Photo: Tasos Katopodis / Getty Images
The second impeachment of former President Donald Trump is being deeply emotional as he relives the distressing moments that the country went through in the violent assault on the Capitol on January 6 and because the senators who have to judge him are also witnesses of the brutality of the events.
The Democratic impeachment of the House of Representatives has ensured that this emotional bond play a central role in defending your arguments . Already on Tuesday, during the first session of the impeachment in the Senate, they presented a video of 13 minutes that interspersed images of the former president speaking to his followers on January 6 with others of what was experienced shortly after inside the seat of the legislature.
On Tuesday, Democratic prosecutors also drew on personal experiences from that day, but this time they relied on shocking audios and security images that had not seen the light until now. Although their interventions do not change the vote of a Republican senator – they need 17 to condemn the former president – they have set an important precedent.
Audiovisual record of the assault on the Capitol
The Democrats who defended the indictment of former President Donald Trump on Wednesday carried out a meticulous documentary process that was captured in chronological order throughout the day in parliament. It is an exhaustive historical record of an unusually violent presidential transition period.
Unreleased security videos and radio audios leave evidence of the brutality of extremist Trump supporters who forcibly stormed the Capitol and endangered the lives of legislators and the venue staff. The images not only supported the arguments of the prosecution but, on many occasions, spoke for themselves and made the day even more emotional.
Defense of the idea that Trump incited the riots
Prosecutors argued that Trump laid the groundwork for the violence that broke out on the Capitol on January 6 much earlier. At least since the summer, when the former president began to question the electoral process (without evidence) , so that his supporters were prepared to fight the results if he lost.
Democratic congressman Joaquín Castro, the only one of Hispanic origin in the group of prosecutors of the impeachment assured the Senate that the attack “did not occur by accident “and accused Trump of forging it” for months “.
” There is a saying who says a lie can travel half the world before the truth has a chance to step into his shoes . And that is especially true when that lie is told by the most powerful person in the world, “said the Texas Democrat in his speech.
Exposing the real danger to legislators and Vice President Pence
Videos played by Democratic prosecutors showed that the crowd who stormed the Capitol with violence was much closer to being able to attack legislators and former Vice President Mike Pence than was originally thought.
The extremists, who on the outskirts of the Capitol shouted that they wanted to kill Pence, were less than 100 feet (30 meters) from where the then vice president and his family were when they managed to enter the building, as explained by Representative Stacey Plaskett.
Senator Mitt Romney and members of his team almost ran into each other in the way of the supporters of Trump , but the agent of the police of the Capitol, Eugene Goodman, managed to warn the Republican of Utah in time to get to safety. After watching the video, Romney said he didn’t know he had been that close. Also Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer had to flee the crowd.
Another clip shows the man who became famous for posing In a photo with her feet up on the desk of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, carried “a stun gun tucked into her waist” , as explained by Plaskett. Pelosi had to be taken out of the Capitol complex as the extremists who entered the building shouted that they wanted to harm her.
The next steps of the impeachment to Trump
Democratic prosecutors will continue to present their arguments starting this Thursday at noon . They have eight more hours to do it. After they finish, the defense of the former president will have a total of 16 hours to defend his position, which will make the impeachment is extended to the weekend.
It is still unclear whether defending the House of Representatives arguments and graphic evidence caused any Republicans to change their minds. So far, only 6 have voted with the Democratic caucus in favor of impeachment. But they would have to join a total of 17 to be able to condemn Trump .
In any case, this second political trial has already served for set a precedent and avoid, as Senator Bernie Sanders explained in January, that any “president, now or in the future, can lead an insurrection against the government American ”with the idea that he will not be held accountable and that he will go unpunished.
