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Trump impeachment trial told Capitol rioters would have KILLED Pence and Pelosi before new mob vid shown
DONALD Trump’s impeachment trial was today told Capitol rioters would have killed Mike Pence and Nancy Pelosi if they’d had the chance.
The former president was branded the “inciter in chief” of the siege by Dem House managers who claimed Trump was no innocent bystander.
Prosecutors were forced to warn parents and teachers to be careful about what kids watched as they showed shocking footage of the riot bloodshed.
Dems have been accused of “preying on the horror” of the riot and glorifying the violence by playing gruesome footage "for bloodsport."
Never-seen-before Capitol riot footage showing how close the mob came to senators is set to be shown on day two of the proceedings.
Yesterday, Trump’s legal team argued the trial is an “unconstitutional and illegal” attempt from Dems to silence their political rival.
Criminal complaints were used by Democrat House managers to show rioters were "following the president's orders” and wanted to kill Pence and Pelosi.
Joseph D. Neguse, who spoke second during the Wednesday hearing and referred to court documents, said: "They would have killed Mike Pence if given the chance!"
"We were looking for Nancy Pelosi to shoot her in the friggin' brain," a protester who went inside the Capitol said, court documents shown by Neguse revealed.
Prosecutors urged on Wednesday they had evidence that the former president was the "inciter in chief" of violent Capitol riots.
As Rep. Jamin Ben Raskin began speaking, he revealed the evidence shown today will reveal "that ex president trump was no innocent bystander."
He also warned about the videos to be played in Wednesday's hearing as some language and photographs shown could be considered inappropriate for a younger audience.
"Because the insurrection brought shocking violence, bloodshed, and pain in the nation's capitol – We will be showing relevant clips of the mob's attack," he said.
"We do urge parents and teachers to exercise close review of what young people are watching here."
What is the timeline for Trump’s impeachment trial on Wednesday, February 10?
- The trial will begin at 12pm Eastern Time
- Trump's former counsel and House impeachment managers will each get a maximum of 16 hours to present their case, after the Senate's vote passed on Tuesday
- The rules are that a single day's presentation cannot be more than eight hours. Each side is only allowed a total of two days to demonstrate their case
- Senators will have a total of four hours to question either side after presentations are done
- Next, if witnesses are called on by the House impeachment managers another four hours of debate will follow – leading to a vote
- Trump's former counsel and House impeachment managers will make closing arguments.
- Lastly, the Article of Impeachment will be voted on by the Senate
Raskin also insisted about the evidence shown: "It will show Donald Trump surrendered his role as commander in chief… and this was, as one of our colleagues put it so cogently on January 6 itself, the greatest betrayal of the presidential oath in the history of the United States.
"The evidence will show you that he saw it coming and was not remotely surprised by the violence.
"We will prove the president was no innocent bystander – but he incited this attack and he saw it coming," he added. "To us it may have felt like chaos and madness, but there was method to the madness that day."
He concluded by quoting an African American police officer who protected the US Capitol on January 6.
Repeating "is this America?," Raskin recounted when a Black police officer questioned: "What the f***, man? Is this America? What the f*** just happened? I'm so sick and tired of this s***.
Neguse began with addressing Trump's alleged strategy of incitement: "The Big Lie: The Election Was Stolen," "Stop The Steal," and "Fight Like Hell To Stop The Steal."
Sophomore Colorado Democrat Neguse played videos of President urging: "We will never, ever surrender" and "will fight like hell."
"He didn't just tell them to fight like hell – he told them how, when, and where," Neguse said, blaming the former president for assembling the mob, summoning the mob, and inciting the mob."
The third to speak, Texas Representative Joaquin Castro, slammed Trump for "spreading lies."
Castro said the former president "truly made his base believe the only way he could lose [the 2020 presidential election] was if the election was rigged."
The fourth person to present was Eric Michael Swalwell, the US Representative for California.
Swalwell recounted Trump's past Twitter posts and criticized him for "continuing to spread the big lie that his election was stolen."
Prior to the hearing, it was revealed that surveillance footage from the US Capitol – which has not been seen by the public – will be played.
Wednesday's testimony will "provide new insight into the extreme violence that everyone suffered – and really shows the extent of what Trump unleashed on the Capitol," a House aide reportedly told journalists.
"We have the goods. Yesterday was our dry constitutional argument day," the aides told reporters, according to NBC News.
"Today, the actual trial begins. We have the goods, we will be presenting the goods.
"We will be tying the evidence all together in a compelling case that will make it clear for everyone — Democrats, Republicans, everyone — that Donald Trump committed the most heinous constitutional crime possible."
Timeline for the impeachment procedure
Jan. 11: Article of Impeachment – The House introduces one article against Trump accusing him of inciting the Capitol riot.
Jan 13: Impeachment Vote – The House passes the article, impeaching Trump for the second time.
Jan. 25: Delivery to the Senate – Article of impeachment was delivered to Senate.
Jan. 26: Motion to Dismiss – The Senate voted narrowly to move forward with the trial with only five Republican Senators voting in favour of it.
Feb. 9: The Trial – The Senate voted to proceed with the trial after a debate on whether a former president can be tried.
Next – 'Speedy' trial is set to play out over the rest of this week through to Sunday, February 14
Oral Arguments – House prosecutors and Trump’s defense team each have 16 hours over two days to present their arguments.
Senator Questions – Members of the Senate have up to four hours to quiz both the prosecution and the defense.
Witnesses and Documents – If the prosecution requests witnesses, the Senate will debate on whether to subpoena people and documents.
Closing Arguments – Both sides have up to four hours to present their closing statements
Senate Vote – Two thirds of Senators need to vote against Trump to convict him
Trump’s second impeachment trial is moving forward after a 56-44 Senate vote on Tuesday afternoon – but acquittal appears certain.
Only six Republicans joined all 50 Democrats in voting in favor of proceeding with the trial, a sign that it is likely doomed.
In order to convict ex-President Trump, 17 Republican senators would need to vote with Democrats.
Trump’s lawyers, David Schoen and Bruce Castor, argued that the whole proceeding was unconstitutional and did not follow due process.
The billionaire's lawyers, who laid out their case over four hours, said there is no legal justification to hold an impeachment trial for a president who has left office.
Schoen called the Democratic impeachment managers' constitutionality theory "radical" and "unprecedented" and said it could put future elected officials at risk of impeachment long after their terms are over.
He said: "They're willing to sacrifice our national character to advance their hatred and their fear that one day, they might not be the party in power."
However, senators agreed with House managers that the Senate must hold the trial because Trump was impeached before his time in the White House was up.
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