Page 6 - Florida Sentinel 2-12-21

Political
The Senate voted Tuesday to proceed with the impeach- ment trial of former Presi- dent Donald Trump, with six Republicans joining all De- mocrats.
The 56-44 vote rejected an argument from Trump's at- torneys that it is unconstitu- tional to try a former president, a debate that took up much of the first day of ar- guments from the House im- peachment managers and Trump's legal team.
Voting alongside all Senate Democrats were Republicans Pat Toomey of Pennsylva- nia, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitt Romney of Utah, Ben Sasse of Ne- braska, Susan Collins of Maine and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana.
Trump's second im- peachment trial kicked off Tuesday afternoon with a jar- ring 20-minute video mon- tage of the devastating events of the riot at the U. S. Capitol, forcing senators to relive some of the most intense mo- ments of Jan. 6, some of which occurred at the very desks at which they were sit-
THE RIOTS AT THE CAPITOL
In an emotional statement Tuesday at the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, Rep. Jamie Raskin recalled the terror experienced by lawmak- ers — and his own family — when a violent mob breached the Capitol on Jan. 6.
“They thought they were going to die,” Raskin, the Maryland Democrat leading the impeachment case against Trump, said on the Senate floor, describing how his youngest daughter, Tabitha, and his son-in-law, Hank, felt
REP. JAMIE RASKIN
while they were barricaded in- side the office of House Major- ity Leader Steny Hoyer with Raskin’s chief of staff.
ting.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-
Md., the Democrats' lead im- peachment manager, told lawmakers that their case was based on "cold, hard facts" be- fore he played the video.
The video showed rioters smashing windows and over- running barriers until they breached the Capitol, hurling expletives at Capitol Police of- ficers and stalking lawmakers in the chamber.
Images of the rioters were interspersed with scenes of Trump encouraging his sup- porters while speaking at the Jan. 6 rally and in a video posted to Twitter.
Trump can be heard
telling his supporters that "we will stop the steal" and falsely claiming that "we won this election" before telling them that "we're going to walk down to the Capitol" and that "you'll never take back our country with weakness." In the video posted to Twitter, Trump tells his supporters, who at that moment were still trashing the nation's symbol of government, that he loves them and that they are "very special."
The trial is expected to last into the weekend and next week, and each trial day is ex- pected to take about eight hours — meaning it would go until at least 8 p.m
Justice Dept. Directs Trump- Appointed U. S. Attorneys To Leave
WASHINGTON — Acting At- torney General Monty Wilkinson asked the 57 Trump-era U. S. attorneys on a conference call on Tuesday to step down at the end of this month, according to a Justice Department official on the call, paving the way for the transi- tion to new leadership under the Biden administration.
Though it was routine for new administrations, Wilkin- son’s request that U. S. attor- neys from the Trump
administration leave over a pe- riod of weeks stood in contrast with former Attorney Gen- eral Jeff Sessions’s demand without warning in 2017 that Obama-era officials tender their resignations immediately.
Wilkinson’s decision echoed transition processes of the Bush and Obama admin- istrations, and it was in keep- ing with the Biden administration’s overall strat- egy of restoring executive branch norms.
Trump Enraged With His Impeachment Atttorney's Performance
Former President Donald Trump was unhappy with his impeachment lawyer Bruce Castor's opening argument on the Senate floor Tuesday, two people familiar with his re- action told CNN.
Castor, who is representing Trump alongside attorney David Schoen, delivered a meandering argument during the first day of the Senate im-
peachment trial, including praise for the House impeach- ment managers for a presenta- tion that he said was "well done."
Trump was almost scream- ing as Castor struggled to get at the heart of his defense team's argument, which is sup- posed to be over the constitu- tionality of holding a trial for a president no longer in office.
Given that the legal team was assembled a little over a week ago, it went as expected, one of the sources told CNN.
Still, Trump's allies were flabbergasted when the attor- neys switched speaking slots at the last minute.
Castor's discursive pres- entation featured lengthy praise of the Senate, including his home state Pennsylvania senators -- Republican Pat Toomey and Democrat Bob Casey -- while arguing that the Senate should not be hold- ing the trial. He warned that a second impeachment trial in 13 months would "open the floodgates" to future impeach- ments, even making the un- founded rhetorical suggestion that former Obama adminis- tration Attorney General Eric Holder could be impeached.
The Senate ultimately voted 56-44 that the impeach- ment trial is constitutional.
An adviser to Trump's team offered a candid assess- ment of the messy opening day, asking pointedly, "What the hell is going on?"
Senate Declares Trump Impeachment Constitutional, Allowing Trial To Proceed
Raskin Chokes Up During Trump Impeachment Speech
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