of the trial yet. Everybody thinks the books are cooked. I say lets have an open mind for the end and ty important for the new important for the president to talk about the deef vicive moment in the country and it is time to move on but the challenge will come at the end. So you agree with me that the president President Biden would like to see this trial wrapped up as quickly as possible so the senate could get back to confirming Cabinet Members and so the senate could get back to dealing with the covid Relief Package, other critically important issues. He wanted this trial over with. Yes. But we covered the white house together for a long time. President s have a great power but they do not control the calendar. This has to happen. He knows that. The timing is horrible for the new president. The conversation is again about hi predecessor, about dividing the country, and again about republicans versus democrats or trump versus whatever, joe biden would like the conversation to be about something else. It is what it is. I hate to use the cliche. It is what it is. But at the same time he has to support the democrats as they believe for accountability purposes this has to happen. And it is happening right now. Lets go to anderson. In about 40 minutes or so until this trial resumes on the senate floor yeah. Another dramatic day. Coming up, Impeachment Prosecutors make new neverbeforeseen footage a key part of the case. What the video shows. And plus the Impeachment Managers wrapping up their case against former President Trump, what our legal experts say they need to convey in their closing arguments. 150k. How are you, son . Whos your friend . Oh, um, this is eric. Ooh. The big e. [ chuckles ] great to meet ya. People love my nicknames. Its a whole thing. Thats wonderful, sir. Switch to progressive, and you can save hundreds. You know, like the sign says. Did you know prilosec otc can stop frequent heartburn before it begins . Heartburn happens when Stomach Acid Refluxes into the esophagus. Prilosec otc uses a unique delayedrelease formula that helps it pass through the tough stomach acid. It then works to turn down acid production, blocking heartburn at the source. With just one pill a day, you get 24hour heartburn protection. Prilosec otc. One pill a day, 24 hours, zero heartburn. Keeping your oysters Business Growing has you swamped. You need to hire. I need indeed indeed you do. The moment you sponsor a job on indeed you get a shortlist of quality candidates from a resume data base claim your seventyfivedollar credit when you post your first job at indeed. Com promo the jurors heard the most compelling evidence so far on wednesday. In the former President Trumps second Impeachment Trial. Never before seen Security Video shows how close the Vice President of the United States were to the trump incited radicals. One in case senators were described as being 58 paces from the mob. Pamela brown joins me now. So could you take us kind of a closer look at some of the Extraordinary Security footage that we saw from yesterday. Yeah. Anderson, you cant hear it but you could see it. And the video tells the story. This is video you see, Eugene Goodman running towards senator mitt romney and tells him to turn around and directs him to turn around and you see mitt romney running. Look at the time stamp. This is a minutes after the first rioters entered the Capitol Building and goodman potentially safing mitt romneys life as he was going there and then turning around. Here is video of mike pence evacuated from the Senate Chamber. Look at the time stamp. This is about 13, 14 minutes, there he is, there is mike pence, the Vice President at the time, going down the stairs, shuffling down. This is around 14 minutes after the first rioter entered and we know that moments after this rioters entered the Senate Chamber where Mike Pence Jazz W pence just was. And so you see in though video, mike pence there with the white hair turning around briefly and there with his family. Mike pence with his family evacuating from the Senate Chamber Just Moments Away from being facetoface with the rioters who have been yelling that they wanted to execute mike pence, they wanted to hang him because the president had been telling him lies that he was a traitor. So it is remarkable and showing how urgent it is and what happened and the newly released Security Footage yesterday, anderson. There is another clip that we saw showing senators ushered down a stairwell. You could walk us through that. That is shortly after you saw pence leaving. You look at the Body Language from Law Enforcement there trying to shuffle out the lawmakers and their staff going down the stairs here. Again, this is about 14, 15 minutes after the first rioter entered the Capitol Building. So theyre being spread throughout the Capitol Building and there is lines of lawmakers and staffers shuffling down the stairs and this is remarkable video we also saw. This is of Chuck Schumer, senator Chuck Schumer. Hes about to walk through the doors right here, relatively calm, walking down with his Security Detail, holding a gun right there. So hes walking through and then watch what happens in just a second from now. Theyre walking through and then they abruptly have to turn around and theyre running away, running away. We dont exactly know, but clearly there was a concern of a threat. You see the Security Detail locking the door behind him. This shows you how chaotic it was, how unpredictable it was as rioters were filling up the Capitol Building, lawmakers didnt know which way to go. They had to quickly turn around and go the other direction, anderson. Thank you very much. Lets turn to our legal team. Laura coates and former federal prosecutor, norm eisen. Russ gasher is teaching political investigations and Impeachment Law at tulane and gloria borger. Lets talk about what was done yesterday and what you think the House Managers need to do today. One of the things that some republicans are saying that she havent done is shown that President Trump was involved and in not only instigating the violence but the details of what actually he did do, we saw what he didnt do, but what he did do while this was happening. I want to play something that David Cicilline way saying about ben sasse comments. Lets watch. Senator ben sasse related a conversation with senior white house officials that President Trump, was quote, Walking Around the white house confused about why other people on his team werent as excited as he was. Do they need to kind of get more details if they can . They should have corroboration of what ben sasse was referring to in that moment. I would note that the end of the event of yesterday you had senator mike lee jumping up to say, i didnt say that. Ive been mischaracterized. You did not have ben sasse saying that what he had conveyed already was untruthful. I want to see the collaboration of what he did in that moment. However, did he a very methodical case yesterday, anderson. Breaking down into two categories when the president s actions were and what his inaction did. They showed over the course of months how the president s campaign of the big lie led people to be summoned to assemble and then to attack. Now we have to see even more information about how his inaction led to this occurring. And of course they did a great job in the afternoon yesterday on that point, addressing that they left him there at the capitol to die. Not to give reinforcement, did not come and even if he had not said a word to watch a coequal branch of government under attack and not to act expeditiously that enough is a high crime and misdemeanor. Norm, what do you think they need to do . Anderson, i think that they have made their fundamental case now, that the president incited this insurrection for months, that he used Fighting Words to point that angry, danger mob at the capitol and the incredible devastation that reasonably and knowingly resulted from that. What we need to now, they left us last night at a dramatic point, amid riot. We need to hear the rest of the story. We need to hear additional proof that all of us want and that the republican senators want of the import of the president s actions. That could come from hearing, for example, the insurrectionists say there was breaking news this morning that they felt they were waiting for his instruction. Lets hear them say what the plaining meeting of his Fighting Words were. And then of course weve had a mountain of evidence, this is a constitutional procedure, we are proudly at our most basic level as americans, a rule of law nation, lets apply the evidence under the law to get to the conclusion, there was a high crime and misdemeanor here, the worst in American History. I would also like to hear from ben sasse for example, but you have this strange situation where he is a juror. And so could you call someone up to testify for you if youre also a juror. The senate rules provide for but it is weird but the senate rules they provide for it. If a senator is a witness, they could testify from their normal place in the senate. Do they have to make some sort of agreement that witnesses could be called . Well, under the rules, that is going to be the issue. After the presentations, that is the next question. Is did the House Managers ask for witnesses, did the Trump Lawyers ask for witnesses and does the senate agree that they can or cannot do you think they will ask for witnesses . I think it depends on how it ends up. Today well see the end of the House Managers presentation. Are there remaining questions. Have they actually tied it all up and then were going to see the trump presentation, the Trump Lawyers presentation and do they poke holes in the House Managers case and then the question is, do those holes get filled with witnesses. And that is why it is interesting what senator mike lee did. Im a witness. He actually pointed, im a witness here. You also had the idea the very same, thought you did the here ducky, ducky moment right here and you put a issue of fact into contention now and now ben sasse could equally be somebody to say that actually tell me what i knew. But sass is really important in what lee was talking about yesterday was effectively beside the point. If sass heard from someone inside of the white house that the president was delighted that all of this was occurring, i think that would be very important to understand that the president s frame of mind when the mob was threatening peoples lives. But they could use the mike lee thing and say, look, theyre basing a lot of the House Managers are basing a lot of their evidence on Media Reports and look, mike lee, said that media report in the Washington Post was inaccurate. They say that in the memo. All of the House Managers proof is actually press reports and it is fake news and it is all unreliable. In a way, that kind of logic baits the trump folks into saying, into almost requiring witnesses which they dont want. They want this over. They think theyve got the votes locked up. The last thing they want is for this to drag out with witnesses. A lot to watch for. Lets go back to jake. Thanks, anderson. Coming up, a republican senator speaks with then President Trump as the insurrection was going on. What he just revealed about his chat with trump as a mob was closing in on the senate floor. Plus a preview of former President Trumps Defense Strategy and the challenges ahead for his legal team. Tay with us. Your skin isnt just skin, its a beautiful reflection of everything youve been through. Thats why dove renews your skins ceramides and strengthens it against dryness for softer, smoother skin you can lovingly embrace. Renew the love for your skin with dove body wash. When you switch to xfinity mobile, youre choosing to get connected renew the love for your skin to the most Reliable Network nationwide, now with 5g included. Discover how to save up to 300 a year with shared data starting at 15 a month, or get the lowest price for one line of unlimited. Come into your local xfinity store to make the most of your mobile experience. You can shop the latest phones, bring your own device, or trade in for extra savings. Stop in or book an appointment to shop safely with Peace Of Mind at your local xfinity store. Welcome back to our special coverage, day three of the second Impeachment Trial of former President Trump. Dana and abby are back with me. I want to talk about this moment yesterday where we learned that well after the siege was underway, around 2 00, the former president made his first phone call that we know of. It wasnt to mike pence, it was to alabama republican senator Tommy Tuberville. And senator tuberville told trump that pence was being evacuated, asked to clarify the circumstances of the phone call, tuberville later told reporters this, quote, you know, President Trump, you dont get many words in but he didnt get a chance to say a whole lot because i said they just took the Vice President out, ive got to go, unquote. And this video presented yesterday shows the former Vice President being exacted at roughly 2 25 p. M. But what does President Trump do . He tweeted one minute prior, mike pence didnt have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our country and our constitution, unquote. And abby, that seems incredible significant. The idea that trump was told before he wrote that tweet calling pence a coward, that pence was being evacuated. There are so many levels to how really damning this is for trump. First of all, the fact that the Vice President would be evacuated, he had been evacuated from the chamber a little bit before that. So it seems virtually impossible for me to contemplate that the president would not know, first of all he knew that the capitol was under siege and that his Vice President was present and he was more concerned about calling the senator from alabama than dealing with that situation. I think that in and of itself, no matter what he said to Tommy Tuberville, would have been pretty damning. But the fact that that phone call happened and it was followed by a phone call in which tuberville, said, hey, the Vice President is being rushed out of here and then minutes later trump tweets an attack on pence, it tells you everything you need to know about where he was in his own State Of Mind going into that afternoon. And the content of that call that he made, he ignored the fact that his own Vice President was being evacuated and the content of the call was to continue to check in on how he and other coconspirators were perpetuating the lie that he continues to tell that and delaying the count. And delaying the count. I checked in with a former Senior Administration official at top official in the Trump Administration asking, can you see any scenario in which the Vice President of the United States is evacuated with the Secret Service there by his side and the president of the United States isnt notified immediately that that happened . And the answer was, nope. So even he didnt need Tommy Tuberville to tell him, even though that is evidence that we know of in public. As dysfunctional as the Trump Administration was, and it was, that is a basic bit of information that any president would get. And the capitol had been well under siege by that point. One of the things that the Impeachment Managers laid out was just how much had happened prior to pence being evacuated. There were rioters in the building, they were all over the building by that point. By the 2 00 hour. Destroying things. Destroying things. Beating Police Officers outside who were guarding the building. So, again, the commanderinchief of the United States, the president , his responsible is to protect this country, he didnt he was it is obvious that did not happen for a period of an hour or longer. Longer. While the capitol of the United States was being ransacked by his supporters. That and in and of itself separate from the conversation earlier in the hour about whether or not he was involved or knew about what was happening on the Message Boards, if you kind of fast forward to the moment, the moment that that happened, or the moments that this was happening, the fact that he didnt put in all caps stop, stop, stop, is damning in and of itself. It is great to hear from senator tuberville as a witness of sorts but that is not how this trial is playing out, wolf. You know, there is a lot more were watching for, were only about 15 minutes away from the start of this wrapping up by the house Impeachment Managers of the impeachment case against the former president. Well have a closer look ahead at the former president s legal strategy as his team takes the senate floor tomorrow. Well be right back. quiet piano music loud music noises quiet piano music comfort in the extreme. The lincoln family of luxury suvs. We made usaa insurance for members like kate. A former army medic, made of the flexibility to handle whatever monday has in store and tackle four things at once. So when her car got hit, she didnt worry. She simply filed a claim on her usaa app and said. I got this. Usaa insurance is made the way kate needs it easy. She can even pick her payment plan so its easy on her budget and her life. Usaa. What youre made of, were made for. Usaa. Pampers, usaa. What youre made of, were made for. The 1 pediatrician recommended brand, helps keep babys skin dry and healthy. So every touch is as comforting as the first. Pampers. The 1 pediatrician recommended brand. Good morning this is where everything started. The four way is engulfed in history. Youre sitting in the place where giants ate. The four way is the Heart And Soul of the community. Welcome back. We have brandnew details right now on how former President Trumps Legal Defense team is preparing for their Impeachment Trial arguments after the first presentation was so widely panned and after the powerful and chilling opening arguments from the house Impeachment Managers. Lets bring in our chief White House Correspondent kaitlan collins. So what are your sources telling you. It is difficult to follow the grim footage from yesterday but that is what the legal team is going to have to do tomorrow. That is when their skpaert expected to tstart making their arguments. And they get 16 hours on each side to present their case. And democrats used it yesterday and today. But the President Trumps legal team will not use all of that time and likely to finish their arguments tomorrow. And you so have four attorneys, we saw two of them speak on tuesday and of bruce castor is the one that you were just referring to who was widely panned even by republicans for his performance and im actually told by several sources that multiple allies of the donald trump were calling him and encouraging him to get rid of bruce castor, not have him on the team any more. Certainly not have him present tomorrow when they start to make their arguments. An the president brief considered it but we should note he is still on the team. He was seen on capitol hill yesterday and was defending that opening speech that really didnt seem to have a point to it. He said he wasnt expecting to speak. And the other thing that irritated President Trump is that he came out there and was praising the performance by the prosecutors. Saying that they made a good epping argument. And so we are going to see them come out tomorrow, try to defend Donald Trumps conduct, talk about this talk about his First Amendment rights which they are going go claim were being undermined by the arguments but of course the ultimate question is whether or not this actually changes any of the minds of any of the republican senators who so far have seemed headed for Acquittal Ander that is what they are telling President Trump. So that remains to be seen, there is a lot of apprehension in trump world about what tomorrow will look like and this team is unorganized and chaotic and theyre not sure what theyre going to hear tomorrow and the only thing reassuring them is they do feel like this is a home run and you cant mess it up and that former President Trump is heading for acquittal. Kaitlan, stand by. John, they have a tough legal, politically i understand what everybody is saying that the votes are not there for conviction, but in terms of the legal response, they have a tough battle. The House Managers, the prosecutors, have made a strong compelling case. There will be an effort by the Trump Legal Team to say the president was not intimately involved with the daytoday Inner Workings of the proud boys or other groups, that he could not have known they were coming with shields and coming with the flex cuffs and thins like that. That is what they will say. The manager is trying to make the case that the president should be well aware that groups are loyal to him and if he was doing his job, either just as a consumer of news or he was president of United States, hes supposed to be a consumer of intelligence. That people would have brought this to his attention. So there are some arguments where well watch to see if they could connect the dots. Could you get this into the president. But the manges have done a powerful job. It was originally supposed to be a protest on it is mall and the ellipse. The manager made a compelling case. The trump team now has to sdut t dispute that. And the people who hope they do it the most are the republican senators who are still sitting there after the dramatic, riveting, compelling case made by the managers yesterday and theyre still saying no, we dont want to vote to convict. Whats amazing is the low bar theyre still setting for the president of the United States. If he doesnt go on parler every day, how did he know . His attorney general bill barr resigned right around the same time because the president of the United States kept saying, make a fraud case, when bill barr knew there was no fraud. The president around the same time was waging yet another attack on his fbi director. They didnt want to bring in the intelligence, they didnt want to be anywhere near him. The president , maybe he was never briefed even though we knew Law Enforcement knew about the threat of huge violence, the specific threat on the capitol that day. Maybe the president was never briefed. What does that tell you about the dysfunction of the trump presidency, and the republicans want you to excuse that . Constantly throughout the pandemic he refutes science, he refutes common sense, and they say, oh, its just trump. How many times can they say, its just trump, especially when you saw the conclusion to it yesterday. He was watching what was going on at capitol hill, the violence that was emerging, the insurrection that was happening, and he did nothing to stop it. You make a very key point that, again, Stop The Steal, stop the fraud, stop the count. Never stop the attack. He never said that. Anderson, over to you. The legal team is back, ross garber, kaitlan collins, gloria borger. We dont actually know what the president was doing in the white house during those hours. We know ben sasse said, after conversations hes had with the president s enthusiasm over what was happening, is that a weakness in the managers case, and what do you expect to hear from the president s attorneys . What weve seen from the managers are press reports about what the president was doing and not doing, but we still dont know a ton about it. In their brief, the plts lawyers disputed that. They said the president , you know, was not delighted with what was going on, the president was taking this seriously, and resources were being scrambled. Lets see if the president s lawyers actually have anything to back that up. Because if it ends, and there is this dispute of fact, where we are is kind of inviting witnesses, which, again, i dont think the president s lawyers want. I dont think they want witnesses testifying about this, but it may be something that would be helpful and telling, as gloria pointed out. There is a senator who is a witness. Ben sasse is a witness. He said he talked to someone in the white house, a senior official, who told him what the president was doing and feeling that day. It would be great if pence were a witness, but, of course, i doubt he wants to be one, but i think that mike pence, that tweet is so important to give you some information about the president s State Of Mind and whether he was feeling any remorse the president s Tweet Attacking mike pence, even though he knew mike pence was there. You had mike tuberville saying, i have to hang up on you because theyre dragging the Vice President out of the chamber. What did he think was going on, and did he do anything to stop it . And, to me as a layman here with all these wonderful lawyers, my question is, would any of this have happened without donald trump in the white house . And you tell me, ross, thats called but for causation, okay . Right. And i believe thats the important question here but for President Trump would this have occurred . But for