Prosecutors kicked off the second impeachment of former President Donald Trump on Tuesday with a disturbing 13-minute-long video highlighting the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. The video showed the horror and violence of the domestic terrorist attack and drew particular attention to the evidence that Trump incited it.
The video was introduced by Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, who is leading the House impeachment managers according to a report by CBS News. He showed the “extraordinary” footage collected from security cameras, police body cameras and many cell phones — including clips that the attackers themselves proudly posted on social media. The video began with Trump’s speech at the White House, where he encouraged the crowd to “march to the Capitol,” and continued with a similar line of rhetoric even throughout the attack. The video made not of the timeline of events and related all of them back to Trump.
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The video was full of profanities, mostly coming from Trump supporters screaming violent catchphrases as they tore through the Capitol building. Many chanted slogans that Trump himself coined, and when confronting police officers some said that Trump had “sent” them. A senior aide to the impeachment managers told CBS that some of these clips have never been seen by the public before.
“It will provide new insight into both the extreme violence that everyone suffered, the risk and the threat that it could have led to further violence to many but for the brave actions of the officers and shows really the extent of what Donald Trump unleashed on our Capitol,” they said.
Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives shortly after the attack, on one count of incitement of insurrection. However, like his first impeachment, there are doubts that the United States Senate will follow through and convict him. Tuesday began with a vote on whether or not it is even constitutional to impeach a president who is no longer in office, and a staggering 44 Republicans voted that it is not. With 56 votes for yes, however, the trial will continue.
There is ample historical evidence that impeaching a president after he has left office is constitutional, as it means that that person can never hold public office again. That is Democrats’ goal with Trump, and it may be why Republicans are defending him so fiercely. Many expect Trump to continue having a big role to play in U.S. politics in the years to come, one way or another.
