Washington — House Democrats are concluding their arguments for former President Donald Trump’s conviction at his Senate impeachment trial on Thursday, one day after presenting a dramatic video timeline shedding new light on the extent of the attack on the Capitol on January 6.
Senior aides on the impeachment team said Thursday’s arguments would turn to the aftermath of the attack, including Mr. Trump’s role. They also plan to examine the harm caused by the riots, both physical and otherwise, the president’s lack of remorse and the legal issues that apply in this case.
“We on the team and the managers, we remain convinced that that evidence has the power to change minds and indeed we think we saw even a little bit more movement yesterday,” an aide said. “At the end of the day today, I think many of the questions raised by the senators who spoke to the press last night will have been answered thoroughly and their duty to convict will be clear.”
On Wednesday, the impeachment managers spent hours building the case that Mr. Trump was responsible for inciting the mob that assaulted the Capitol, arguing the attack was the violent culmination of months of efforts by the former president to undermine the integrity of the election.
The managers revealed previously unseen security footage from inside the halls of Congress to drive home just how close the rioters came to lawmakers, staff and Vice President Mike Pence, who had resisted Mr. Trump’s entreaties to obstruct the counting of electoral votes. Senators sat in silence as the managers presented the meticulously constructed timeline, with many saying they were shook after reliving the violent episode.
“I know what I was feeling in the Senate chamber when I could hear those voices. I knew what it meant to be running down this hallway with my colleagues,” Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski said. “I wasn’t fully aware of everything else that was happening in the building. So when you see all the pieces come together, just the total awareness of that, the enormity of this, this threat, not just to us as people, as lawmakers, but the threat to the institution and what Congress represents, it’s disturbing.”
The trial reconvenes at noon on Thursday, with the Democratic impeachment managers having eight hours to wrap up their case before Mr. Trump’s legal team begins its defense on Friday.