President Trump, would any of this have happened . And you had the footage that the manager put on so powerfully that tweet being read through a bullhorn to those protesters and the communications, irrespective of what we learn about what went on in the white house, the communications, the message the president is sending, once he knows the danger to mike pence, and i think well hear more today from the protesters of their understanding. That will close another link. And then a very tough burden when the president s lawyers come back, theyre going to try to do the opposite. Theyre going to set a very, very High Standard for the managers to meet. I dont think those Criminal Law Standards apply under the constitution. Theyll try to set a High Standard and say this evidence isnt enough. But even though the criminal standard will not be what dictates how you handle a political Impeachment Trial, they can still satisfy that burden. And im glad you mentioned burdens here, because of course the house Impeachment Managers, the ones that actually brought this case, have the overwhelming burden of proving that but for President Trumps conduct, this would not have happened, and but for his inaction, it would have stopped. But they also now realize that the trial briefs of the defense team actually raised some things in issue. The trial briefs of trumps lawyers say, youre making it seem like he did nothing. There was a, quote, flurry of activity going on. Well, now you can use that against the Defense Lawyers to say now the burden is on them to prove that what we have said is wrong. Youre telling me there was a flurry of activity, so as a juror, id look at it and say, well, ive been told im going to hear about a flurry of activity. If i hear crickets, that is not going to bode well for anyone. And the senators are going to have the opportunity in the next phase of the trial after the defense makes its case to quote those briefs and to put those questions directly to trumps lawyers. That will be interesting, too. Lets go back to wolf. Wolf . As we wait for day 3 of this trial to begin if a few minutes, i want to bring in chief congressional correspondence manu raju. You just had a chance to speak to mitt romney. What did he say . He said he didnt know how much danger he was in until seeing that video yesterday, rather riveting footage of him leaving the Senate Chamber when he was approached by officer Eugene Goodwin of the Capitol Police who told him to turn around because he was approaching the mob. I asked him what did his family say to him last night after they had seen that video that came out yesterday, and he said nobody realized, not even myself, the danger that i was in. He didnt want to speculate about how bad it could have been but said he was walking into some real trouble there. Now, romney is, of course, one of six republican senators who seem likely, who is considering voting to convict donald trump. I asked him if he is leaning in that direction. He refused to tip his hand. He is expected to ultimately say that donald trump is guilty. He, of course, was the only republican to do so last year during Donald Trumps first Impeachment Trial. But republican and Democratic Senators are expecting this trial to move rather quickly. Today is expected to be a shorter day than tomorrow than yesterdays proceedings, and we expect things to wrap up potentially as soon as saturday evening to get to that final ultimate acquittal vote. One of the big questions, wolf, that democrats and republicans have is will the Impeachment Managers on the house side seek witnesses to help their case . The expectation is that is not going to happen. I talked to one top democrat, debbie stabenow, who is a member of the democratic leadership. She told me she does not see any need for the democratic managers to call witnesses. She says they believe they have made their case. Everyone, of course, here in this building experienced what happened On January 6th, so that could mean things could move rather quickly as the house Impeachment Managers finish up their arguments today, which is expected to focus largely on Donald Trumps role in the runup to january 6 and his lack of remorse after what happened On January 6th as well as the trauma that people experienced in this building on that horrific day. So some riveting presentations expected later today, but will it change any minds on capitol hill on the republican side . At the moment it seems unlikely as both sides expect this to be done in just a matter of a couple days here, wolf. I think youre absolutely right. Im going to stand by. John king is with me in about a minute or so, two minutes. The chaplain will have the opening prayer. Well have live coverage. This could go on for a few hours. They still have eight hours to go, the house Impeachment Managers, but the expectation is they dont need that much time. All reporting said they could use less time today, especially if they decide in the end not to push for witnesses. This is it. This is the close of the Impeachment Managers case. I think republicans can see they did a compelling, riveting job of connecting the facts, the history and the danger at the moment. After the defenses presentation, they get a rebuttal. In terms of closing the case, this is a big moment for them knowing the refusal of Many Republican senators to simply accept the facts of what happened because theyre hiding behind politics and process. The pressure is on. The senators are still arriving, some of them, but this is about to resume. We dont anticipate, Asman Manud Kaitlan are reporting, that the Legal Defense team for the president would use all 16 hours which they can spread out over friday and saturday. The main point for them, and we saw this in the first Impeachment Trial lets go to the senate right now. This procedure is beginning. Chaplain barry black will lead the senate in prayer. Let us pray. Almighty god, our shelter from the storms. Give our Senate Jurors discernment that will rescue our nation from ruin. Illuminate their minds with your truth as you speak through the whispers of conscience. Remind them that the seeds they plant now will bring a harvest. May the choices they make bring blessings, healing and prosperity to our land. We pray in your merciful name, amen. Please join me for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Please be seated, and if theres no objection, the journal of proceedings of the trial are approved to date, and i ask the sergeant in arms to make the proclamation. Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye. All persons are commanded to keep silence on pain of imprisonment while the senator of the United States is sitting for the trial of the article of impeachment exhibited by the house of representatives against donald john trump, former president of the United States. Thare the Majority Leaders recognized . For the senators, its my understanding the schedule today will be similar to yesterdays proceedings. Well plan to take a short break every two, three hours, and well accommodate a 30minute recess for dinner, assuming it is needed. Pursuant to the provisions of Senate Resolution 47, the managers for the house of representatives have eight hours remaining to make the presentation of their case. The senate will now hear you, and the Presiding Officer recognizes mr. Manager raskin to continue the presentation in the case for the house of representatives. Mr. President , thank you, distinguished senators. Representative degette of colorado will now show how the insurrectionists themselves believed they were following President Trumps Marching Orders. My friends and colleagues, yesterday was an emotionally wrenching day. As i watched the footage of the violence in the Capitol Building, my own experience flooded back to me. I was one of the unlucky members who was stuck in the house gallery, along with congresswoman dean. As the house floor was cleared beneath us of members and staff, we could see the mob pounding on the door to the House Chamber. We could see the capitol Police Officers inside the chamber pull their guns and point them at the intruders. Then we heard gunshots on the other side, and we flung ourselves down on the floor and removed our member pins. Then we heard pounding on the very flimsy Gallery Doors right up above us. Finally, after that situation for some time, we were told to run out of the door at the end of the gallery. As we ran through a line of police towards a staircase, this is what i saw. The s. W. A. T. Team pointing automatic weapons at marauders on the floor. Looking at these people makes you wonder, who sent them here . In the next few minutes, i want to step back from the horrors of the attack itself and look at january 6th from a totally different perspective, the perspective of the insurrectionists themselves. Their own statements before, during and after the attack make clear the attack was done for donald trump at his instructions and to fulfill his wishes. Donald trump had sent them there. They truly believed that the whole intrusion was at the president s orders. And we know that because they said so. Many of them actually posed for pictures, bragging about it on social media, and they tagged mr. Trump in tweets. Folks, this was not a hidden crime. The president told them to be there, and so they actually believed they would face no punishment. The defense argued in their briefs, and they argued again here on tuesday, that the insurrectionists were acting on their own, that they were not incited by President Trump or acting at his direction. This is in their brief. Quote, they did so of their own accord and for their own reasons and are being criminally prosecuted. But thats just not the case. Its not what the insurrectionists actually said. They said they came here because the president instructed them to do so. Leading up to the attack, the insurrectionists said they were coming to d. C. For President Trump. He invited them with clear instructions for a specific time and place and with clear orders. Stop the fight or to fight to stop the certification in congress by any means necessary. The crowd at Donald Trumps speech echoed and chanted his words. And when people in the crowd followed his direction and marched to the capitol, they chanted the same words as they breached this building. Now, lets return to the speech for a moment. During the rally, President Trump led the crowd in a Stop The Steal chant. Heres what that chant sounded like from the crowds perspective. All of you people really came up with we will Stop The Steal. Stop the steal Stop The Steal Stop The Steal soon after, the president basked as the crowd chanted Fight For Trump. And when he incited the crowd to Show Strength, people responded, storm the capitol, invade the capitol. Here are both of those moments but from the crowds perspective. Fight for trump Fight For Trump Fight For Trump Fight For Trump Fight For Trump thank you. Invade the Capitol Building we also have another perspective from this moment, online extremist chatter. At the same time as the people in the crowd shouted take the Capitol Building, as President Trump said, Show Strength, a person posted to parler saying, quote, time to fight, civil war is upon us. Another user said, quote, we are going to have a civil war. Get ready. An analysis found that members quadrupled on parler in the hour after the president said Show Strength. When insurrectionists got to the capitol, they continued those rally cries. Insurrectionists Holding Confederate flags and brandishing weapons cheered the president s very words. Stop the steal Stop The Steal Stop The Steal Stop The Steal Stop The Steal Stop The Steal Stop The Steal you heard them chanting Stop The Steal. And as the crowd chanted at the rally, the crowd at the capitol made clear who they were doing this for. They also chanted Fight For Trump. Fight for trump Fight For Trump Fight For Trump Fight For Trump and it wasnt just that they were doing this for mr. Trump, they were following his instructions. They said he had invited them and, in fact, as we heard, he had invited them. As one man explained on a livestream he taped from inside the capitol, quote, our president wants us here. We wait and take orders from our president. Footage from inside the capitol shows when the insurrectionists first got into the building and confronted police, the mob screamed at the officers that they were listening to President Trump. Theres a fucking million of us out there. We listen to President Trump the insurrectionists argued with Law Enforcement that they shouldnt even be fighting them because they believed that the Commander In Chief was ordering this. This was the persons understanding. When president elect biden went on television that day to demand an end to the siege, one woman asked this. Does he not realize President Trump called us to siege the place . The examples of these types of comments are endless. Dont worry, i wont play all of them, but it wasnt just the words of the insurrectionists that proved that they did this in response to orders from their Commander In Chief. We can see this in the fact that they were not hiding. One rioter in a livestream at the capitol said, quote, hell be happy. Were fighting for trump. Lets call trump yes dude, lets tell trump whats up. He would be like, no, just say we love him. We love you, bro no, hell be happy. What do you mean . Were fighting for trump. And, again, this was not an isolated incident. The individuals in this slide posted photos of themselves committing these crimes. Trump supporters who had broken into the capitol were taking selfies, streaming live videos and posing. In fact, they wanted the president to know this is me. In fact, you can see the person wrote on his own posting, this is me. And if there were any remaining doubt, after hours of prompting, when President Trump finally told the insurrectionists to go home, only then did some of them begin to listen. As you previously saw, at 4 17 p. M. , mr. Trump released a prerecorded video saying to the mob, go home, we love you, youre very special. Shortly after he tweeted this video, a few of the insurrectionists who had seen it could be claiming victory could be heard claiming victory and told people to go home because of Donald Trumps message and instructions. You saw earlier the insurrectionist Jacob Chansley who told someone, quote, we won the day. A little before that video of chansley, he said the same thing to the crowd through a bullhorn and instructed them to go home because of the video that President Trump had tweeted. Lets watch. We won the day donald trump has asked everybody to just go home. Even after the attack, the insurrectionists made clear to Law Enforcement that they were just following President Trumps orders. They didnt shy away from their crimes because they thought they were following orders from the Commander In Chief, and so they would not be punished. They were wrong. After the attack, there were dozens of arrests. These were federal offenses, including assaulting the police. When Law Enforcement interviewed the people who were at the capitol on january 6, they once again said it was because the president told them to be there. Robert sanford was seen in this widely circulated Video Throwing A Fire Extinguisher that struck a Capitol Police officer outside the building. A witness told the fbi that sanford said he had traveled to washington, d. C. On a bus with a group of people. The group had gone to the white house and listened to donald j. Trumps speech and then had followed the president s instructions and gone to the capitol. Folks, the insurrectionists didnt just make this up. As sanfords lawyer explained, youre being told youve got to fight like hell. Does fight like hell mean you throw things at people . Maybe. The lawyer added that his client, quote, wouldnt have been there if it werent for the president. Now, sanford wasnt the exception, he was the rule. In their statements after the attack, insurrectionists routinely echoed what they had said before and during the attack. They were there because the president told them to be. Now, look, the lawyers who are saying that, their clients were told to commit these acts by mr. Trump, well, they know that putting the blame on the president doesnt exonerate their clients, theyre just saying it, frankly, because thats exactly what happened. Another trump supporter who has been federally charged is texas Real Estate Agent jennifer ryan. Now, ms. Ryan has given many Tv Interviews in which she says she was only doing what the president asked her and others to do. She also recorded video before the rally talking about the mobs plans for violence, and heres what she said. Personally i do not feel a sense of shame or guilt from my heart for what i was doing. I thought i was following my president , i thought i was following what we were called to do. He asked us to fly there, he asked us to be there, so i was doing what he asked us to do. Ultimately, yes, we were going in solidarity with President Trump. President trump requested that we be in d. C. On the 6th, so this was our way of going and stopping the steal. If it comes down to war, guess what . Im going to be there. Were all going to be here and breaking those windows. Yet another trump supporter who was arrested after breaching the capitol, douglas sweet, explained why he was doing it. Referring to mr. Trump, he said, quote, hey, i need my Digital Soldiers to show up on january 6, and we all did. Some of these individuals who joined in the attack on our capitol did so as part of vio violent racist groups which have been officially condemned by our government. Daniel goodwin is a selfproclaimed member of the proud boys. He was one of many. On november 7th, goodwin tweeted a picture showing the proud boys logo surrounded by stand back and stand by, and the quote, again, stand back and stand by. And, await orders from our Commander In Chief. Look closely at this slide. You are looking at an image of goodwins own tweet. He was such a Loyal Follower of President Trump that he used the president s photo as his own Profile Picture on twitter. Now, remember, President Trump told them to stand back and stand by at the debate. They took it as a call to arms. And when he called them to arms, they were all ready to act. They were waiting for their orders, which they got On January 6th. And goodwin followed those orders. He stood ready as others broke into the windows of the capitol and climbed inside. Here he is, on another of the insurrectionists livestream in one of the first floor hallways of the building. When it became clear that donald trump was not going to save these folks from prosecution, when it became clear that the Commander In Chief had given false commands that went against this country, some of his supporters even expressed regret, and they said they felt duped. Heres jake on chansley again, who we saw in a video claiming victory after the president told the rioters to go home. Earlier in the afternoon, as youll recall, chansley carried a spear as he breached the capitol, went into the center of the gallery and went right here on the senate floor. Chansley left a threatening note for Vice President pence right there on the senate dias. It read, quote, its only a matter of time. Justice is coming. On january 7th, chansley spoke to the fbi, and he said that he came as part of a group effort with other patriots from arizona at the request of the president that all patriots come to d. C. On january 6th, 2021. On january 14th, chansleys lawyer gave an interview to chris cuomo in which he said that chansley was there, quote, at the invitation of our president who said he would walk down Pennsylvania Avenue with him. In fact, chansleys lawyer now says that chansley felt duped by the president , and he regrets what the president brought him to do. This man, who ran through our halls, who ran into this chamber, who sat right there on the dias, and who wrote a note for Vice President pence that he was coming for him, he and those with him declared they would remove us from office if we went against donald trump. Now hes saying he would not have done any of that if mr. Trump had told him not to. Chansley is not alone in his postarrest confession that he was following the directions of donald trump. As more and more of these people have been charged, the confession and the regret simply cascades. More and more are admitting that they came at trumps direction. When riley june williams, known for allegedly helping Steal Laptops from Speaker Pelosis office appeared in court on january 21st, her lawyer said to the judge, quote, it is regrettable that ms. Williams took the president s bait and went inside the capitol. Troy smocks, who was in the capitol riot On January 6th, posted on line that day, quote, today President Trump told us to fight like hell. He also posted that the president , quote, said that our case was a matter of National Security. Samuel fisher was charged with Disorderly Conduct and illegally income the capitol on january 6. That day, before the attack on this building, he wrote on his website, quote, trump just needs to fire the bat signal and, quote, then the pain comes. The lawyer for dom nish p dominic pasala, who was the first of the proud boys to break into the capitol said, come on, people, come on down. Let them know what you think. Quote, he invited us down. Pezzolas lawyer went on, these people acted like theyve never acted before. And it begs the question, who lit the fuse . We know who lit the fuse. Donald trump told these insurrectionists to come to the capitol and Stop The Steal. And they did come to the capitol. And they tried to stop the certification. They came because he told them to. And they did stop our proceedings, but only temporarily because he told them to. Have you noticed throughout this presentation the uncanny similarity over and over and over again of what all these people are saying . They said what donald trump said, and they echoed each other. Stand back and stand by. Stop the steal. Fight like hell. Trump sent us. We are listening to trump. The riots that day left at least seven people dead. More than 150 people injured. Members, senators and our staffs, all traumatized to this day. Damage and pain to our capitol. Damage and pain to americans. Damage to our police force, and damage to other nations who have always seen us as a bastion of democracy. All of these people who have been arrested and charged, theyre being held accountable for their actions. Their leader, the man who incited them, must be held accountable as well. But, as i said earlier, you dont have to take my word for it that the insurrectionists acted at Donald Trumps direction. They said so. They were invited here. They were invited by the president of the United States. We were invited here we were invited hey, we were invited here we were invited by the president of the United States senators, Representative Degette just showed how the insurrectionists believed and understood themselves to be following President Trumps Marching Orders. She explained in chilling detail how they were acting in perfect alignment with his political instructions and his explicit strategy to retain power. They did what he told them to do. This protrump insurrection did not spring into life out of thin air. We saw how trump spent months cultivating the most dangerous Extremist Groups. We saw how he riled them up with corrosive lies and rhetoric that they were ready for their most dangerous mission, invalidating the will of the people to keep trump in office. We must remember that this was not the first time that donald trump had inflamed and Incited A Mob. Trump knew that his incitement would result in violence not only because of the thousands of violent messages that were posted all over the forums in the widespread news of preparations for violence among Extremist Groups and his communications on twitter with the insurrectionists themselves. He knew it also because he had seen many of the exact same groups he was mobilizing participate in extremist violence before. Moreover, he had seen clearly how his own incitement to violence in praise after the violence took place galvanized, encouraged and electrified this violence. January 6 was a culmination of the president s actions, not an aberration from them. The insurrection was the most violent and dangerous episode so far in trumps continuing pattern and practice of inciting violence. But i emphasize so far. Earlier Congresswoman Plaskett showed several episodes of trumps incitement that took place during the president ial election. But his encouragement of violence against other Public Officials who he thought had crossed him long predates the 2020 campaign. The incitement of violence is always dangerous, but its uniquely intolerable when done by the president of the United States of america. But that became the norm. On President Trumps