OnPolitics: The House rests its case
Whoever said time flies has not had to watch more than 10 hours of Senate arguments.
House Democratic managers have officially wrapped up the last day of their arguments in the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump. Tomorrow, the defense responds.
It's Mabinty, with today's impeachment highlights – and some other politics news, as a treat.
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Now let's head into the Senate.
In short: The managers argued Trump reasonably should have known his actions would lead to violence. And that he not only invited the protesters to invade the Capitol but never showed remorse for egging the crowd on.
The longer story: The argument Democratic managers prosecuting the trial tried to hammer home Thursday was that Trump invited the protesters to invade the Capitol to stop Congress from affirming President Joe Biden’s victory in the Nov. 3 election.
Their evidence: They used clips from some who participated in the siege, claiming they showed up there because Trump asked them to “stop the steal.”
“Their own statements before, during and after the attack make clear the attack was done for Donald Trump, at his instructions and to fulfill his wishes,” Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., said. “Donald Trump had sent them there.”
Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., noted that Trump tweeted a video during the riot in which he said protestors should go home, but also that they were “very special" people. “This is not a man who showed remorse,” Lieu told the senators.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, the lead House prosecutor, said the Capitol riot was “not the first time Trump enflamed a mob."
The managers played videos of Trump encouraging supporters to attack protesters at his rallies; supporting white nationalists who marched in Charlottesville, Virginia; and criticizing Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who became the subject of a kidnapping plot.
In the end, the House managers warned senators that a failure to convict Trump of inciting the Jan. 6 Capitol riot would raise the risk of further attacks.
Here's a look at what Trump was doing on the day the attack unfolded.
The question we're all wondering: Will there be witnesses?
It's still TBD. Several Democratic senators said there was no need to bring more witnesses unless Trump himself testified. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., told reporters they had heard from enough people through the “interviews and video presentation” played so far, so “I feel like we've heard from enough witnesses.”
Now Trump's defense team takes the stage
On Friday at noon ET, Trump's legal team led by Bruce Castor Jr. and David Schoen will begin their presentation, which could last up to eight hours with an additional eight hours on Saturday.
In an interview with Fox News on Thursday, Schoen said that the House managers' arguments were "offensive" and called the presentation "an entertainment package." He also said Trump's defense team will in part focus on the "hypocrisy" of the House Democrats' case.
Real quick news to know:
President Biden has told Congress he will rescind the emergency declaration on the U.S.-Mexico border that was put in place by Trump in February 2019.
Federal authorities charged five suspects, including a brother and sister, with conspiracy.
Only more day until the weekend, we got this! —Mabinty
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: House Democratic managers wrap up impeachment trial: OnPolitics
