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Trump impeachment as it happened: Trial adjourned as former US president probed over inciting Capitol Hill riot

Chris Zappone and Latika Bourke
Updated ,first published

Summary

  • The US Senate has heard its first full day of arguments in Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial.
  • Senators are being asked to convict the former president of inciting insurrection via his comments and tweets prior to a violent mob of his supporters storming the Capitol on January 6,
  • The Democrats made extensive use of previously unseen and graphic security footage as evidence.
  • Trump is expected to be acquitted because conviction requires two-thirds of senators to vote in favour and the Senate is made up of 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans
  • It’s unclear any Republicans have been persuaded that Trump has committed acts that merit a conviction.
Pinned post from 9.08am on Feb 11, 2021
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‘Take your pins off’: members feared being recognised

By Latika Bourke

Audio is being played of members of Congress urging each other to “take their pins off” so they would not be as easily recognised by the rioters.

In the background, a buzzing sound can be heard, which House impeachment manager Eric Swalwell says is the sound of gas masks being used.

You can watch some of the extended footage being shown to jurors here:

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Signing off for the day

By Chris Zappone

Disturbing. Enlightening. Compelling. The first full day of arguments in Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial has concluded.

We will now wind down our rolling coverage of the event for today.

But it will continue tomorrow, with the action in Washington to resume at 4am (AEDT) on Friday.

I’m Chris Zappone. Thanks for following.

Democrats did not over-hype their case

By

The first day of Donald Trump’s Senate impeachment trial began with an unforced error from the members of his legal team, who were widely derided for their unfocused and unpersuasive opening presentation, writes North America correspondent Matthew Knott.

Democratic Party staffers talked a big game in the lead-up to the first full day of the trial on Thursday (AEDT) by briefing reporters, “We have the goods, we will be presenting the goods.”

The centrepiece of their presentation, the staffers told reporters, was never-before-seen footage that would provide new insights into “the extent of what Donald Trump unleashed on our Capitol”.

While it’s usually a good rule to under-promise and over-deliver, in this case the Democrats were not over-hyping what was to come.

Read the whole analysis of the day here.

Reaction across the spectrum

By Chris Zappone

Anger, from one committed conservative Trump critic.

View post on X

One long-time US politics observer, says Republicans are “denying reality”.

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The prosection and presentation of the Democrats has won plaudits.

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The impeachment trial has been adjourned for today

By Chris Zappone

The impeachment trial has now officially been adjourned until noon on Thursday, Washington, DC- time. That’s 4am AEDT on Friday.

A Republican voices a small objection

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House Democrats have agreed to strike some of their impeachment prosecution comments after Republican Senator Mike Lee’s objection.

Senator Mike Lee, a Republican.Bloomberg

Impeachment prosecutors on Wednesday evening recounted news reports about how Donald Trump mistakenly phoned Lee as the siege was under way at the Capitol and senators were being evacuated.

According to the reports, including an account Lee gave to the Deseret News in Utah, Trump was trying to reach Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville to discuss Tuberville objecting to the certification of Electoral College votes.

Lee objected to Democrats’ representations of the call during their case and disputed it as inaccurate, but it wasn’t clear what he was objecting to.

Trump’s treatment of Mike Pence

By Chris Zappone

Representative Joaquin Castro takes up the issue of Trump’s treatment of former vice-president Mike Pence on the day.

Former vice-president Mike Pence is pictured with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi just before being ushered out of the chamber on January 6.AP

Trump named Pence 11 times during the day of the riot, complaining that his vice-president would not stop the certification of the votes of the Electoral College, an official role of the vice-president.

Earlier Trump had said that Pence was “going to have to come through for us ... if he doesn’t, that will be a sad day for our country, because you’re sworn to uphold our Constitution”.

Yet Pence upheld his constitutional duties, Castro says.

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Attention turns to Trump’s action on the day

By Chris Zappone

Attention now turns away from the rioters to the action - and inaction - of Donald Trump on January 6.

Representative David Cicilline plays a video of Trump speaking to the crowd at the rally held in Washington on the day of the riot, in which the then-president tells his supporters to advance toward the Capitol.

Impeachment manager Representative David Cicilline focuses on Trump’s actions on the day of the riot.

Nearly an hour after rioters breached the Capitol, Cicilline says, Trump tweeted a “propaganda reel” of his words at the rally, including the phrase “stop the steal”.

With the assault on the Capitol well under way, Trump then refused to take action to secure the building, such as calling in troops, Cicilline says.

As we wait for the senators to return...

By Chris Zappone

Hello there...

Chris Zappone here, Digital Foreign Editor, taking over the Trump impeachment trial blog for the next few hours, now that Latika Bourke has signed off.

In Washington, the senators have returned from a dinner break, digesting some of the testimony that was heard.

I’ve just had a banana smoothie and am ready to continue live coverage of this historic trial of former president Donald Trump.

The Democrats have been presenting testimony based on videos, news reports, social media posts, security footage and recordings from Capitol police to make the case that the January 6 riot at the Capitol Building was the result of a campaign by Donald Trump to hold onto the presidency even after he lost the November election to Joe Biden.

Recapping: ‘Inciter-in-chief’ - the case against Donald Trump

By Latika Bourke

Senators have now adjourned for a dinner break.

I’ll be handing over to Chris Zappone on the world desk who will take you through the rest of our rolling coverage. Thank you for joining me.

But before I go, let’s refresh what’s happened so far today.

The footage captured inside the building showing the attack unfolding has been the most captivating.

The Democrats pursuing conviction are clearly appealing to Republican senators to consider how close and dangerous the threat to their own safety and that of their GOP colleagues was during the Capitol riot, which they argue was incited by former president Donald Trump.

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Police bodycam footage shows terrifying scenes

By Latika Bourke

Footage recorded from a police officer’s body camera showing terrifying scenes as police try to fight off rioters has been played to senators.

You can watch it here:

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