watch, White Spupremacist Extremist Groups spread like wildfire across the land. His department of security called them the number one threat facing americans today. But no matter how many people inside and outside government begged him to condemn extreme elements, promoting violence, and indeed, Civil War In America and race war in america, he just wouldnt do it. And thats because he wanted to incite and provoke their violence for his own political gain and for his own strategic objectives. Ever since he became president , trump revealed what he thought of, Political Violence for his side. He praised it and he encouraged it. Right now im going to play for you just a few clips from over the years when the president s words successfully incited his supporters into assaulting his opponents. See, the first group, i was nice. Oh, take your time. The second group, i was pretty nice. The third group, ill be a little more violent, and the fourth group, ill say, get the hell out of here get them the hell out of here, would you, please . Get them out of here. Throw them out i got a little notice from the security guys. They said, mr. Trump, there may be somebody with tomatoes in the audience. So if you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of them, would you . Seriously. Just knock the hell i promise you, i will pay for the legal fees, i promise. Well, weve seen these clips and many, many more like them before. But think about the brutal power and effectiveness of his words with his followers. You heard him. He told the supporters to be a little more violent, and they responded to his command by literally dragging a protester across the floor at one of his campaign rallies. He cried, get them the hell out of here, throw them out. His supporters punched and kicked another protester as he was escorted from the hall. He told supporters to knock the hell out of people who opposed him and promised to pay the legal fees of assailants. Time after time he encouraged violence. His supporters listened and they got the message. It wasnt just trumps encouragement of violence to conditioned his supporters to participate in this insurrection on january 6, it was also his explicit sanctioning of the violence after it took place. Lets watch some of those incidents, beginning with trump praising supporters who had assaulted a black protester. But weve had a couple that were really violent, and the particular one when i said to bang em, it was a guy who was swinging, very loud, and then started swinging at the audience. And you know what, the audience swung back, and i thought it was very, very appropriate. He was swinging, he was hitting people, and the audience hit back. And thats what we need a little bit more of. I want to talk to you about that later. Im sick and tired of you guys . The last time you came in here, you did the same thing get the hell out of here last time you did the same thing. Are you the guardian . Yes, you just broke my glasses. The last guy did the same thing. You just body slammed me and broke my glasses. Greg is right. By the way, never wrestle him. Never. Any guy that can do a body slam, hes my kind of guy. You will not replace us you will not replace us jews will not replace us we did not initiate force against anybody. Were not nonviolent. Well fucking kill these people if we have to. Do i think theres blame . Yes, i think theres blame on both sides. You look at both sides, i think there is blame on both sides. You also had people that were very fine people on both sides. Just in case you didnt catch all of that, the president praised a republican candidate who assaulted a journalist as my kind of guy. He said there were, quote, very fine people on both sides when the neonazis, the klansmen and proud boys invaded the city, the great City Of Charlottesville and killed heather heyer, and he said a black protester at one of his rallies was very, very appropriate. Does that sound familiar . Listen to how the president responded when he was asked about his own conduct on january 6. If you read my speech, and many people have done it, its been analyzed and people thought that what i said was totally appropriate. So there the pattern is, staring us in the face. Very, very appropriate, he said, after a man was assaulted at one of his rallies. Totally appropriate was how he characterized his incitement On January 6th. Meaning that, of course, if given the chance, he would gladly do it again, because why would he not engage in totally appropriate conduct . An examination of his past statements makes it clear when Donald Trump Tells a crowd, as he did on january 6, fight like hell or you wont have a country anymore, he meant for them to fight like hell. On january 6, that became clear to all of america. Now, lets consider the event, senators, that took place last year in michigan where President Trump demonstrated his willingness and his ability to incite violence against Government Officials who he thought were getting in his way. When responding to Extremist Plots in michigan, trump showed he knew how to use the power of a mob to advance his political objectives. Beginning in march, trump leveled attacks on Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer for the handling in her state. She was criticized for handling the pandemic, tweeting, we are pushing the michigan governor to get the job done. I stand with michigan. He added, i love michigan. One of the reasons were doing such a great job for them during this horrible pandemic, yet your governor, gretchen halfwhitmer, is way in over her head. She doesnt have a clue. Likes to blame everyone for her own ineptitude. Maga. He turned to calls for his supporters. This was a sign of things to come. On february 17, 2020, he tweeted, quote, liberate michigan. Not even two weeks later, on april 30th, his supporters marched on the Michigan State capital in lansing. They stormed the building. Trumps Marching Orders were followed by aggressive action on the ground. We have a right, let us in let us in let us in let us in hail heather hail to whitmer you betrayed us you betrayed the people lock her up lock her up lock her up lock her up as the video shows, these militant protesters showed up ready to take a violent stand. They came armed and tightly packed themselves into the building with no regard, of course, for social distancing. This trumpinspired mob may indeed look familiar to you. Confederate battle flags, maga hats, weapons, camo army gear, just like the insurrectionists who showed up and invaded this chamber on january 6. The siege of the Michigan State house was effectively a state level Dress Rehearsal for the siege of the u. S. Capitol that trump incited On January 6th. It was a preview of the coming insurrection. President trumps response to these two events was strikingly similar. Following the armed siege in lansing, President Trump refused to condemn the attacks on the Michigan Capital or denounce the violent lawbreakers. Instead he did just the opposite. He upheld the righteousness of his violent followers cause, and he put pressure on the victim of the attack to listen to his supporters. The day after the mob attack in lansing, trump told Governor Whitmer to negotiate with the extremists, tweeting that the governor should just, quote, Give A Little to the violent men who had stormed the capital, threatening not only the stability of the michigan government, but her own life. As you can see, he tweeted, the governor of michigan should Give A Little and put out the fire. These are very good people, but they are angry. They want their lives back again safely. See them, talk to them, make a deal. The president says heavily armed extremists carrying Confederate Battle Flags and pushing past police to overtake the Michigan State House Chamber are very good people and just negotiate with them. Its clear he doesnt think that theyre at fault in any way at all. But april 30th wasnt the only time Trump Supporters stormed the Michigan Capital. Emboldened by his praise and his encouragement and support, they escalated again. Governor whitmer refused to capitulate to the president s demand to negotiate with them. Two weeks later on may 14th, trumps mob again stormed the State Capital. This time, as you can see here, one man brought a doll with a noose around the neck foreshadowing the appearance of the large gallows erected outside this building downstairs on january 6, as the crowd shouted, and i can still hear the words echoing in my ear, hang mike pence, hang mike pence, hang mike pence. Even a couple months after the crowd stormed the Michigan Capital, on september 10, trump whipped up the crowd against Governor Whitmer saying, quote, she doesnt have a clue about reopening her states economy. The crowd cheered. Then on october 8, the precise consequences of the president s incitement to violence were revealed to the whole world. Look at this. 13 men were arrested by the fbi for plotting to storm the Michigan State Capital Building, launch a civil war, kidnap Governor Whitmer, transport her to wisconsin and then try and execute her. This was an Assassination Conspiracy, a Kidnapping Conspiracy. Look at the language that they used. In the charging document, the fbi reported that one of the conspirators said he needed, quote, 200 men to storm the Capital Building and take political hostages, including the governor. The suspect called it a snatch and grab, man. Grab the fing governor. One of those men has already pled guilty to this conspiracy. The plot was well organized, just like the one that was coming on january the 6th. The men in michigan even considered building Molotov Cocktails to disarm Police Vehicles in an attempt to construct their own ieds, something that happened here on january 6. Police authorities arrested extremists who had weapons and materials to build explosive devices, including one man found with an Assault Rifle and enough materials to make 11 Molotov Cocktails. On september 17, 2020, one of the michigan conspiracists said there will be no reason to strike fear through methods. The fear will be manifested through bullets. Did the president publicly condemn violent extremists who hoped and planned to launch a Civil War In America . No, not at all. He further inflamed them by continuing to attack the governor who was the object of their hatred in this Kidnapping Conspiracy. The very night this conspiracy became public and that Governor Whitmer learned there were 13 men who were planning to kidnap and likely kill her, trump did not condemn the violence, he did not criticize the extremists, he didnt even check on Governor Whitmers safety. He chose to vilify Governor Whitmer again, and then, amazingly, took credit for foiling the plot against her, demanding her gratitude, and then he quickly, of course, changed the subject to antifa. He tweeted, Governor Whitmer has done a terrible job. He demanded that she thank him for the Law Enforcement operation that had foiled the Kidnapping Conspiracy that had been encouraged by his rhetoric. On october 17th, a little over a week after these people were arrested for preparing to kidnap gretchen whitmer, trump riled up a boisterous crowd in waukegan saying, lock her up, lock her up. He had willing bodies to storm a state Capital Building and to attack his perceived political enemies. So as the crowd chanted lock her up, he pivoted to his next goal. He told them they couldnt trust the governor to administer Fair Elections in michigan. He used a crowd that he knew would readily engage in violence to prepare his followers for his next, and of course his paramount political objective, claiming the election was stolen and inciting insurrectionary action. He did it again on october 27 during a preelection rally speech in lansing, michigan where the capital had been stormed. Trump openly joked with the crowd about critics saying his words had provoked the violent plot against Governor Whitmer. Check it out. Its telling. We got to get her going. I dont think she likes me too much. Lock her up lock her up lock her up lock her up lock her up lock her up see, i dont comment to that, because if i make just even a little bit of a nod, they say, the president led them i dont have to lead you on. Even a little nod, they say, the president said your governor, at the urging of her husband who has abused our system very loudly, the only man allowed in the state of michigan, the only man allowed to go sailing is her husband. Your governor i dont think she likes me too much. Hey, hey, im the one. It was our people that helped her out with her problem. Well have to see if its a problem, right . People are entitled to say maybe it was a problem, maybe it wasnt. It was our people, my people, our people that helped her out. So President Trump offered them a little winking inside joke about his constant incitement of the mob and how much can actually be communicated by him with just a little nod. Just a little nod. He presided over another pounding, rhythmic rendition of his trademark chant, lock her up, lock her up, but then referring to the fbis foiling of the Qanon Conspiracy Which was deadly serious, he said he helped her out with a problem. Maybe it was a problem, maybe it wasnt. Well have to see. Maybe it was a problem, maybe it wasnt. The president of the United States of america. He could not bring himself to publicly oppose a kidnapping and potential Assassination Conspiracy plot against a sitting governor of one of our 50 states . Trump knew exactly what he was doing in inciting the january 6th mob. Exactly. He had just seen how easily his words and actions inspired violence in michigan. He spent a clear message to his supporters. He encouraged planning and conspiracies to take over Capital Buildings and threaten Public Officials who refused to bow down to his political will. Is there any chance donald trump was surprised by the results of his own incitement . Lets do what tom payne told us to do, use our common sense. The sense we have in common as citizens. If we dont draw the line here, whats next . What makes you think the nightmare with donald trump and his lawmaking and violent mobs is over . If we let him get away with it, and then it comes to your State Capital or it comes back here again, what are we going to say . These prior acts of incitement cast a harsh light on trumps obvious intent, obvious intent. H his unavoidable knowledge of the consequences of his incitement, the unavoidable knowledge of the consequences of his incitement and the clear for foreseeability of the violent harm he unleashed on our people and our republic. January 6 was not some unexpected radical break from his normal lawabiding and peaceful disposition, this was his State Of Mind. This was his essential m. O. He knew that egged on by his tweets and his messages for a wild time in washington, his extreme followers would show up bright and early, ready to attack, ready for extreme violence to fight like hell for their hero. Just like they had answered his call in michigan. In his own words, his supporters are the most loyal that weve seen in our countrys history. And he knew that his most hardcore supporters were willing to direct violence at elected officials, indeed, to attack and lay siege to a Capitol Building. And he knew they would be ready to heed his call on january 6 to Stop The Steal by using violence to block the peaceful transfer of power in the United States. He knew they were coming. He brought them here. And he welcomed them with open arms. We hear you and love you, from the oval office. My dear colleagues, is there any political leader in this room who believes if hes ever allowed by the senate to get back into the Oval Office Donald trump would stop inciting violence to get his way . Would you bet the lives of more Police Officers on that . Would you bet the safety of your family on that . Would you bet the future of your democracy on that . President trump declared his conduct totally appropriate. So if he gets back into office and it happens again, well have no one to blame but ourselves. We will return now to tell you about President Trumps total lack of remorse after the insurrection. Good afternoon. My colleagues walked you through President Trumps actions leading up to january 6 and then the horrific events on january 6. We saw both during their attack as well as in the days after the attack that this was a president who showed no remorse and took no accountability. In fact, quite the opposite. As representative raskin showed you, President Trump claimed that his action were, quote, totally appropriate. Their assertion that everyone thought Donald Trumps actions were totally appropriate, including people in this room, is, of course, untrue. It is also dangerous. Thats why senators, state and local officials, all unequivocally confirmed what we witnessed with our own eyes, that Donald Trumps conduct was wrong, it was destructive, dishonorable and unamerican. President trumps lack of remorse and refusal to take accountability during the attack shows his State Of Mind. It shows that he intended the events of january 6 to happen. And when it did, he delighted in it. President trumps lack of remorse and refusal to take accountability after the attack poses its own unique and continuing danger. It sends the message that it is acceptable to incite a violent insurrection to overthrow the will of the people and that a president of the United States can do that and get away with it. That is why we have to hold President Trump accountable, to send the message that it is never patriotic to incite a violent attack against our nations capitol. And that future president s will know that they cannot follow in Donald Trumps footsteps and get away with it. So lets start with the day of the attack. On insurrection day, january 6, President Trump did not once condemn the attack. Not even once. Even when he finally asked the violent extremists to go home, which was three hours after attack began, he sends this video and he ends it with, youre very special. We love you. That was his message to people who perpetrated this violent, gruesome attack. We love you. And then two hours later, he tweets, remember this day forever. This is not a man who showed remorse. But its worse than that. After that tweet, it took him another full day to even condemn the attack itself. The very next day, President Trump was eerily silent. And then at 7 01 p. M. , he releases a prerecorded video, and there President Trump, for the first time nearly 30 hours after the attack began, acknowledges and commends the violent mayhem that occurred. He said the offenders defiled the seed of American Democracy. He said they didnt represent this country, and if they broke the law, they would pay. But even in that video, he says more lies. He says, in that very same video, that he immediately deployed National Guard. That, again, is not true. The National Guard was not deployed until over two hours after the attack began at around 3 00 p. M. Because of this late deployment, the National Guard did not arrive until after 5 00 p. M. And when the guard was deployed, the pentagon had released a statement that showed the list of people, and you saw that list, of folks that were consulted before deploying the National Guard. Several people were on that list including the Vice President. President trump was not on that list. And, you know, as a veteran, i find it deeply dishonorable that our Commander In Chief did not protect us and then later he tries to take credit for something he failed to do. Shameful. Also in that video, you should know what it did not say. Absent from that entire video was any actual acceptance or responsibility for his actions. Absent from that video was a call to his most fervent supporters to never do this again. And here was his final message in that socalled condemnation of attack video. Heres what he actually said. And to all of my wonderful supporters, i know you are disappointed, but i also want you to know that our incredible journey is only just beginning. President trump not only failed to show remorse or take accountability, he made clear he is just beginning. For days he did not address the nation after this attack. We needed our Commander In Chief to lead, to unite a grieving country, to comfort us. But what did President Trump do . Nothing. Silence. Were all aware that a violent mob murdered a Police Officer. It took President Trump three days before he lowered the flag of the United States of america. Three days. And President Trump, who was Commander In Chief at the time, did not attend and pay respects to the officer who lay in state in the very building that he died defending. Now, some people have argued that President Trump made a mistake. That he gets a mulligan. But we know President Trump didnt make a mistake, because you see, when you or i make a mistake, and something very bad happens, we would show remorse. We would accept responsibility. President trump didnt do any of that. Why not . Because he intended what happened On January 6th. And how do we know that . He told us. On january 12, as President Trump was boarding air force one to head to texas, and you saw this video before, and im going to show it again, he was asked by a reporter, quote, what is your role in what happened at capitol . What is your personal responsibility . And this was his response. That was my speech and my words and my final paragraph and sentence, and everybody on the team thought it was totally appropriate. On january 12th, President Trump had seen the violent attack on the capitol. He knew there were people that died. And his message to all of us was that his conduct was totally appropriate. Im a former prosecutor, and were trained to recognize lack of remorse, but it doesnt take a prosecutor to understand that President Trump was not showing remorse. He was showing defiance. He was telling us that he would do this again, that he could do this again, that he and future president s can run for a National Election, lose the election, inflame the supporters for months and then incite an insurrection and that would be totally appropriate. One week after the attack, on january 13th, President Trump, in response to continuing bipartisan criticism, releases another video. Heres part of what he said. I want to be very clear. I unequivocally condemn the violence we saw last week. Violence and vandalism absolutely have no place in our country and no place in our movement. President trump, of course, had to make that statement. He needed to unequivocally condemn the attack. But he also needed to mean those words. You saw donald trump tweet in these attacks, sometimes 108 tweets in a day, and in public speeches and across rallies to fight, Stop The Steal and Never Surrender. You know what it looks like when President Trump wants to convey a message. Forcefully, loudly and repeatedly he does that. This video sent a week after the attack was not that. And we know this, because in this video he, again, does not show remorse, does not take responsibility. He, again, does not acknowledge his role in the insurrection. He does not say in that video, for example, everything i said in the months prior went too far. And he does not say the one sentence that matters. He does not say the one sentence that would stop future Political Violence, the election was not stolen. He still hasnt said that sentence. That is why National Guard troops in full body armor still patrol outside. Reports on the white house also confirm that President Trump believed he was, quote, forced by the bipartisan after the election to denounce the insurrection. We know he did not stand by that because those around him confirmed it. Behind closed doors, sources confirmed that President Trump still refused to directly acknowledge his election loss to joe biden and refused to even attend the peaceful transition of power, the first president in modern history. President trump even reportedly, watching the Impeachment Vote, quote, posted his ire, peppering aides with questions about what could he do to exact revenge. President trump has made clear that if he is not held accountable, he will not be accountable. He will not stop. Now, President Trump would have his base and the world believe that his conduct was totally appropriate. It is important to impeach that falsehood. To make clear to his supporters and everyone watching that what donald trump did was not acceptable. In fact, quite the opposite. People in his own party, state officials, former officials, current officials, members of congress have unambiguously and passionately said that what donald trump did was, quote, disgraceful, shameful, and have called his behavior existential and wrong. And they said that his actions gave rise to one of the darkest chapters in United States history. Lets hear what some of these officials had to say. Here is governor spencer cox, charlie baker, mark dewine, larry hogan and phil scott. People have to be held