Thread by @pdmcleod

And here we go, arguments in Trump’s second impeachment trial in the Senate are beginning.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, the lead House impeachment manager, assures senators they won’t have to listen to lectures about the Federal Papers because his case will be based on “cold, hard facts"

Raskin kicks off by showing a supercut of rioters storming the Capitol on Jan. 6 spliced with Trump talking about how the election was a fraud. “If you don’t fight like hell you’re not going to have a country anymore” etc. I’d expect to see a lot of this.

You can follow along here. c-span.org/video/?508293-…

I don’t know how many hours of riot footage I’ve watched in the last month but it’s still shocking to see.

Jesus, the video includes footage of the woman who was shot in the neck and died.

Raskin should really just say “I rest my case” at the end of this video and sit down.

(But as Aaron Sorkin didn’t write this, that’s not how it works. Today they’re debating the constitutionality of impeaching Trump, vote on merits doesn’t come till likely early next week.)

Back to Raskin now. “If that’s not an impeachable offense, then there is no such thing."

I think everyone needs a recess after watching that.

Again, today is about whether Trump can be impeached out of office (most Republicans say no.) Raskin says it’s “inconceivable” that framers would intend a president can’t be impeached for actions at the end of their term, when the peaceful transfer of power is most vulnerable.

Here’s the riot video that impeachment managers showed the Senate. buzzfeednews.com/article/sarahm…

Jamie Raskin is closing with talking about his first-hand experience of the 6th. His daughter and son in law were with him. The had buried his son, Tommy Raskin, the day before.

Raskin got separated from his daughter Tabitha and son-in-law Hank. “They thought they were going to die." He describes members removing their Congressional pins to try to disguise their identity.

“People died that day. Officers suffered head damage and brain damage. People’s eyes were gouged… two officers have taken their own lives. Senators, this cannot be the future. This cannot be the future of America.”

Raskin ends by calling on the Senate to send a message that corrupt presidents can’t commit crimes at the end of their terms.

The prosecution rests on the constitutionality question for now.

10 minute break, then Trump’s attorneys make their case.

Trump’s lead lawyer Bruce Castor opens by saying you won’t hear anything from Trump’s team other than fully denouncing the violence of the rioters on the 6th.

Castor: “It’s natural to recoil. It’s an immediate thing. It comes out of you without your ability to stop it, the desire for retribution. Who caused this terrible thing? How do we make them pay?”

He says the law is designed with checks for when emotions override logic.

I truly can’t tell whether this is a prepared speech by Castor about how Senators are different than normal people or if he saw Raskin’s opening and decided to wing it.

“The people you represent are proud of their senators.”

Somewhere, a red phone is ringing in Daniel Dale’s office.

Impeachment trial summery so far:

Raskin: I will now shake you to your core with words and images of our shared trauma.

Castor: and furthermore our senators happen to be devestatingly attractive

Castor has come around to the point that we shouldn’t be punishing political speech.

“We have sent armies to other parts of the world to convince those governments to introduce the freedoms we enjoy. This trial is about trading liberty for security from the mob? No, it can’t be”

Castor hasn’t actually addressed the question of whether you can impeach someone not in office. He’s hammering home the argument that this is a slippery slope that will lead to future partisan impeachments.

Only fiery moment of Castor’s speech so far is him calling this impeachment an “attack on the Constitution."

The first day of arguments has been devestatingly one-sided so far and yet I’d still be surprised if a single senator switched their vote.

Castor, who, again, is Donald Trump’s lawyer, just said that Biden won the election.

“People get tired of an administration and they know how to change it. And they just did,” — Trump’s legal defense.

Castor now arguing that if Democrats truly think Trump committed a crime they should arrest him, in a true “checkmate” moment.

Cannot stop thinking about what Trump’s twitter feed would be like right now.

Trump lawyer David Schoen going off on Democras using “movies" to “chill and horrify” the country. Says they’re treating this like a bloodsport. “I promise you if these proceedings go forward, everyone will look bad."

Oh boy, we’ve got our first reference to cancel culture.

Having real flashbacks now to 2019 of Trump completely stonewalling the impeachment investigation, refusing to provide any documents or testimony, and then his surrogates claiming he was denied any due process.

Well I was wrong about not a single vote changing — exactly one vote did. Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy switched his position from a week ago and voted the impeachment trial of Donald Trump is constitutional.

Vote passes 56-44. The trial will go ahead.

All Democrats voted it is constitutional for the Senate to hold an impeachment trial for Trump even though he is no longer president.

The Republicans who voted with them: Bill Cassidy, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Mitt Romney, Ben Sasse, Pat Toomey.

We pick up noon tomorrow.