The prosecution’s final day of arguments in the Trump impeachment trial drew to a close Thursday, with the defense set to take the stand on Friday and Saturday.
Here are five key moments from the proceeding, where House impeachment managers Reps. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and Ted Lieu, D-Calif., shared much of the spotlight:
Democratic impeachment prosecutors use rioters’ words against Trump
House impeachment managers aired clips of rioters who said they were acting at Trump’s request, in an effort to connect the former president’s rhetoric to the violence seen on Jan. 6.
“We were invited here,” a rioter can be heard yelling in one clip to the police trying to hold the line. “We were invited by the president of the United States.”
In another video, rioters are inside the Capitol and discuss calling Trump personally to let him know what they’ve done. “He’ll be happy,” one Trump supporter says. “We’re fighting for Trump!”
Impeachment managers also drew upon statements rioters made to law enforcement, lawyers and local media that made clear they came to Washington and forced their way into the Capitol because they thought Trump wanted them to.
IMPEACHMENT PROSECUTORS USE RIOTERS’ WORDS AGAINST TRUMP AT TRIAL
“He asked us to be there,” said a Texas woman, Jenna Ryan, in one clip played at the trial. “So I was doing what he asked us to do.”
Lieu quotes Republicans turning on Trump
Lieu used comments by Republicans and one-time Trump allies in the wake of the attack to prove a link between Trump’s words and the violence. He pointed to former White House chief of staff John Kelly, who said, “What happened on Capitol Hill was a direct result of him poisoning the minds of people with the lies and the fraud.”
He also quoted former Defense Secretary James Mattis, who said the Capitol riot was “fomented” by Trump.
“This was echoed by former Trump official after former Trump official,” Lieu said. He noted that 16 Trump officials resigned in the wake of the attack.
He quoted former House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, who said the rioters were “inspired by lies” made by people in power, “is a disgrace to all who sacrifice to build our republic.”
He played a montage of GOP governors– Maryland’s Larry Hogan, Ohio’s Mike DeWine and Massachusetts’ Charlie Baker– blaming Trump for goading supporters to use violence to “stop the steal.”
Impeachment managers say Congress will have ‘no one to blame but ourselves’ if Trump isn’t convicted and incites a repeat attack
In making a case for convicting Trump and barring him from ever holding office again, Raskin said it is all but certain that Trump would do nothing differently if given another shot at the White House.
“My dear colleagues, is there any political leader in this room who believes that if he’s ever allowed by the Senate to get back into the Oval Office, Donald Trump would stop inciting violence to get his way?” Raskin asked. “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?”
“So he gets back into office and it happens again, we’ll have no one to blame but ourselves,” Raskin concluded.
Lieu says Trump ‘intended’ for Capitol riot to happen
Lieu argued that Trump’s words following the breach of the Capitol made clear he showed “no remorse” for what took place.
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Lieu said some have argued Trump made a mistake, but “We know President Trump didn’t 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.
“He intended what happened on Jan 6,” Lieu said. “How do we know that? he told us.”
He showed video of Trump on Jan 12 saying that everybody in his circle “thought it was totally appropriate,” a reference to his speech that day.
“I’m a former prosecutor, and we’re trained to recognize lack of remorse,” Lieu said. “But it doesn’t take a prosecutor to understand that President Trump was not showing remorse. He was showing defiance.”
Raskin reveals questions he would’ve asked Trump if he testified
Trump declined a request from House impeachment managers to testify at his own trial, but Raskin revealed the questions he would’ve asked the former president if he’d been there.
“Why did President Trump not tell his supporters to stop the attack on the Capitol as soon as he learned of it? Why did President Trump do nothing to stop the attack for at least two hours after the attack began? As our constitutional commander-in-chief, why did he do nothing to send help to our overwhelmed and besieged law enforcement officers for at least two hours … after the attack began? On January 6, why did President Trump not at any point that day condemn the violent insurrection and the insurrectionists?”
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After asking those questions, Raskin posed one legal question to Trump’s attorneys.
“If a president did invite a violent insurrection against our government–as of course we allege and think we’ve proven in this case–but just in general, if a president incited a violent insurrection against our government, would that be a high crime and misdemeanor?” he asked. “Can we all agree at least on that?”
Fox News’ Marisa Schultz contributed to this report.