accountable, and yes, that includes the president. Its important to remember that they were the culmination of months of President Trump repeating over and over again that the american electoral system is a fraud. After he stoked the flames of our rage for weeks leading up to the events of yesterday, he refused to adequately prepare the u. S. Capitol for the possibility of violence and left it nearly defenseless. His remarks during and after the travesty of the attack on the capitol were disgraceful. President trumps continued refusal to accept the Election Results without producing credible evidence of a rigged election have started a fire thats threatened to burn down our democracy. This incendiary speech yesterday, the one he gave preceding the march, that he gave to the protesters, served only to fan those flames. I proudly stood by my fathers side at age 12 on the floor of the House Chamber as we both took the oath of office, an oath to support and defend the constitution of the United States. Its clear to me that President Trump has abandoned this sacred oath. Seeing our capitol, a symbol of democracy Around The World, stormed by an angry mob was heartbreaking. And let me be clear. These actions were not patriotic, and these people are not patriots. The fact that these flames of hate and insurrection were lit by the president of the United States will be remembered as one of the darkest chapters in our nations history. One of the darkest chapters in our nations history. Former members of the Trump Administration, longstanding republicans, also made clear that President Trump incited this insurrection and it went against our democracy. The president s former secretary of defense, james mattis, declared that todays violent assault on our capitol, an effort to subjugate with mob rule, was fomented by President Trump. What happened on capitol hill yesterday is a direct result of his poisoning the minds of people with the lies and the frauds. If you couldnt hear that, what john kelly said about President Trump was that what happened on capitol hill was a direct result of him poisoning the minds of people with the lies and the fraud. Former speaker of the house, john baynor, declared that, quote, the invasion of our capitol by a mob incited by lies from some entrusted with power is a disgrace to all who sacrifice to build our republic. This was echoed by former trump official after former trump official. Heres john bolton, former white house director Alyssa Farrow and Mick Mulvaney said. Let me just ask you, do you think President Trump has blood on his hands . I think he does. Look, i agree with bill barr. I think he did incite this mob with the clear intention of having them disrupt the Electoral College certification and delay it to give him more time. I dont think theres any question about it. There are many reasons for this assault on the capitol, but foremost among them was the president s exhortations, was the president s sustained disinformation. Weve seen the president stoking fears against this crisis. First and foremost, i want to say that what happened at the capitol was unacceptable, unamerican, undemocratic. I think everybody recognizes that what happened on wednesday is different. You can go down the long litany of things that people complained about with donald trump, and i can probably defend almost all of them. Many were policy differences, many of them were stylistic differences, but wednesday was different. Wednesday struck at the heart of what it means to be american, and it was wrong. Mick mulvaney, President Trumps former chief of staff, is clearly saying what we all felt. That january 6 was different. It was existential, it was wrong, it was unamerican. And this sentiment was echoed not just from people outside the administration, but from people inside the Trump Administration. Perhaps most telling was the flood of resignations from people inside President Trumps administration with firsthand access to President Trump. His own officials felt so betrayed by his own conduct that his own officials resigned in protest days before the end of President Trumps term. 16 of officials resigned in protest. 16. They all took this dramatic action of resigning because they saw the clear link between President Trumps conduct and the violent insurrection. Here is some of what they said. Secretary devos, who was in the administration the entire term, told President Trump in her Resignation Letter that, quote, there is no mistaking the impact your rhetoric had on the situation, and it is an Inflection Point for me. Secretary chow, who was in the administration the entire term, explained, yesterday our country experienced a traumatic and entirely unavoidable event, and supporters of the president stormed the Capitol Building following a rally he addressed. As im sure is the case with many of you, it has deeply troubled me in a way i simply cannot set aside. Deputy costello told associates that it was his, quote, breaking point, and he hoped, quote, a wakeup call. These rebukes and resignations from President Trumps own administration make clear that President Trumps conduct was anything but totally appropriate. They also remind us that this can and must be a wakeup call. As representative fred upton so eloquently put it, President Trump expressed no regets for last weeks violent insurrection at the u. S. Capitol. This sends kpexactly the wrong signal to those of us who represent the very core of our democratic principles and took a solemn oath to the constitution. It is time to say enough is enough. Now, no one is saying here that President Trump cannot contest the election. Of course he can. But what President Trump did, as his former chief of staff explained, was different. It was dishonorable, it was unamerican, and it resulted in fatalities. President trump spent months inflaming his supporters, spread lies to incite a violent attack on the capitol, on our Law Enforcement and on all of us. And then he lied again to his base, to tell them that this was okay, that this was all acceptable. And that is why President Trump is so dangerous, because he would have all of us, all americans believe that any president who comes after him can do exactly the same thing. Thats why a lack of remorse is an important factor in impeachment. Because impeachment, conviction and disqualification is not just about the past, its about the future. Its making sure that no future official, no future president does the same exact thing President Trump does. President trumps lack of remorse shows that he will undoubtedly cause future harm if allowed, because he still refuses to account for his previous high, grave crime against our government. Im not afraid of donald trump running again in four years. Im afraid hes going to run again and lose, because he can do this again. Were in an unusual situation, because despite President Trumps claim that everyone thinks what he did was fine, so many have come out and spoken so strongly and passionately about what happened here. Id like to highlight a statement by representative anthony gonzalez. He said, the Vice President and both chambers of congress had their lives put in grave danger as a result of the president s actions and the events leading up to and on january 6. During the attack itself, the president abandoned his post while many members asked for help, thus further endangering all present. These are fundamental threats not just to peoples lives but to the very foundation of our republic. And now id like to show what members of Congress Said leading up to the most bipartisan Impeachment Vote in u. S. History. Because i do want everyone watching, especially President Trumps supporters, to see firsthand what i believe we all feel, that what President Trump did was not appropriate, that it was not american, and that it absolutely cannot stand. What he has done and what he has caused here is something that weve never seen before in our history. All indications are that the president has become unmoored, not just from his duty, but from reality itself. The president is wrong and this insurrection is undeniable. Both in social media on january 6 and in his speech that day. He deliberately promoted baseless theories of misinformation and division. To allow the president of the United States to incite this attack without consequences is a direct threat to the future of this democracy. After this trial, i hope youll come together and cast your vote and make absolutely clear how we as a congress and as a nation feel about what donald trump did by convicting him. And prevent this from being only the beginning, as President Trump said, and to deter future president s who do not like the outcome of a National Election from believing they can follow in President Trumps footsteps. It is what our constitution requires, it is what our country deserves. Representative degette will now return to show how extremists were emboldened by the election and planned to attack the inauguration. That is the overwhelming evidence of how President Trumps conduct assembled, incited and inflamed the mob. We showed them how and why this attack, this violence was not only foreseeable but showed that President Trumps conduct would and should result in violence. And that when the attack occurred, he did not fulfill his duty as Commander In Chief and defend us. Instead he was delighted. Donald trump incited a violent insurrection, and he failed to defend our nation, our capitol, this congress and our Law Enforcement from the attack he incited. Now i want to turn to the impact, the longterm harm of this conduct. My colleagues and i will walk through the breadth and gravity of this harm. Id like to start with the effect President Trumps conduct had on our domestic security. We saw firsthand how Donald Trumps conduct emboldened and escalated Domestic Violence extremists. These folks are known in the Law Enforcement community as dves. These threats were and are made worse by President Trumps refusal to take accountability and his refusal to forcibly denounce what his own fbi identified as some of the most dangerous elements of our country. Even as the attack was underway, he tweeted words of support to his violent supporters, and then, in the aftermath on january 7th, President Trump made it clear this was only the beginning. And to all of my wonderful supporters, i know you are disappointed, but i also want you to know that our incredible journey is only just beginning. And he was right. Unless we take action, the violence is only just beginning. In the aftermath of the attack, we saw a huge rise in threats from domestic violent extremists, including specific threats to the inauguration in d. C. And also to all 50 State Capitals. Our intelligence agencies confirmed that in addition to these specific threats, President Trumps conduct emboldened the very same violent groups who initiated the attack and sparked new violent coalitions. These groups believe that theyre following his orders. They believe that their acts of insurrection and violence are patriotic. Violence is never patriotic, and its never american. Its not the democratic way, and its not the republican way. After the attack, the nations top defense and Law Enforcement agencies reported an increase in Credible Threats to the inauguration from donald Trump Supporters. On january 13th, 2021, a joint intelligence bulletin issued by the department of homeland security, the fbi, and the National Terrorism center found, quote, since the 6 january event, violent online rhetoric involving the 20 january president ial inauguration has increased, with some calling for unspecified, quote, justice for the 6 january Fatal Shooting by Law Enforcement of a participant who had illegally entered the Capitol Building, and another posting that, quote, many armed individuals would return on 19 january. The agencies also made clear why these threats were escalating, especially regarding the inauguration. The report explained that a primary motivating factor was, quote, the shared false narrative of a stolen election and opposition to the change and control of the executive and legislative branches of the federal government may lead some individuals to adopt the belief that there is no political solution to address their grievances and that violent action is necessary. In other words, President Trumps spreading of inflammatory disinformation about the election incited the insurrection On January 6th examine may lead to further violence. Online, just as they did prior to the january 6 attack, Trump Supporters took to the internet to organize and document their desire and plans for future violence at President Bidens inauguration. And, indeed, in the days shortly after the attack, several posters on extremist social media websites made further plans for violence. They posted, quote, many of us will return on january 19, 2021 carrying our weapons in support of our nations resolve to which the world will never forget. We will come in numbers no Standing Agency or Police Agency can match. Quote, we took the building once and we can take it again. Other users wanting to participate in further attacks confirmed they were waiting on President Trumps instructions about what to do next. Referring to a future planned attack, a user on the Online Platform known as gab posted, quote, i would like to come do this but want to know, does our president want us there . Awaiting instructions. In fact, in the days leading up to the inauguration, multiple individuals many potentially an attempt to carry out the plots i just previewed were arrested in washington, d. C. , including on serious weapons charges. One of those men was curry griffin, the founder of cowboys for trump who took part in the Capitol Attack and was also arrested on january 17th. Heres what he said about his plans for violence. You know, you want to say that that was a mob, you want to say that was a violence . No, sir, no, maam. We could have a Second Amendment rally on those same steps we had that rally yesterday, you know, and if we do, then its going to be a sad day because theres going to be blood running out of that building, but at the end of the day, you mark my word, we will plant our flag on the desk of nancy pelosi and Chuck Schumer. Blood running out of the building. This building. The capitol. Where all of us are right now. The name couy griffin may sound familiar because he previously faced controversy for a 2020 video where he said, quote, the only good democrat is a dead democrat. Hear it from him yourself. Ive come to the conclusion that the only good democrat is a dead democrat. [ cheers and applause ] now, when he said this, President Trump actually retweeted griffin and thanked him for that sentiment. When donald trump retweeted this, he was no stranger to griffin. In fact, in march 2019, over a year earlier, griffin and trump had spoken on the phone for nearly 30 minutes. President trumps conduct without a doubt made it clear that he supported griffin. In fact, griffin even said so himself. As griffin later said about President Trump retweeting his inflammatory comment about the dead democrats, quote, it really means a lot to me because i know the president of the United States has my back. Remember, this is a man who was here on january 6, who was arrested after threatening to come back here to make blood come running out of this building. Threats like griffins have triggered a deployment of forces the likes of which we have never seen. There were approximately 25,000 National Guard troops brought in from around the country to protect d. C. Leading up to and on Inauguration Day. As you know, many of those troops are still here. Take a look at that. These were scenes that played out all over the country. Five days following the siege on the capitol, on january 11, 2021, the fbi warned that, quote, armed protests are being planned at all 50 State Capitals from 16 january through at least 20 january, and rat the u. S. Capitol from 17 january through 20 january. As a result, at least 21 states activated their National Guards in preparation for potential attacks. President trumps incitement has reverberated around the country, prompting massive Law Enforcement mobilization in several State Capitals, including washington, illinois, michigan and georgia. Look at these photos. This is what donald trump has done to america this massive deployment of Law Enforcement has cost the taxpayers dearly. The National Guard deployment to d. C. Alone is expected to cost nearly 4 480 million. The bills are also racking up in the states. North carolina, South Carolina, pennsylvania, utah and wisconsin have each spent about half a Million Dollars to safeguard their capitals in the runup to the inauguration. Ohio spent 1. 2 million over the same twoweek period. And, remember, this is at a time when state budgets are already suffering under the weight of the pandemic. Our brave Service Members showed up. Thanks to their dedication and their vigilance, the inauguration and the days leading up to it mercilessly proceeded without incident. In fact, after news broke for Law Enforcements preparedness for further attacks, leaders of the proud boys, the militia, the organizers of the maga march, they now told their followers to avoid protests up to and leading up to the inauguration for fear that Law Enforcement would crush them and arrest rioters who showed up. Thank god there wasnt an insurrection sequel here on january 20th. But look at the price weve paid. The price that were still paying. Its not just dollars and cents. This capitol has become a fortress as State Capitals have all across the country. Our constituents no longer have access to the elected representatives. Every democrat and republican, including people who came here On January 6th peacefully, is paying the price. And its not just a loss of access. Its a dimming of their freedom. Its a dimming of all of our freedom. We must uphold our oaths as the tens of thousands of Law Enforcement officers have done in the wake of january 6th. Because if we do not, President Trumps mob stands ready for more attacks. Now, this should be no surprise. Having a Commander In Chief who incites violence has given life to the existing violent groups he spent years cultivating and has inspired new coalitions among Extremist Groups who actually view january as a success. According to the fbi, President Trumps assemblage of his mob was particularly dangerous because, quote, inperson engagement between dves of differing idealogical goals during the Capitol Breach likely served to foster connections which may increase dves attack on a government they view as illegitimate. In other words, they all were talking to each other. This bulletin was also confirmed by concrete evidence. Rioters celebrated their roles on the january 6 attack on social media. They boasted about their success in bridgeing the capitol and forcing members of congress and the Vice President to evacuate. Take, for example, right wing provocateur nick fuentes. The day before the insurrection, he said this on his feed. Were not advising that, but what else can you do, right . Fuentes was at the capitol on january 6 and praised the insurrection on a livestream as glorious and aweinspiring. He later said, quote, we forced a joint session of congress and the Vice President to evacuate because Trump Supporters were banging down and then successfully burst through the doors. Fuentes was not the only provocateur to revel in the violence. According to mike dunn, a member of the Boogaloo Boys, Whose Movement helped storm the capitol, the Boogaloo Boys will be, quote, working overtime to capitalize on the january 6 riots and hope it will lead to more action. They said, quote, just know that there is more to come. Proud boys members were bragging about the attack on the capitol. One post on the proud boys telegram channel said, people saw what we can do. They know what were up to, they know and they want in. The leader of the proud boys himself sent the same message. Enrique tario said the proud boys would be active during bidens presidency. Tario stated, youre definitely going to see more of us. Extremist groups are also boasting that the attack on our capitol is a boon for their recruitment efforts. 3 Security Force leader chris hill said hes been contacted by several people interested in joining since the insurrection. And as one expert who focuses on domestic extremism, jerry holt, explained, by all measurable effects, this was a far right extremist, one of the most successful attacks they ever launched. They are talking about this in the first stab of a greater revolution. And as indicated by mr. Holt, their perceived success has given them an encouragement to continue and to escalate attacks. Intelligence agencies have also noted that these Extremist Groups will, unfortunately, be targeting vulnerable minority communities in the u. S. A january 27, 2021 dhs bulletin warned, quote, longstanding racial and ethnic tension of the sort that led to a man killing 23 people at an El Paso Walmart will continue to grow and motivate further attacks. The january 13 joined Intelligence Report bulletin stated, in addition to the violence listed, dvts may be incited to carry out more violence, including violence against racial, ethnic and religious minorities and associated institutions, journalists, members of the lgbtqplus community and other targets common among some dves. These prejudiced elements could be seen visibly in the attack in the crowd that attacked the capitol. Pictured here is robert packer. Robert packer is an avowed white supremacist and holocaust denyer who proudly wore that sweatshirt which states, quote, camp auschwitz. These precious elements could also be heard from the crowds. As you heard, the insurrectionist that attacked the capitol on january 6 hurled racial slurs, including at black Police Officers. One officer described the trauma he experienced when the rioters seesed the capitol. He said, quote, i am a black officer. There was a lot of racism that day. I was called racial slurs and in a moment i didnt process this as traumatic. I was just trying to survive. I just wanted to get home to see my daughter again. I couldnt show weakness. I finally reached a safe place surrounded by officers. I was able to cry, to let it out, to attempt to process it. These Extremist Groups were emboldened because President Trump told them repeatedly that their insurrectionist activities were the pinnacle of patriotism. Well, let today be the day that we reclaim the definition of patriotism. Impeachment is not to punish but to prevent. We are not here to punish donald trump. We are here to prevent the seeds of hatred that he planted from bearing any more fruit. As my colleague showed, this was not the first time that President Trump inspired violence, but it must be the last time that hes given a platform to do so. This must be our wakeup call. We must condemn it. Because the threat is not over. President trump refused to condemn this type of violence. Instead, over and over again, hes encouraged it. Our response must be different this time. We simply cannot sweep this under the rug. We must take a united stand, all of us, that this is not american. Think back to august 2017 when a young woman was murdered during a white supremacist rally in charlottesville, west virginia. Her name was heather heier. Her mothers name is susan bro. Ms. Bro has been a steadfast advocate for her daughters memory. In a 2018 interview, she expressed concern that people had rushed too quickly to reconciliation without accountability. If you rush to heal, if you rush to everybody grab each other and sing kumbayah, weve accomplished nothing and well be right back here in a few years. We will be right back here in a few years. Those were her words in 2018, three years ago. Her daughters murder, he was held to account. But our nation did not impose any meaningful accountability on a president who at the time said that there were very fine people on both sides. And now where are we three years later . I would argue were not just back where we were. I would argue things are worse. In 2017, it was unfathomable to most of us to think that charlottesville could happen, just as it was unfathomable to most of us that the capitol could have been breached on january 6. Frankly, what unfathomable horrors await us if we do not stand up now and say, no, this is not america. And we will not just express condolences and denuounciations. We will not just close the book and move on. We will act to ensure that this never happens again. Representatives cicilline and lieu will now show the damage done to congress and our democratic process. Mr. Cicilline. Mr. President , distinguished senators, you just heard from my colleague, manager degette, how the conduct of donald trump dramatically increased the threats to our security and emboldened violent domestic extremists. Id like to now turn to