WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — On the second day of Donald Trump’s Senate impeachment trial, House managers showed never-before-seen videos from the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol attack to make their case against the former president.
“We are having a trial on the facts,” lead impeachment manager Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) said. “We will prove that the impeached President was no innocent bystander.”
One by one, the House managers made the case against the former president, using Trump’s own words against him.
“You will hear, over and over, him using that lie to urge his supporters to never concede and stop the steal,” Rep. Joe Neguse (D-CO) said.
The managers said the false claim from Trump that the election was rigged emboldened his supporters and led them to storm the U.S. Capitol.
“Because the most combustible thing you can do in a democracy is convince people that an election doesn’t count,” Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) said.
The House has two days to try to show Trump is guilty of inciting the violent attack at the Capitol. Trump’s defense team will then make its case.
Virginia lawmakers – Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine and House Republican Rob Wittman – said they won’t share their thoughts on the trial.
“You know, once I’m in juror mode, I’m gonna save any comments about this until the trial is over,” Sen. Kaine said Wednesday morning.
Others, however, have criticized the performance of Trump’s defense team.
“I’ll let others, prognosticators, make a judgement about that,” Wittman said Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Kaine isn’t confident the Senate will vote to convict.
“I’ve been worried about that for quite a while,” he said.
The trial is expected to continue through the weekend.