the harm that this has caused here inside these walls as a result of the conduct on january 6. The harm to us, to congress, to those who serve our country, and to the constitutional processes as the trump mob tried to stop the election certification process. The attack on january 6 was one of the bloodiest intrusions in the capitol since the british invaded in the war of 1812 and burned it to the ground. And youve heard in painstaking detail that the president s mob posed an immediate and serious threat to the continuity and constitutional succession of the United States government as the first, second and third in line to the presidency, the Vice President , the speaker of the house, the president pro tem were all together and faced a Common Threat in the same location. Weve seen the first and the second were purposely targeted by these attackers. These werent idle threats. The mob, as you have heard, chanted hang mike pence. Hang mike pence hang mike pence hang mike pence the charging documents show that the rioters said they would have killed Vice President pence and Speaker Pelosi had they found them. Dawn bancroft and diane smith, two of the rioters charged, were caught on tape talking about the violence they hoped to inflict on Speaker Pelosi had she not been rushed out to safety. They said, quote, we broke into the capitol, we got inside. We did our part. We were looking for nancy to shoot her in the frigging brain, but we did not find her, end quote. Senators, simply put, this mob was trying to overthrow our government. They came perilously close to reaching the first three people in line to the presidency. It wasnt just the Vice President and the speaker, rioters were prepared to attack any member of congress they found. Thomas edward caldwell, donovan ray crowell and jessica ray watkins, three militia members, were also charged for their role in the attack. They described trapping us in the underground tunnels. The indictment of social media chatter, quote, all the members are in the tunnel under the capitol. Seal them in. Turn on gas. All legislators are down in the tunnels three floors down. Do like we had to do when i was in the corps and start tearing out floors. Go from top to bottom, end quote. Never did any of us imagine that we or our colleagues would face mortal peril by a mob riled up by the president of the United States, the leader of the free world. But we did. All because donald trump could not accept his election defeat. Trump chose himself above the people, above our institutions, above our democracy, above all of you. You know, weve heard trump espouse for years now this America First policy. But his true north star isnt americas wellbeing, its not Country First like our dear d departed colleague john mccain. No, his cause is trump first, no matter the cost, no matter the threat to our democracy. But each and every one of us in this room must agree on one thing. We can never allow the kind of violent attack that occurred on january 6 to ever happen again in this country. In the immediate aftermath, we heard really disturbing accounts from many members of congress about what they experienced that day. Here are some of those reactions. Following the attack, representative dusty johnson expressed concerns that we had gotten to the point where so many of us had sewn the seeds of anger and division. We were barricaded, and there was some fear, to be sure, but overwhelmingly the emotion that i experienced was one of anger. I just could not believe that this was happening. I could not believe that we had gotten to this point where so many of us had sewn these seeds fd anger and of anger and di we had built this powder keg. We were starting to see this powder keg light up, and frankly, i was furious. Representative jason crow compared the events of this day to his time in afghanistan as an army ranger, something senator reid knows something about. What i felt in the capitol behind us is something i havent felt since i was in afghanistan as an army ranger. And to think as a member of congress in 2021, in the u. S. Capitol on the house floor, that i was preparing to fight my way out of the peoples house against a mob is just beyond troubling. Representative pat fallon was humbled by his experience on january 6 and described the events as surreal as they unfolded here in the capitol. It was something i just never thought i would see in our nations capitol, and particularly in the House Chamber. It was surreal when it was unfolding. You know, what was interesting was the bravery and the courage of some of my fellow members. When we got to a point where the mob was banging on the doors and all that kept them from reaching the chamber itself was the doors and then some furniture that we had moved and some Capitol Police, and they needed to be augmented, so tony gonzalez, a new freshman rep from texas and Rodney Jackson and trey nell stec stepped in and we broke off furniture. Some of the flags were on these wooden poles and we turned them upside down, and we were ready many members wondered if theyd see their family again. As the rioters reached the capitol, they were outnumbered, trapped inside. They were calling loved ones to say goodbye. Representative kildee was one of them. Listen to how he described the impact of the riot on him. I was laying on the floor, trying to, you know, protect myself behind this little wall and, you know, we all took our pins off because you know, if the mob were to come in, they could easily identify us as members of congress. Then i called my wife. And, you know, it wasnt until i heard her voice that i thought, wow, you know, this is like one of those calls that you hear about. While most coverage is focused on the extreme danger posed to members and the Capitol Police, there were lots of other people working in the capitol, personal aides to floor employees, cleaning staff, food service workers. We cant forget all the people in harms way that day. These employees experienced trauma. Some coward, hiding in places, just a few feet away from where the rabid crowd had assembled. Many were kids, 20 somethings who came here to work because they believed in their country and they believed in working to make it better. Others were dedicated food and service workers, all who work incredibly hard to make sure that we can come here and do our jobs. These workers are the lifeblood of the legislative branch. You heard from Speaker Pelosis staff, the staff hiding under the conference table, cowering in the dark making sure that attackers couldnt hear them. I want to share what other staffers went to. Listen as two staffers recall what they saw that a. But then we were seeing on twitter, our phones and then hearing from some of the Police Officers on the floor that, you know, the building had been breached. Building breached, those are two words i never heard. That was particularly stressful, being in a room, close to where things are happening and not really knowing what was happening. And seeing it come in live and getting texts from people, you know, are you okay . And truthfully i didnt know what was happening. I heard shots fired, shots fired, shots fired, show me your hands. Then i did not know if they were right outside. If they were lots of people with weapons. If there were one shooter. If they had you know, i didnt know what it looked like. I just knew there were shots fired outside of the House Chamber. According to reports, one Republican Senate staffer whose office, quote, took a steel rod and barricaded the door as the rioters tried to break in. The New York Times reported that a senior black staffer was under lockdown for six hours during the insurrection and was so disturbed by events that she quit her job. The other staffer on the floor of the house that day described what happened on january th still echoes in his mind. Listen to him describe the moments just before this indelible image. I heard glass break. I could see the the window panes on the house main door start to pop and i figured, you know, obviously i knew they were at the door and they figured out a way to break the glass. The last thing i remember before i walked off the floor was several of the Police Officers had drawn their guns and had the guns trained on the door. Clearly it was i didnt think this was anything else i could do and i didnt want to be there for whatever was about to occur. I got to the top of the stairs, it was pretty packed. Right about that point, i dont know if it was a Police Officer or somebody else, theyre right behind us, run. For me i keep thinking there isnt a day that hasnt gone by since january 6th that i havent gone back and picked at some little thing. But the sound of those window panes popping, you know, i wont forget that sound. I wont forget that sound. How long will the sound of window panes breaking haunt this staffer . He isnt alone. There are countless people who are still living with the trauma of what happened that day. This includes, by the way, another group of people who are with us in the capitol on that day and thats the press. They were in danger particularly after years of being derided by President Trump as fake news. Kristin wilson a reporter for cnn recently tweeted about her experience. I have 14 people on my team and we were scattered everywhere. Two of them were on crutches and couldnt have run if they had to. They had to anyway. One was trapped in the House Chamber and had to crawl out to hide. Four of us barricaded ourselves in a room off the Senate Chamber. Every bang on the door of them trying to come through i can still hear in my head. The janitorial and custodial staff, people who day after day tend to our home away from home were also traumatized but we dont talk about them and the harm they suffered often enough. One Janitorial Worker said he was so scared he had to hide in a closet during the attack. He said, quote, i was all by myself and i didnt know what was going on. End quote. Another employee a mother of three said the insurrection shattered all my sense of security at work. An employee at the capitol said, quote, i hope nothing else happens because these people were talking about killing us, killing federal employees, killing police. Another employee was afraid to work on Inauguration Day who said, quote, i honestly fear for my life. I have two children at home. End quote. For many of the black and brown staff, the trauma was made worse by the many painful symbols of hate that were on full display that day. Insurrectionists waved confederate flags and lobbed racial slurs at the dedicated worker and then the same workers, many of them people of color, were forced to clean up the mess left by mobs of white nationalists. One member of the janitorial staff reflected how terrible he felt when he had to clean up feces that had been smeared on the wall, blood of a rioter who had died. Broken glass, other objects strewn all over the floor. He said, i felt bad. I felt degraded. Lets also not forget that this violent attack happened in the middle of a global pandemic. Social distancing was impossible as we were hiding for our lives in cramped quarters for long periods of time. At least Seven Members who hid with other members of congress have tested positive for covid19 and at least 38 capitol Police Officers have either tested positive or been exposed. Nearly 200 National Guard troops who were deployed to our nations capitol to provide all of us protection have tested positive. The Capitol Police and National Guard came here to keep us safe and they deserved better than this. We all did. That brings me to the next harm. Now, all of us in this room made it out alive. But not everyone was so lucky. Three Law Enforcement officers tragically lost their lives as a result of the riot On January 6th. These officers Brian Sicknick, howard leavengood and Jeffrey Smith all honorably served to protect and defend. My colleague mr. Swalwell told you about officer sicknick. He was a military veteran who dedicated his life to public service. He fought a mob and ultimately lost his life protecting us. Officer livinggood, his father served as sergeant of arms and he followed his extraordinary example. Officer smith was for 12 years with the Police Department and heeded the call to coming to stand with the Capitol Police to secure our democracy. Earlier my colleague manager swalwell showed you terrible videos of the police being physically abused and injured. You remember what happened to officers and there are scores whose names we dont know. Injuries to the u. S. Police include concussions, irritated lungs, serious injuries caused by repeated blows from bats, poles and clubs. Capitol Police Officers sustained injuries that will be with them for the rest of their lives. One officer lost the tip of a right index finger. The chairman of the police union said, i quote, i have officers who were not issued helmets prior to the attack. Who have sustained brain injuries. One officer has two cracked ribs and two smashed spinal discs. One is going to lose his eye and another was stabbed with a metal fence stake, end quote. In total, at least 81 members of the Capitol Police and 6 5 members of the metropolitan Police Department were injured on the attack On January 6th. The former police chief said it was violent, unlike anything hes seen in his 30 year career in Law Enforcement. D. C. Police chief robert j. Conte, iii, he had spoken with an officer who had been beaten with a stun gun said quote, i have talked to officers who have done two tours in iraq and who said this was scarier to them than their time in combat. End quote. The physical violence is not the only thing that will have a lasting effect on our brave sworn officers. Trumps mob verbally denigrated their patriotism, questioned their loyalty and yelled racial slurs and called them traitors, nazis, unamerican for protecting us. For example, in the next clip a rioter wearing a hunting jacket accosts a Police Officer. Are you an american . Act like [ indiscernible ]. Go out there [ indiscernible ]. Get out of here dont touch me no. Stay work for us. Listen to how the trump mob talked to these officers. You heard that with your own ears. Le. Back off back off whats going on . Youre a traitor to your country. Fing traitor. So much more backing the blue. Heres a couple more examples. Oh, you guys you cant call yourself american you broke your 7276, bitch Fight For Trump Fight For Trump traitor, traitors, traitors traitors, traitors they called Law Enforcement officers traitors. You have to wonder who are these rioters sworn to . To whom do they believe the police owe their loyalty . To the people, to the constitution. To our democracy or to donald trump . Even those who were not outwardly injured the Mental Health toll is significant. In one case, an officer voluntarily turned in her gun because she was afraid of what might happen. Black Police Officers with met with racist vitriol. There was a black Police Officer, who was weary from what he had experienced that day, tears started to stream down my face. I said what the f man, is this america . Is this america, lead manager raskin asked. Is this america . What is your answer to that question . Is this okay . If not, what are we going to do about it . These people matter. These people risked their lives for us. So i ask you respectfully to consider them, the Police Officers, the staff of this building, when you cast your vote. These people are in deep pain because they showed up here to serve, to serve the American People, to serve their government. To serve all of us. And i ask each of you when you cast your vote to remember them. And honor them. And act in service of them. As they deserve. I want to recognize that four individuals four insurrectionists who lost their lives and they were led here and they were made to believe they were patriots. The loss of human life is of course the most consequential. But that was not the only damage wrought that day. The trump mob also damaged this building. They defiled some of the most sacred places. Statuary hall, the rotunda, where the civil rights heroes an other defenders are honored after their death. Trumps violent mob had little respect for this place. This video shows the wreckage left in the Senate Parliamentarians office by the insurrectionists. A bust of president Zachary Taylor was smeared with what appeared to be blood and an empty picture frame presumably robbed of the contents was found on the floor and videos of the insurrection captured another one stealing the frame and another one ripping it up and throwing the pieces on the floor. A sign paying tribute to john lewis was also shamefully destroyed. And only a broken piece of the memorial was found on the ground next to a trash can. The photo of mr. Lewis was gone. The damage done to this building is a stain on all of us and on the dignity of our democracy. They had a purpose stop our democratic process. Fortunately, they did not prevail. Newspapers across america on january 21, the day after the inauguration proclaimed democracy has prevailed. President biden said that in his inauguration speech. The headline was in so many places because the worlds oldest constitutional democracy and the principles underlying it had been attacked and challenged. This wasnt just an attack on the Capitol Building and the dedicated people inside. It was an attack on what we were elected to preserve. Our democracy. This attack on our elections, on the peaceful transfer of power from one president to the next didnt even happen during the civil war. But it did just happen because of the cold, calculated and conspiratorial acts of the former president , trump. We showed they were deliberate, they came looking for Vice President pence and nancy pelosi and looking to kill and President Trump incited a lawless mob to attack our process. He was attacking our democracy. He was trying to become king and rule over us, against the will of the people and the valid results of the election. For the First Time Ever in our history a sitting president actively instigated his supporters to interrupt the process that provides for one peaceful transfer of power to another president to the next. Think of that for a moment. What if President Trump had been successful . Would if he had succeeding the will of the people in our constitutional processes, who is willing to let trumps constitutional crimes go unanswered . The founders included impeachment not as a punishment but to prevent. We have to prevent every president , today, tomorrow, or any time in the future from believing that this conduct is acceptable. Today, we have to stand up for our democracy. And ensure we remain a country governed by the people, for the people, by telling donald trump and people all across this country and all across the world that his crimes will not and cannot stand. Senate will stand in recess. I ask unanimous consent that the house stand in recess for 15 minutes. Without objection, the senate will stand in recess. All right. The senate is in recess in the president s Impeachment Trial. We just heard presentations from a number of the house Impeachment Managers. They focused on three basic issues today. One, that President Trump has long been fomenting a culture of violence in which he encouraged the violence among his supporters on his behalf and that what happened On January 6th was therefore foreseeable. Two, that President Trump feels no remorse for what happened On January 6th and did nothing to protect any of the individuals in the capitol on that day. And that lastly, because of this, the threat is not over. And dana bash and abby phillip are here with me. Dana, less startling, stunning video today than what we saw yesterday. But clearly, the argument is being made that President Trump in their view remains a clear and present danger unless the senate votes to convict him. And thats really the key. That the takeaway from what we have heard so far from these Democratic House managers. Its what you said at the beginning which is that it was something that people who followed him had a practice run for, with what happened in michigan. But more importantly, what is before the senators is a, to convict a president who is no longer in office and b, if that happens which we know is a big if, but if that happens to then vote to prevent him from running again. And some if you kind of look at the totality of what they were trying to do they were trying to say, we if question dont stop him, it will happen again and the it not being hes going to run, but the it being the violence that they claim that he put forward and one of the most compelling lines i thought was from congressman ted lieu who said im not afraid of donald trump running again in four years. Im afraid hes going to run again and lose because he may do this again. I think its very much about establishing a pattern of trump not only, you know, being an encourager of violence, Political Violence specifically but being indifferent to it when it appears especially in his name. You know, jaime raskin, one of the lead Impeachment Managers, he set this all up by saying what happened On January 6th was not an aberration for donald trump. It was a continuation for donald trump. And thats what why you saw such a broad swath of examples coming from the Impeachment Managers but the problem for them then becomes that republicans will say you all are painting too wide of a brush, that you are trying to accuse trump of the violence of all of his supporters in no matter what form it came. I think todays presentation is a double edged sword in that respect. I expect to see some republicans recoiling from some of the examples that, you know, go as far back to when he was on the campaign trail talking about, you know, wanting his supporters to hit protesters who were in the room. That is part of the pattern of trump. I think republicans will look at that and say, you all are reaching into the grab bag to take what you want and use it as part of this impeachment proceeding. Yeah, youre saying that because we were talking about this while we were watching. I texted a democratic senator during this. Asking that very question. Isnt this too broad and, you know, kind of, you know, painting it to use your term with the brush thats too broad. And the response was, no this is this is part of the argument to making obviously the republicans who are if theyre listening to say, this is who he is, and this is why this conviction is so important to prevent it from happening in the future. You know, one of the things thats interesting is that the question of who are the house Impeachment Managers speaking to . And theres some discussion and debate about this. Are they actually trying to convince the senate specifically the 50 republican senators there to convict President Trump or are they speaking to the wider audience of the American People and again the world watching to make their case about President Trump and why hes unfit for office. I would say until today, it had been very carefully tailored for republican senators. Giving them an opportunity to break from trump. And in fact, in a way that i would say even sometimes was contrary to the facts because as we know, donald trump was not the only one lying. He was not the only one who let what happened On January 6th happen. There were a whole number including people who are including people in the room. Senator ted cruz and josh hawley and a number of individuals who are coconspirators in a way. Not that anyone knew what was doing to happen, but all of them were playing with fire. And in fact, yesterday, congressman Eric Swalwell one of the house Impeachment Managers said something that really let them all off the hook in order to allow republicans to say, no, this is the line, im on this side of it. President trump is on that side of it. If we could run that clip from congressman swalwell, sot 99, yesterday. What our Commander In Chief did was wildly different from what anyone here in this room did to raise election concerns. This was a deliberate insightful to his base to attack our capitol while the counting was going on. You know, thats empirically accurate. What trump was wildly different to raise election concerns thats true, but the way that Eric Swalwell i get it, i understand. But he talked about josh hawley and ted cruz and others, you know, casting their lot in with the big lie. Hes describing it as raising election concerns and next time any of us have an opportunity to interview Eric Swalwell thats not how hell describe what josh hawley and ted cruz and others did. Right. To answer the first question that you posed, are they trying to convince the senators in the room or are they trying to get this out to the American People . Both. But these are all these managers are all politicians. They know basic math. Yes, they are also almost to a person former prosecutors who tried cases where it was a lost cause and they went into the room and things changed and they won their case and im sure they have that in the back of their mind but they have history and they also understand thats what this is. And, you know, we have been talking about this, that regardless of what happens in this trial, whether donald trump is convicted or acquitted, this is his legacy and they want to put as much information for the history books on that legacy as possible. And i think that that that may ultimately be what this trial is about because this actually goes back to what you were saying, jake. One of the real problems with this trial is that republicans as a party have not let go of the big lie. If you look at whats happening at the state level, they are building on it. Build on it by trying to claim fraud as a way of cracking down on voting. So if youre a republican senator, you cant then condemn the big lie and then go home to your Political Party thats trying to use it to move to move forward restrictions on voting that are based on the fallacies that donald trump presented to his supporters over the last couple of months. Its the fundamental problem with this impeachment hearing is that even if many of these republicans in the senate now say joe biden won fair and square, theyre also not necessarily willing to say there was no widespread fraud in the election because thats actually the message that is the rallying cry now for the Party Going Forward after today. No matter what happened On January 6th. But it undergirds this whole thing. You cant have january 6th without that lie. Yeah. Although wolf and john, i think its clear that the house Impeachment Managers are presenting a reality where they are saying to all of the Senate Republicans no matter how complicit they were in the big lie or what or anything that happened On January 6th theyre giving them the opportunity nows your chance. Were saying youre not responsible at all, you had nothing to do with it. You brought up election concerns, what donald trump did was above and beyond. Well see if they take the opportunity but i remain skeptical. We will see what happen has. The House Managers were floating a lot of republicans throughout, republican governors and lawmakers who were saying very, very compelling and strong uttering strong criticism of then President Trump for his role in organizing they believe this insurrection. And one of the main points they were making was that the insurrectionists who actually showed up and violated the u. S. Capitol, they believe they were following in the words of the house people Impeachment Managers, the Marching Orders. Trying to create a less political environment. The first trump Impeachment Trial was political, from the pregame all the way through the proceedings. These democrats here to the point jake and abby were making, the democrats have to change minds. Right . They know the math is stacked against them. They have to change minds so they can make the case themselves, very compelling testimony. I think a compelling look at the historical trump belligerent language to say hes been doing this for a long time and you say it doesnt matter. Its just the way he talks, new york language, its street language. Over the years, over the years, well, look what just happened. Now its time to stand up because its crossed the dangerous line and now we must stand up. By trying to convince them, listen to this republican governor and republican congressmen. You have to leave this chamber and go meet with your staff. They were terrorized that day too. They would like accountability. So this is its the power of persuasion. Using anything they can find both in the former president s words and tweets, both in the words of the insurrectionists saying trump sent us here, Fight For Trump and also make it emotional, you have to look your family in the eye. You were threatened that day. Now that you have seen the Security Footage they were closer to us than even you thought that day, werent you . Connecting the facts with the emotion and the powering, will they be successful . Well watch it play out. I find it interesting as theyre trying to change minds the Trump Legal Team has to keep things as it is. One of the lawyers, david schoen, left during the presentation to go do an interview on fox news during the trial. Why . Preaching to the choir because theyre just trying to keep things as they are. You know, its interesting. Its interesting that at the point that they were the point that they were making that the insurrectionists didnt believe they would be punished. Well, more than 200 of them have been criminally charged and hundreds more are expected to be criminally charged in the days, weeks and months ahead, once more evidence is coming in. Stand by for a moment. Theres some new reporting just coming in to cnn right now about how the former president s lawyers now plan to mount their defense and that starts tomorrow the as well as just minutes ago some expectation setting coming in from the former president s legal counsel. Listen to this. Theres no reason for out there for a long time. This trial never should have happened. And if it happened, it should be as short as possible given the complete lack of evidence and the harm that this is causing to the American People. One of the president s lawyers, former president s lawyers, david schoen. In the middle of the trial, fox breaks away from live coverage and does some interviews, some programming which is strange given the historic nature, but pamela, youre watching this closely. Share with us what youre learning. It will be interesting to see what they do tomorrow when the president s lawyers present. And were learning in terms of that, that the president s lawyers are really going to be focusing on when the president said to the eventual rioters, go protest peacefully and theyll try to argue that the president did not intend for them to go and cause an insurrection essentially. Of course, the democrats on tuesday did not include that line in the video. They were criticized, it was shown yesterday by congresswoman deen, but there was a lot of talk with donald trump and his advisers about messaging post this trial. Thats an awareness of how this can impact the Public Perception. Trump and his team do not believe that enough republicans will get on board to convict him but theres concern about Public Perception and if he brings up that the election was stolen from him. Advisers were saying he shouldnt bring it up anymore, he needs to move on, it will be forever bound with the riot On January 6th and one source who recently spoke to trump said hes going to move on. He wont be talking about the election. Another source i spoke to though said good luck with that. As we know, trump doesnt move on from grudges even if theres no basis in fact and i reported yesterday, me and jim acosta, that donald trump has no regret. He has no remorse of his words and his actions surrounding the riot. We have to see if he does move on from the messaging about the election. Wolf . Well see how much time they can have 16 hours these Trump Lawyers. They dont need it, well see patient mr. Schoen said they dont need that much time. Well see how much time they take up tomorrow. Thank you, pamela. One important point we keep hearing from the house Impeachment Managers its not enough that they convict trump of incitement of insurrection, but a simple majority they have to permanently forever disqualify trump from holding federal office again. Yeah. Well see if they get to that vote today. Here with russ garver, what do you make of where theyre at . So as john king noted the thing thats really struck me i was very critical of the first Impeachment Trial for failing to do this, for failing to make it a nonpartisan issue, for the managers failing to reach out to the republicans. You have seen it every day and you saw it again today, over and over an appeal being made to republicans. Republicans in the room, but also republicans, you know, out in the public. Talking about, you know, the custodians. Talking about the Police Officers. That has been very, very striking. You know, i think, you know, what well see from the president s lawyers is, yeah, all of thats great. None of it matters because they didnt meet the technical definition of inciting an insurrection, but what the managers, you know, did today and have been doing, you know, kind of reaching across the aisle is credible. When you say they didnt meet the technical definition of insurrection i think what well hear a lot about is that the charge excuse me, was inciting an insurrection. I think the republican the president s lawyers are going to focus on those terms and what they believe needs to be proven because its a crime. And kind of the broad First Amendment concerns there. And so, you know, we havent seen much of that technical discussion. I think its a preview of whats to come. Does the actual charge of inciting a riot require a certain specific yeah, exactly. A threshold, they will argue theyre going to say that what had to be proven is that the president intended for the violence to happen and that he intended for it to happen imminently. So all of this stuff about, you know, 2016, 2017, none of that matters at all. Theyll focus on the speech and say because thats the only thing theyre going to say matters for imminent violence to prove the crime, if the crime is necessary probably technically they are right and thats the discussion that well have. The managers are going to say this isnt a criminal case, that the crime doesnt have to be proven. Certainly. What they were doing today, raskin and others, is saying there was a long preamble to this. Sure. That this was a pattern. They went back to what happened in michigan, for example, with Governor Whitmer and the capitol being attacked and President Trump said so what, why arent you thanking what the fbi did for you . They were drawing a Straight Line between the insurrectionists and trump and today, they showed the lack of remorse on the part of the president. That clearly, feels no accountability for it. No remorse. Didnt seem surprised enough by it to jump in to action and say, oh, my god, we have to do something about this and then to make the point if you dont do something about this here, its going to happen again. And then, you know, you need to think about that. If donald trump is going to run for office. I want to play something that the house manager raskin said this is the m. O. Of the former president. Lets play that. January 6th was not some unexpected radical break from his lawabiding and peaceful disposition. This was his essential m. O. He knew egged on by his tweets and a promise of a wild time in washington to guarantee his grip on power, his most extreme followers would show up, ready to attack and ready to engage in violence and ready to fight like hell for their hero. Anderson, that goes directly to where we started this week and one of the arts of the trial lawyer is coming full circle where we started on can you try an expresident , of course you can because the constitution talks about disqualification. And their foreshadowing i think what well get in the next segment which is more of law. Looks for a prebuttal of the First Amendment arguments. Theyre not going to close and let the president s lawyers run rampant. Theyre going to prebut, theyll have another chance to respond to it. Its very important to remember that as a matter of constitutional law and Impeachment Law those criminal standards do not apply. The question is did the president commit a high crime and misdemeanor . Incitement of insurrection is one. The Supreme Court said the same tough First Amendment rules, the brandenburg case do not apply to public issues because they have a public duty and need to meet that duty and the Legal Framework will be very important for prebuttal. But, you know, even though thats not required i think they have met the burden of showing a link between the statements of then President Trump and the conduct that resulted in the imminent lawless action and they talked about everything leading up as a Dress Rehearsal. The big show was january 6th weaving in what happened at the Michigan State house and trying to run the bus off the road. Weaving in the conversations about every detail that led to figuring out whether this particular puppet master had enough strings and enough places to commandeer a mob and instruct them. If youre talking about criminal context, you know, how often have the lawyers ever had a smoking gun at a trial . No, you have the contextual clues about intent. The evidence that surrounds what the State Of Mind was. Thats them saying i intend for the imminent lawless action to build now. I think what still needs to be there, for people to have that home run over the park not coming back if they were ever inclined to actually convict would be to say what was he doing . If you had eyes on trump, what was he doing . What does he face look like . Is he smiling or laughing is he clapping or crying or making phone calls, what hes about doing to try to get the National Guard or anywhere there . So i think thats the last hook, but its not necessary in a criminal trial if you have all of the other contextual tools there. Well, if you have witnesses you know Kevin Mccarthy was talking to him on the phone trying to get here National Guard in and he had to call the president s family to get the president s attention on this matter. If you had the witnesses you might find that out. Yeah, i agree with gloria. I think thats the one piece where they do need more. Yeah. Several more hours of presentation. Jake, this afternoon, back to you. Thats right. We are waiting for the house Impeachment Managers to come back from that brief recess that they took. Well check in with jeff zeleny in a minute oh, hes there right there. How are you, sir . Tell us what youre seeing because obviously the deal that was struck with the senators denies us the opportunity to see what theyre doing. There are cameras there that could show us, cspan 2 cameras but they have been turned off for the day what are you seeing . Whats the color there . Its a less intense day yesterday, not as much video or audio or not many words of the former president himself echoing through the Senate Chamber so we are seeing more empty seats on the floor of the senate. Our colleague was in there and he counted up to 15 empty seats on the republican side of the chamber thats how they it is. Clearly, theres a sense of fatigue sitting in among the jurors, among the senators. Theyre not required to sit and watch the proceedings. Thats a big difference from the first impeachment. All were instructed to sit at their desks. Because of the pandemic theyre allowed to be other places but its clear some are not paying attention. As well as florida senator rick scott appeared to have a map of asia in front of him and appeared to be writing in the names of the countries in asia. He was doing that on the other side, on the democratic side, senator Bernie Sanders appeared to be dosing off a bit. This is based on just observations in the gallery of the Senate Chamber, but no question there is not as much attention and focus being paid on this. But certainly, in the coming hours, if this wraps, you know, by Late Afternoon as its expected theres still more testimony coming. Still drawing that link between the president s actions and those insurrectionists here on capitol hill, jake. All right. Jeff zeleny. Well squeeze in with a quick break. Were waiting for the Impeachment Trial of trump to resume. Well be right back. Stay with us. Not whats easy. So when a hailstorm hit, usaa reached out before he could even inspect the damage. Thats how you do it right. Usaa insurance is made just the way martins family needs it with hasslefree claims, he got paid before his neighbor even got started. Because doing right by our members, thats whats right. Usaa. What youre made of, were made for. Usaa at tmobile, we have a plan built just for customers 55 and up. Saving 50 vs. Other carriers were made for. With 2 unlimited lines for less than 30 each. Call 1800tmobile or go to tmobile. Com 55. Waynes world, waynes world, party time, excellent. Hey everyone, welcome to waynes world. Party on, wayne. Party on, garth. As a local access show, we want everyone to support local restaurants. But, wed never manipulate you like the way all these other commercials do. Shyeah, thats really sad. Wed never shamelessly rely on a celebrity cameo. Right cardi b . Yeah eat local giggles local eats, waynes world, yummy. When dehydration gets real. Hey thats mine. Ill buy you a pony. Advanced hydration isnt just for kids. Pedialyte helps you hydrate during recovery. Before i was diagnosed by my doctor, i didnt know why my body was moving on its own. My eyes blinked way too much. It turns out, i have tardive dyskinesia, a condition that may be related to important medications i take for my bipolar disorder. My fingers moved like they were playing a piano that wasnt there. Tardive dyskinesia can affect different parts of the body. It may also affect people who take medication for depression and schizophrenia. Its a relief to know that today, td is manageable. Learn more at talkabouttd. Com. Start the year smiling at aspen dental td is manageable. Where new starts happen, every day. Get Exceptional Care at every step, unparalleled safety at every visit, and flexible Payment Options for every budget. Now, during the everyday smiles event new patients get a full exam set of xrays with no obligation. No insurance . No worries, its free. Plus, now all patients can get 20 off their treatment plan. Find every reason to smile. Every day at aspen dental. Call 1800aspendental or book today at aspendental. Com welcome back to cnns coverage of the second Impeachment Trial of donald j. Trump. Were discussing while theres a break, we expect them to come back any minute and resume their case against former President Trump. Abby and dana are here with me and one of the points that David Cicilline, democrat of rhode island made today, was how hurt physically wounded, maimed, so many members of the Capitol Police and the metropolitan Police Department in washington, d. C. Were because of the violence committed by the maga mob. Heres just a brief excerpt from his comments. Injuries to the u. S. Capitol police and the metropolitan Police Department include concussions, irritated lungs, serious injuries caused by repeated blows from bats, poles and clubs. Capitol Police Officers sustained injuries that will be with them for the rest of their lives. One officer lost a tip of a right index finger. One officer has two cracked ribs and two smashed spinal discs. One officer is going to lose his eye. And another was stabbed with a metal fence stake. So that is congressman cicilline talking about some of the injuries we of course know about the death, were not sure how of Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick who was killed that day and also subsequent to officers, one a Capitol Police officer and the other a metropolitan Police Department, died by suicide after this. One of the things interesting about this, the police have been in the news last year and the year before, i believe, because of black lives matter and allegations of Police Brutality and in some cases evidence of Police Brutality. I havent really heard much from the Blue Lives Matter group in the last five weeks. I have other than metropolitan Police Department and Capitol Police department unions, i havent really heard much from the fraternal order of police about the violence committed against them guarding the capitol. I got a text from somebody, observing, saying, you know, what happened to law and order with regard to republicans, never mind this president. In this particular instance, Brian Sicknick wasnt honored with the flag being lowered over the white house for a couple of days, which one of the managers mentioned as well. Look, the it is the hypocrisy on that runs pretty deep i think its fair to say and that raises the bigger question which is its been raised a little bit but im surprised it hadnt been done which is why was it just the Capitol Police there . Why wasnt it more . If we knew we in the public knew and the press about the plans Going Forward before hand, because it was on the internet, why werent they more fortified and was it a decision made by the administration and is there any evidence that they were asked and said no, or that there were discussions about this . Thats something that we havent yet heard about at all. Yeah. We have talked a little bit about the contrasts of the preparations of january 6th and the preparation for protests in washington over the summer and the show of force that trump personally mobilized in washington last summer in response to black lives matter protesters. That contrast i think is relevant because the reason i mean, i think its pretty apparent the reason there was not advanced preparation and sufficient force to prepare for the likelihood of violence which we know was all over the internet at the time is because the people being brought to washington were being brought there because of the president. Trump asked them to come and told them to be there and so it would be actually probably more surprising that he would mobilize, you know, the National Guard and police to prevent violence from his own supporters because he was the one that brought them there and thats the big difference between now and nine months ago over the summer and what we saw there. Its part of the Impeachment Managers i think its part of their argument about why trump not only didnt not only in their view incited the mob, but he was indifferent to the probability, the likelihood that that was out there in the open that this would become violent. Yeah. I mean, it touches on what we were discussing yesterday when we talked about whats the difference between these terrorists and isis or al qaeda terrorists . Why is there sympathy for these terrorists from donald trump and its also a question about why is there theyre coming back in session. Lets listen in. Well now return to address the harm visited upon americas National Security by these events in and the damage to our international reputation. My colleagues discussed with you the many harms to our nation as a result of President Trumps conduct. Now, id like to spend some time talking about the harm to our National Security and our standing in the world. On january 6th, when President Trump Incited A Mob to march to the capitol, he led them to a building that houses some of our nations most Sensitive Information. And consider who was part of that mob. Some of the individuals were on the fbi watch list. And the past behavior of some individuals led here by President Trump so alarmed investigators that their names had been added to the National Terrorist screening database. And at least one of the insurrectionists may have intended to steal information and give it to a foreign adversary. According to charging documents, Riley Williams allegedly helped to steal a laptop from Speaker Pelosis office to quote, send it to a friend in russia who then planned to sell the device to svr, russias foreign intelligence service. While we cant be certain if or how many foreign spies infiltrated the crowd, or at least coordinated with those who did, we can be sure that any enemy who wanted access to our secrets would have wanted to be part of that mob inside these halls. And the point is this. Many of the insurrectionists that President Trump incited to invade this chamber were dangerous. People on the fbi watch list, violent extremists, white supremacists. And these insurrectionists incited by President Trump threatened our National Security. Stealing lab tops again from Speaker Pelosis office, taking documents from leader mcconnells desk, snapping photographs as you saw earlier in sensitive areas, ransacking the officers, riffling through the desks. The president of the United States, the Commander In Chief, knew the risk of anyone breaching the capitol. He swore an oath to preserve, protect and defend this country. And yet, he incited them here. To break into the capitol. Senators, as you all know, we have spent trillions of dollars building the Strongest Military in the world and billions of dollars on the most sophisticated weaponry on the planet. To prevent the kind of attack that occurred at this capitol On January 6th. And heres what the insurrectionists incited by President Trump did. Hey, lets take nancy pelosi. Oh, my god, we did this shit, we took it. Get snap it. Yeah, i took a picture. In many ways, this room is sacred. And so are the traditions that it represents. They have been carried on for centuries. Congress has declared war 11 times on this floor. And Congress Passed the Civil Rights Act and expanded the right to vote to ensure that no matter your race or your gender, you have a voice in our nation. And this floor is where history has been made. And now our intelligence agencies and Law Enforcement agencies have the burden to figure out exactly what was stolen, taken, ransacked, and compromised. As acting u. S. Attorney Michael Sherwin explained, quote, materials were stolen, and we have to identify what was done, mitigate that, and it could have potential National Security equities. These investigations are necessary now because of the actions of President Trump. And it wasnt just the people that he led here, the intelligence agencies have to look into. Its also what they took and what they gathered. And it was the very fact that this building with so much Sensitive Information and some classified information that this capitol was breached. And think about it. Every foreign adversary considering attacking this building got to watch a Dress Rehearsal, and they saw that this capitol could be overtaken. As elizabeth newman, a former trump official stated, quote, you have terrorists who would love to destroy the capitol. They just saw how easy it was to penetrate. We just exposed a huge vulnerability. And its not just the capitol. This attack has implications for all government buildings. And senate rubio made this point well. If youre a terrorist right now and youre sitting out there watching this, youre saying its not that hard to get into the capitol, its not hard to get into the white house or the Supreme Court building or somewhere else. Our government, our intelligence agencies, and our Law Enforcement have implemented additional Safety Measures since the attack On January 6th. But while we secure this physical space, what message will we send the rest of the world . We already know that the message our adversaries took from january 6th, this is how some of them responded after the attack. Quote, for americas adversaries, there was no greater proof of the faliability than the site of the u. S. Capitol shrouded in smoke and besieged by a mob whipped up by their unwillingly out going president. And to make matters worse, our adversaries are even using the events of january 6th not only to denigrate america but to justify their own antidemocratic behavior, calling america hypocritical. Heres what the Chinese Government is saying. The spokesperson for Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the capitol riot should spark, quote, deep reflection among u. S. Lawmakers regarding how they discuss the Pro Democracy Movement in hong kong, suggesting that the u. S. Is hypocritical in denouncing beijings crackdown in the city while it struggles with its own unrest at home. And the global times, an outlet affiliated with the Chinese Communist party even tweeted a series of sidebyside photos of two events, the siege of the u. S. Capitol, and a july 2019 incident in which prodemocracy protesters in hong kong broke into the citys Legislative Council building. Think about that. President trump gave the Chinese Government an opening to create a false equivalency between hong kongers protesting for democracy and violent insurrectionists trying to overthrow it. As representative gallagher described in realtime. If we dont think other countries Around The World are watching this happen right now, we dont think the Chinese Communist party is sitting back and laughing, then were diluting ourselves. So call it off, mr. President. We need you to call this off. Russia has also seized on its violent attack against our government, decrying that democracy is, quote, over. The chairman of the russian upper house of parliaments International Affairs committee said, quote, the celebration of democracy is over. This is alas actually the bottom. I say this without a hint of gloating. America is no longer charting the course, and therefore has lost all its rights to set it. And especially to impose it on others. Theyre using President Trumps incitement of an insurrection to declare that democracy is over. In iran, the Supreme Leader is using President Trumps incitement of insurrection to mock america. He said of the situation in the United States, quote, this is their democracy and human rights. This is their election scandal. These are their values. These values are being mocked by the whole world, even their friends are laughing at them. These statements are serious and pervasive. And according to a joint threat assessment bulletin from the department of homeland security, the fbi, and eight other Law Enforcement entities, quote, since the incident at the u. S. Capitol On January 6th, russian, iranian, and chinese influence actors have seized the opportunity to amplify narratives in furtherance of their policy interests amid the president ial transition. We cannot let them use what happened On January 6th to define us, who we are, and what we stand for. We get to define ourselves by how we respond to the attack of january 6th. And some might be tempted to say and point out that our adversaries are always going to be critical of the United States. But following the insurrection On January 6th, even our allies are speaking up. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, quote, what we witnessed was an assault on democracy by violent rioters incited by the current president and other politicians. As shocking, deeply disturbing, and frankly saddening as that event remains, we have also seen this week that democracy is resilient in america, our closest ally and neighbor. The German Foreign minister said, quote, this closing of ranks begins withholding those accountable who are responsible for such escalations. That includes the violent rioters and it also includes their instigators. The world is watching and wondering whether we are who we say we are. Because other countries have known chaos, our constitution have helped keep order in america. This is why we have a constitution. We must stand up for the rule of law because the rule of law doesnt just stand up by itself. After the insurrection, my colleagues on the house Foreign Affairs committee, the chairman and the Ranking Member issued a bipartisan statement that said, quote, america has always been a beacon of freedom to the world, proof that free and Fair Elections are achievable and that democracy works. But what happened at the capitol today has scarred our reputation and has damaged our standing in the world. Todays violence an inevitable result when leaders in positions of power misled the public, will certainly empower dictators and damage struggling democracies. And thats true. For generations the United States has been a north star in the world for freedom, democracy, and human rights. Because america is not only a nation, for many, its also an idea. Its the light that gives hope to people struggling for democracy in autocratic regimes. The light that inspires people fighting across the world for fundamental human rights, and the light that inspires us to believe in something larger than ourselves. And this trial is an opportunity to respond and to send a message back to the world. I say this as somebody who loves my country, our country, just as all of you do. There is a lot of courage in this room, a lot of courage that has been demonstrated in the lives of the people in this room. Some folks have stood up for the civil rights of fellow americans and risked their careers and their reputations, their livelihoods, and their safety standing up for civil rights. Many members of congress have risked their lives in service to our country in uniform, fighting in the jungles of vietnam, patrolling the mountains of afghanistan. You served our country because you were willing to sacrifice to defend our nation as we know it and as the world knows it. And although most of you have traded in your uniform for public service, your country needs you one more time. The world watched President Trump tell his big lie. The world watched his supporters come to washington at his invitation. And the world watched as he told his supporters to march here to the capitol. And President Trump, our Commander In Chief at the time, failed to take any action to defend us, as he utterly failed in his duty to preserve, protect, and defend. And now the world is watching us, wondering whether our Constitutional Republic is going to respond the way it should, the way its supposed to. Whether the rule of law will prevail over mob rule. Because the answer to that question has consequences far beyond our own borders. Think of the consequences to our diplomats and negotiators as they sit at tables Around The World to enforce our agenda on trade, the economy, and human rights. To fail to convict a president of the United States who incited a deadly insurrection, who acted in concert with a violent mob, who interfered with the certification of the Electoral College votes, who abdicated his duty as Commander In Chief, would be to forfeit the power of our example as a north star on freedom, democracy, human rights, and, most of all, on the rule of law. And to convict donald trump would mean that america stands for the rule of law no matter who violates it. Let us show the world that january 6th was not america. And let us remind the world that we are truly their north star. Representative neguse and i will now address the First Amendment argument thats being offered by President Trumps lawyers to try to excuse his incitement to this insurrection, and mr. Neguse will begin. Mr. President , distinguished senators, good afternoon. You have heard over the course of the last several days overwhelming evidence that President Trump incited an insurrection. But as lead manager raskin mentioned, as we prepare to close, wed be remiss if we didnt just briefly address apparently the principal defense that the president will offer to excuse his conduct. And that is this notion that he cant be held accountable for what happened On January 6th because his actions are somehow protected by the First Amendment. Now, lets stop a moment and try to really understand the argument that they are making. According to President Trump, everything he did, everything we showed you that he did was perfectly okay for him to do. And for a future president to do again. And the constitution, apparently in their view, forbids you from doing anything to stop that. That cant be right. It cant be. And it isnt right. Their argument is meant as a distraction. They are concerned not with the facts that actually occurred, the facts that weve proven, but with an alternative set of facts where President Trump did nothing but deliver a controversial speech at a rally. Of course, thats not what weve charged in the article of impeachment. And its not what happened. You will hear from my colleague lead manager raskin the many myriad reasons why this argument that they make is wrong on the law, completely. Not just around the edges. They make major fundamental mistakes of constitutional law, the kind that lead manager raskin tells me wouldnt cut it in his first year law course, which of course he certainly would know, since he has taught this subject for decades. And that explains why so many lawyers whove dedicated their lives to protecting free speech, including many of the nations most prominent conservative free speech lawyers, have described President Trumps and First Amendment claims as, quote, legally frivolous. Its another quote from a recent letter, prominent free speech lawyers that quote the First Amendment is no bar to the senate convicting former President Trump and disqualifying him from holding future office. Their argument is wrong on the facts, wrong on the law, and would flip the constitution upside down. Lets start with the facts. Because, as youll see, his free speech claim depends on an account of what he did, of why were here that has no basis in the evidence. To hear his lawyers tell it, he was just some guy at a rally expressing unpopular opinions. They would have you believe that this whole impeachment is because he said things that one may disagree with. Really . And, make no mistake, they will do anything to avoid talking about the facts of this case. That i can assure you. Instead, we expect they will talk about a lot of other speeches including some given by democratic officials. And they will insist with indignation that the First Amendment protects all of this as though it were exactly the same. We trust you to know the difference. Because youve seen the evidence that weve seen. Youve seen as weve proven over the last three days that his arguments completely misdescribe the reality of what happened On January 6th. They leave out everything that matters about why were here and what he did. Because President Trump wasnt just some guy with political opinions who showed up at a rally On January 6th and delivered controversial remarks. He was the president of the United States. And he had spent months using the unique power of that office of his bully pulpit to spread that big lie that the election had been stolen to convince his followers to Stop The Steal, to assemble them just blocks away from here On January 6th at the very moment that we were meeting to count the Electoral College votes, where he knew where it had been widely reported that they were primed and eager and ready for violence at his signal. And then standing in the middle of that explosive situation, in that powder keg that he had created over the course of months before a crowd filled with people that were poised for violence at his signal, he struck a match, and he aimed it straight at this building, at us. Youve seen all that evidence. Theres no denying it. Thats why the house impeached him. Thats why hes on trial. No president , no matter their politics or the politics of their followers, conservative, liberal, or anything else, no president can do what President Trump did. Because this isnt about politics. Its about his refusal to accept the outcome of his election and his decision to incite an insurrection. And theres no serious argument that the First Amendment protects that. And it would be extraordinarily dangerous for the United States senate to conclude otherwise. To tell future president s that they can do exactly what President Trump did and get away with it. To set the precedent that this is an acceptable, now a constitutionally protected way to respond to losing an election. And youll notice something, certainly something lead manager raskin and i noticed, by all accounts it doesnt appear that President Trumps disagree. They dont insist that if the facts weve charged, the facts that we have proven, the facts supported by overwhelming evidence are true. As of course you now know they are that theres nothing you can do. Theyre not arguing that its okay for a person to incite a mob to violence, at least i dont think theyre arguing that. Instead what they are doing is offering erratically different version of what happened that day. Totally innocent with the evidence. And then they insist that if that fictional version of events, if that alternate reality were true, well, then, he may be protected by the First Amendment. Thats their argument. But you are here to adjudicate real evidence, real facts, not hypothetical ones. And for that reason alone, you should reject their argument. Because it has been advanced to defend a situation that bears no resemblance to the actual facts of this case. With that, i want to turn it over to my colleague lead manager raskin to address the many legal flaws as i mentioned in President Trumps position. Mr. Neguse explained why President Trumps lastditch First Amendment arguments got nothing to do with the actual case. Hed been impeached for inciting violent insurrection against the government. It is not protected by free speech. There is no First Amendment defense to impeachment for high crimes and misdemeanors. The idea itself is absurd. And the whole First Amendment smoke screen is a completely irrelevant distraction from the standard of high crimes and misdemeanors governing a president who has violated his oath of office. Yet, President Trump, we know, has a good way of treating up as down and wrong as right. He tried to pull off the biggest Election Fraud in American History by overturning the results of the 2020 election even as he insisted that his own fraud was in fact an effort to Stop The Steal, to stop a fraud. A vast conspiracy that he blamed on local and state officials of both political parties, the media, Election Officials, the judiciary, federal, state members of congress, anybody who wouldnt go along with him was part of the conspiracy. He violated his own oath of office by inciting mob violence to prevent congress from counting the Electoral College votes as were assigned to do by the 12th amendment and the electoral count act. Even as he attacked Vice President pence at a rally for violating his oath of office and going along with an egregious assault on democracy. Now he argues that the congress is violating his free speech rights when it was donald trump who incited an insurrectionist attack against us that halted speech and debate on the floor of the house in the senate during the peaceful transfer of power and that imperilled the very Constitutional Order that protects freedom of speech in the first place along with all of our other fundamental rights. As a matter of law, as a matter of logic, President Trumps brazen attempt to invoke the First Amendment now wont hold up in any way. The basic flaw of course is that it completely ignores the fact that he was president of the United States, a public official. He swears an oath as president that nobody else swears. In exchange hes given greater powers than anybody else in the entire country, maybe on earth. He or she promises to preserve, protect, and defend the constitution of the United States and our government institutions and our people. And as we all know, the power we entrust to people in Public Office, in government office, especially our president s, comes with special obligations to uphold the laws and the integrity of our republic. And we all swear that oath. Now what about president publicly . Say a president publicly on a daily basis advocated replacing the constitution with a totalitarian form of government and urged states to secede from the union and swore an oath of loyalty to a foreign leader or a Foreign Government . Well, as a private you couldnt do anything about people using those words to advocate totalitarianism, to advocate secession from the union, to swear an oath of personal loyalty to a foreign leader or Foreign Government or country. You couldnt. Thats totally protected. If you tried to prosecute somebody for that as a prosecutor, you would lose. But it is simply inconceivable, unthinkable that a president could do any of these things, get up and swear an oath to Foreign Governments or leaders, advocate totalitarianism, advocate secession and not be impeached for it. Its just unthinkable that that could happen. Would that violate their First Amendment rights . The opposite view pressed here by President Trumps counsel would leave the nation powerless to respond to a president who uses the unmatched power, privilege, and prestige of his or her office, the famous bully pulpit in ways that risk the ruin of the republic. All for his or her own ambition and corruption and lust for power. Everyone should be clear theres nothing remotely exotic about what were saying. It should be common sense to everybody, common sense about this understanding of the First Amendment as it applies to public servants, cops, firefighters, teachers, everybody across the land. My daughter who i mentioned earlier in the trial, shes a teacher in a public school. And courts have said teachers teach, but if they go off script and they start advocating totalitarianism, treason, or what have you, theyre not living up to the duties of their office as teacher, they can be fired. Everybody knows that. And it happens all the time, by the way. Including to cops and firefighters and people on the front lines. Happens all the time. In fact, it happened countless times to people fired by President Trump for their statements or ideas about things, including on Election Fraud not long ago. There are people in the government who lost their jobs because the president didnt like what they said or what they wrote. Now, as i mentioned yesterday, and i cant help but repeat it, Justice Scalia got it exactly right on this. He wrote on these cases about how the First Amendment affects people who take on a Public Office, who take on public employment. And he summed it up like this. He said, you cant ride with the cops but root for the robbers. You cant ride with the cops but root for the robbers. Thats what Justice Scalia said. When it comes to the peaceful transfer of power to the rule of law to respecting election outcomes, our president , whoever he or she is, must choose the side of the constitution. Must. And not the side of the insurrection or the coup or anybody whos coming against us. And if he or she chooses the wrong side, im sorry, theres nothing in the First Amendment or anywhere else in the constitution that can excuse your betrayal of your oath of office. Its not a free speech question. But theres more. Lets play makebelieve and pretend that President Trump were just a runofthemill private citizen, just another guy at the rally whos just expressing a deeply unpopular opinion. Because we shouldnt overlook the fact that while there were thousands of people in that violent mob, they represent a tiny, tiny, tiny part of less than 1 of the population and the vast majority of the American People reject the kind of seditious mob violence that we saw On January 6th. But lets say that he were just another guy in the crowd that day. It is a bedrock principle that nobody, nobody can incite a riot. First amendment doesnt protect it. Key case, brandenberg versus ohio. Theres no First Amendment protection for speech directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action and likely to produce such action. And for all the reasons you have heard based on the voluminous comprehensive, totally unrefuted and we think irrefutable. Based on all the evidence youve heard and for all the reasons youve heard, that definition of proscribable speech fits President Trumps conduct perfectly. This is a classic case of incitement. And you dont have to take my word for it. The 144 free speech lawyers mr. Neguse mentioned who include many of the nations most dedicated, most uncompromising free speech advocates, unlike mr. Trump, of course, but these people agree that there is a powerful case for conviction under the brandenburg standard, even if the president of the United States were just to be treated like some guy in the crowd. And they add the First Amendment is no defense to the article of impeachment leveled against the former president. And i mentioned the brandenburg standard not because it applies here, it doesnt because its an impeachment, its not a criminal trial, and theres no risk of jail time. The president doesnt go to jail for one week, one day, one hour, or one minute based on impeachment and conviction and disqualification from further office. Rather, i mention it to emphasize that absolutely nobody in america would be protected by the First Amendment if they did all the things that donald trump did. Nobody made donald trump run for president and swear an oath to preserve, protect, and defend the constitution on january 20th, 2017. But when he did by virtue of swearing that oath and entering this high office, he took upon himself a duty to affirmatively take care that our laws would be faithfully executed under his leadership. All of the laws, the laws against federal destruction of property, all of the laws. We expected them in everything he said, and everything he did to protect and preserve and defend our constitutional system, including the separation of powers. But instead he betrayed us, and as representative cheney said, it was the greatest betrayal of a president ial oath in the history of the United States of america. The greatest. As i mentioned yesterday, President Trump is not even close to the proverbial citizen who falsely shouts fire in a crowded theater. He is like the now proverbial municipal fire chief who incites a mob to go set the theater on fire, and not only refuses to put out the fire, but encourages the mob to keep going as the blaze spreads. We would hold that fire chief accountable. We would forbid him from that job ever again. And thats exactly what must happen here. There are hundreds of millions of citizens who can be president. Donald trump has disqualified himself. And you must disqualify him, too. Just like the fire chief who sends the mob, President Trump perverted his office by attacking the very constitution he was sworn to uphold. In fact, thats one reason why this free speech rhetoric at this trial is so insidious. His conduct represented the most devastating and dangerous assault by a Government Official on our constitution including the First Amendment in living memory. We wouldnt have free speech or any other rights if we didnt have the rule of law, peaceful transfer of power, and a democracy where the outcome of the election is accepted by the candidate who lost. We had it all the way up until 2020. And the central purposes of the First Amendment are democratic selfgovernment and civic truthseeking. Two purposes that President Trump sought to undermine, not advance, in the course of his conduct as we have definitively demonstrated this trial. The violence he incited threatened all of our freedoms. It threatened the very Constitutional Order that protects free speech, due process, religious free exercise, the right to vote, equal protection, and the many other fundamental rights that we all treasure and cherish as citizens of the United States. The First Amendment does not create some super power immunity from impeachment for a president who attacks the constitution in word and deed while rejecting the outcome of an election he happened to lose. If anything, President Trumps conduct was an assault on the First Amendment and equal protection rights that millions of americans exercised when they voted last year, often under extraordinarily difficult and arduous circumstances. Remember, the First Amendment protects the right of the people to speak about the great issues of our day, to debate during elections, and then to participate in politics by selecting the people who will be our leaders. And, remember, in American Democracy, those of us who aspire and attain a Public Office are nothing but the servants of the people, nothing. Not the masters of the people. We have no kings here. We have no tsars. Here the people govern, president ford said. We the people, the first three words of the constitution. But all this, all this means little if a president who dislikes the Election Results can incite violence to try to replace and usurp the will of the people as expressed in the states. He ignored the Judicial Branch of government and then run over the legislative branch of government with a mob. President trumps high crimes and misdemeanors sought to nullify the Political Rights and sovereignty of the American People. Our right as a people to deliberate, to form opinions, to persuade each other to vote, and then to decide who our president will be. The sovereignty of the people. Thats an attack on the First Amendment i would say. In addition, President Trumps actions were a direct attack on our own freedom of speech in the capitol. Members of congress were appointed to speak for their constituents. Thats why we have our own speech and debate clause. Thats literally our job. We come here and represent the views of our people. The attack that President Trump incited forced members of congress to stop speaking and to literally flee for our lives and the lives of our staffs and our families. Halted speech in congress, speech related to the peaceful transfer of power, has no right to claim that free speech principles prevent this body from exercising its constitutional powers to hold him accountable for his offense against us. You know, voltaire said, famously, and our founders knew it, i may disagree with everything you say, but i will defend with my life your right to say it. President trump says, because i disagree with everything you say, i will overturn your popular election and incite insurrection against the government. And we might take a moment to consider another voltaire insight which a High School Teacher of mine told me when a student asked, when was the beginning of the enlightenment . And she said i think it was when voltaire said anyone who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. Theres no merit to any of the empty free speech rhetoric you may hear from President Trumps lawyers. He attacked the First Amendment, he attacked the constitution. He betrayed his oath of office. President s dont have any right to do that. Its forbidden so that our republic may survive. The people are far more important than that. The precedent he asked you to create which would allow any future president to do precisely what he did is selfevidently dangerous. The president lacks any First Amendment excuse or defense or immunity. He incited a violent insurrection against our government. He must be convicted. And now im going to call up representative dean who will explain why, contrary to the president s claims, the house provided him with all the process that was due to him in had i impeachment process. Im sorry, mr. Lieu is going to do that. Thank you for your time and your attention. We all heard President Trumps attorneys on tuesday, and as part of President Trumps efforts to avoid talking about his own conduct, to avoid talking about anything related to his constitutional crime, we expect that President Trump will raise process objections. His due process claims are without merit. Under the constitution, the house has, quote, the sole power of impeachment. That provision confirms that the house functions as a grand jury or a prosecutor. The house decides whether to bring charges. Now, on other impeachment cases, the house has provided certain deliberative and procedural privileges to the person being impeached. But those are exactly that, privileges. They are discretionary. The house has a power to decide its own rules, how it wants to pass the article of impeachment. And in this case the house debated the article of impeachment and passed it on a bipartisan vote. Im a former prosecutor. I just want to add that ive had the opportunity to decide whether to bring charges. And when you see a crime committed in plain view, prosecutors dont have to spend months investigating before they bring charges. I note that in this case, in fact, hundreds of people have been arrested and charged by prosecutors for the violence On January 6th. There was no reason for the house to wait to impeach the man at the very top that incited the violence. I would also like to emphasize that the house had good reason to move quickly. This was an exigent circumstance. This was not a case where there was hidden conduct or some conspiracy that required months and maybe years of investigation. This case does not raise very complicated legal issues. The gravity of the president s conduct demanded the clearest of responses from the legislature, particularly given that the president was still in office at the time the house approved this article. And rumors of further violence echoed around the country. They still do. There must be absolutely no doubt that congress will act decisively against a president that incites violence against us. That is why the house moved quickly here. And President Trump who created that emergency cannot be heard to complain that the house impeached him too quickly for the emergency he caused. Another point on the due process question. Earlier in this trial, President Trumps attorneys suggested that the house somehow deliberately delayed the transmission of this article of impeachment. That is simply not accurate. When the house adopted this article of impeachment on a bipartisan vote, we were ready to begin trial. But the senate was not in session at the time. And when we inquired as to our options, Senate Officials told us clearly and in no Uncertain Terms that if the clerk of the house attempted to deliver the article of impeachment to the secretary of the senate before the senate reconvened, that the clerk of the house would have been turned back at the door. Thats why the trial did not begin then. Its another reason why the president s objections of due process are meritless. And, finally, let me just conclude that you all are going to see and have seen a full presentation of evidence by the house. And youre going to hear a full presentation by the president s attorneys. Youre going to be able to ask questions. The senate has the sole power to try all impeachments. President trump is receiving any and all process that he is due right here in this chamber. Mr. President , senators, in just a moment, my colleague mr. Neguse will return to show that weve established with overwhelming evidence that President Trump engaged in high crimes and misdemeanors. Before mr. Neguse comes up, though, id like to emphasis what should be an uncontroversial point but is really key to understand. If we have proven to you the conduct that weve alleged in this article, then President Trump has indeed committed a high crime and misdemeanor under the constitution. Incitement of insurrection under these circumstances is undoubtedly in the words of george mason from the constitutional convention, a great and dangerous offense against the republic. Indeed, it is hard to think of a greater or more dangerous offense against the republic than this one. So, to be very precise about this, i hope we all can agree today that if a president does incite a violent insurrection against the government, he can be impeached for it. I hope we all can agree that that is a constitutional crime. Another key point. While President Trumps lawyers may be arguing otherwise, the question here is not whether President Trump committed a crime under the federal code or d. C. Law or the law of any state. Impeachment does not result in criminal penalties, as we keep emphasizing. No one spends a day in jail. There are not even criminal or civil fines. Centuries of history, not to mention the constitutional text, structure, and original intent and understanding, all confirm the teaching of james wilson, another framer who wrote that impeachments and offenses come not within the sphere of ordinary jurisprudence. Simply put, impeachment was created for a purpose separate and distinct from criminal punishment. It was created to prevent and deter elected officials who swear an oath to represent america, but then commit dangerous offenses against our republic. Thats a constitutional crime. And, senators, what greater offense could one commit than to incite a violent insurrection at our seat of government during the peaceful transfer of power . In circumstances where violence is foreseeable where a crowd is poised for violence to provoke a mob of thousands to attack us with weapons and sticks and poles, to bludgeon and beat our Law Enforcement officers and to deface these sacred walls and to trash the place, and to do so while seeking to stop us from fulfilling our own oaths, our own duties to uphold the constitution by counting the votes from our free and Fair Elections and then to sit back and watch in delight as insurrectionists attack us, violating a sacred oath and engaging in a profound dereliction and desertion of duty. How can we assure that our Commander In Chief will protect, deserve, and defend us and our constitution if we dont hold a president accountable in a circumstance like this . What is impeachable conduct if not this . I challenge you all to think about it. If you think this is not impeachable, what is . What would be . If President Trumps lawyers endorse his breathtaking assertion that his conduct in inciting these events was totally appropriate, and the senate aquits donald trump, then any president could incite and provoke insurrectionary violence against us. If you dont find this a high crime and misdemeanor today, you have set a new terrible standard for president ial misconduct in the United States of america. The only real question here is the factual one. Did we prove that donald trump, while president of the United States, incited a violent insurrection against the government . Incitement of course is an inherently factbased and factintensive judgment which is why we commend you all for your scrupulous attention to everything that took place. But we believe that we have shown you overwhelming evidence in this case that would convince anyone using their common sense that this was indeed incitement. Meaning, that Donald Trumps conduct encouraged violence, the violence was foreseeable, and he acted willfully in the actions that encouraged violence. Mr. Neguse will take you through that evidence again, not the whole thing. Were almost done. Were almost done. But we dont want it to be said they never proved this or they never proved that. Because my Magnificent Team of managers has stayed up night after night after night through weeks to compile all of the factual evidence, and we have put it before you. And we have put it before all of you in this public trial. Because we love our country that much. Mr. Neguse will show you that weve proven our case and that President Trump committed this impeachable offense, that we inte impeached him for on january 13th, and that you should convict him. And when hes finished, i will return and explain why its dangerous for us to ignore this and why you must convict. And then we will rest. Mr. Neguse. Pljts president , distinguished senators, good afternoon again. As my colleague lead manager raskin mentioned, i know its been a long few days. And i want to say thank you that were very grateful for your patience, for your attention, and the attention that you have paid to every one of our managers as they have presented our case. As lead manager raskin mentioned, i hope, i trust, that we could all agree that if a president incites a violent insurrection against our government, that thats impeachable conduct. So, what id like to do as we close our case is just walk you through why our evidence overwhelmingly establishes that President Trump committed that offense. Now, as you consider that question, that question of whether the president incited an insurrection, there are three questions that reasonably come to mind. Was violence foreseeable . Did he encourage violence . And did he act willfully . And im going to show you why the answer to every one of those questions has to be yes. First, lets start with foreseeability. Was it foreseeable that the violence would erupt On January 6th if President Trump lit a spark . Was it predictable that the crowd at the save america rally was poised on a hair trigger for violence that they would fight literally if provoked to do so . Of course it was. When President Trump stood up to that podium On January 6th, he knew that many in that crowd were inflamed, were armed, were ready for violence. It was an explosive situation. And he knew it. Weve shown you the evidence on this point. Youve seen it, the images, the videos, the articles, and the pattern which show that the violence on that terrible day was entirely foreseeable. Weve showed you how this all began with the big lie, the claim that the election was rigged and that President Trump and his supporters were the victims of a massive fraud, a massive conspiracy to rip away their votes. Weve showed you how President Trump spread that lie and how over the course of months with his support and encouragement, it inflamed part of his base, resulting in death threats, realworld violence, and increasingly extreme calls to Stop The Steal. We established that after he lost the election, the president was willing to do just about anything to prevent the peaceful transfer of power. That he tried everything he could do to stop it. Youll recall the evidence on the screen. Him pressuring and threatening state Election Officials, attacking them to the point of literally calling them enemies of the state, threatening at least one of them with criminal penalties. Then attacking senators, members of congress all across the media, pressuring the Justice Department, prompting outcries from assistant u. S. Attorneys, not to mention his owner attorney general, reportedly telling him that the stolen election claims were, quote, b. S. , not my phrase, his. And then as january 6th approached, he moved on to attacking his own Vice President openly and savagely. We recounted throughout that entire period all the ways in which President Trump inflamed his supporters with lies that the election was stolen. And as every single one of us knows, nothing in this country is more sacred, nothing than our right to vote. Our voice. And here you have the president of the United States telling his supporters that their voice, that their rights as americans were being stolen from them, ripped away. That made them angry, angry enough to Stop The Steal, to fight like hell to Stop The Steal. And we showed you this. You saw the endless tweets, the rallies, the statements encouraging and spreading that big lie. You saw that he did this over and over again with the same message each time, you must fight to win it back, you must Never Surrender no matter what. And, remember, each time that his supporters along the way showed violence, he endorsed it, encouraged it, praised it, all part of that same demand to Stop The Steal and fight like hell. Remember the video that manager plaskett showed you from texas . Some of his supporters encircling a bus of Campaign Workers on a highway. People easily couldve been killed, easily. What did he do . He tweeted it and made a joke about it at a rally. Called them patriots, held them out as an example of what it means to Stop The Steal. When he told his supporters to Stop The Steal, they took up arms to literally intimidate officials to overturn the Election Results. You saw the evidence. And so did he. And he welcomed it. And when President Trump attacked georgias secretary of state for certifying the results, his supporters sent death threats. You saw those in great detail from manager dean. What did he do . He attacked the Election Officials further. When his supporters gathered together to have a second million maga rally, thats the rally that manager plaskett showed you, a rally about the stolen election. He tweeted that the fight had just begun. What happened next . Its not rocket science. Fights broke out. Stabbings. Serious violence. Now, President Trump, like all of us, he saw what happened at that rally. He saw all the violence, the burnings, the chaos. How did he respond . He tweeted praise of the event. And then, see it on the screen, he bought 50 million worth of ads to further promote his message to those exact same people. He immediately joined forces with that very same group. He joined forces with the same people that had just erupted into violence. Was violence predictable . Was it obvious that the krcrowdn january 6th was poised pfor violence, prepared for it . Absolutely. And this isnt just clear looking it was widely recognized at the time. In the days leading up to january 6th, there were dozens, hundreds, of warnings. And he knew it. He knew the rally would explode if provoked. He knew all it would take. A slight push. Remember, you heard from manager plaskett the chatter on social media, websites that the Trump Administration monitored and were known to the trump operation. It showed that the people he invited to the january 6th rally took this as a serious call to arms. That this was not just any attack. It was to storm the capitol, if necessary. To Stop The Steal. And it wasnt just clear on these websites that the Trump Administration was monitoring, i mean, the fbi issued reports about this as a credible threat. A threat to target us. Law enforcement made six arrests that night before. Six arrests. Newspapers across the city warned of the risk of the violence. There can be no doubt that the risk of violence was foreseeable. And what did he do in the days leading up to the rally . Did he calm the situation . Ask yourself. I mean, did he call for peace . No. He didnt do that. He spread his big lie more. The most dangerous lie, as i mentioned, that americans votes were being stolen and the final act of theft would occur here in the capitol. And then he assembled all of those supporters. He invited them to an organized event on a specific day, at a specific time, matched perfectly to coincide with the joint session of congress to coincide with the steal that he had told them to stop. By any and all means. Again, he was told by Law Enforcement and all over the news that these people were armed and ready for real violence. He knew it. I mean, he knew it perfectly well. That he had created this powder keg at his rally. He knew just how combustible that situation was. He knew there were people before him who had prepared, who are armed and armored. He knew they would jump to violence at any signal, at any sign, from him that he needed them to fight. That he needed them to Stop The Steal. And we all know what happened next. Second question. Did he encourage the violence . Standing in that powder keg, did he light a match . Everyone knows the answer to that question. The hours of video you all have watched leave no doubt. Just remember what he said On January 6th. All of us here today do not want to see our election victory stolen. Theres never been anything like this. Pure theft in American History. Everybody knows it. Make no mistake. The election was stolen from you, from me, from the country. At the opening of we will never give up. We will never concede. It doesnt happen. You dont concede when theres theft involved. And to use a favorite term that all of you people really came up with, we will Stop The Steal. We must Stop The Steal. We will not let them silence your voices. Were not going to let it happen. Not going to let it happen. [ crowd chanting fight for tr trump ] thank you. You have to get your people to fight because youll never take back our country with weakness. You have to Show Strength and you have to be strong and we fight. We fight like hell. And if you dont fight like hell, youre not going to have a country anymore. You may remember at the outset of this trial, i told you youd hear three phrases over and over and over again. The big lie that the election had been stolen. Stop the steal and never concede. And fight like hell. To stop that steal. You heard those phrases throughout the course of this trial. Video after video. Statement after statement. Telling his supporters that they should be patriots. To fight hard to Stop The Steal. And on that day, that day, where did he direct the crowds ire . He directed them here. To congress. He quite literally, one part of that speech, pointed at us. He told them to fight like hell and if you dont fight like hell, youre not going to have a country anymore. And heres the thing. That wasnt metaphorical. It wasnt rhetorical. Hed already made it perfectly clear that when he said fight, he meant it. And that when followers, in fact, fought, when they engaged in violence, he praised and honored them as patriots. He implied that it was okay to break the law because the election was being stolen. You heard it. You remember the clip that manager dean showed you earlier in this trial. He told them, quote is on the screen, when you catch somebody in a fraud, youre allowed to go by very different rules. Remember how all of his supporters, some his supporters, across social media, were treating this as a war talking about bringing in the cavalry . Well, President Trump made clear what those different rules were. Hed been making it clear for months. So, lets have trial by combat. And rudy, you did a great job. Hes got guts. Hes got guts. Unlike a lot of people in the republican party. Hes got guts. He fights. His message was crystal clear. And it was understood immediately. Instantly. By his followers. And we dont have to guess. We dont have to guess as to how they reacted. We can look at how people reacted to what he said. You saw them. And you saw the violence. Its pretty simple. He said it and they did it. And we know this because they told us. They told us in real time during the attack. You saw the affidavits. The interviews. On social media. On live tv. They were doing this for him because he asked them to. It wasnt just insurrectionists who confirmed this. Many, many people including current and former officials immediately recognized that the president had incited the crowd. That he, alone, was capable of stopping the violence. That he did this and he had to call it off because he was the only one who could. Lets see what representative mccarthy, representative gallagher, chris christie, representative kinzinger, and representative katko, had to say. I could not be sadder and more disappointed with the way our country looks at this very moment. People are getting hurt. Anyone involved in this, if youre hearing me, very loud and clear, this is not the american way. Mr. President , you have got to stop this. You are the only person who can call this off. Call it off. Pretty simple. The president caused this protest to occur. Hes the only one who can make it stop. What the president said is not good enough. The president has to come out and tell his supporters to leave the capitol grounds. And to allow the congress to do their business peacefully. Anything short of that is abrogation of their responsibility. A guy who knows how to tweet very aggressively on twitter, you know, puts out one of the weakest statements in one of the saddest days in american hi history. The ptresidentse