A report from the floor of the US Senate
I'd like to share with you what we're seeing on the Senate floor after all these hours of argument and evidence.
Yesterday, the House impeachment managers laid out a very strong case that ex-President Trump incited the Capitol insurrection deliberately and with malice.
First, Donald Trump spent months — as early as June 2020 — laying out his argument that if he didn't win, the election would be stolen. This is the Big Lie.
Second, he rallied his supporters and organized his supporters to take action. One piece of evidence that was new to me? That his January 6 rally was actually rescheduled precisely so that it would coincide with the counting of the Electoral College votes.
Third, when the Capitol insurrection got underway, he didn't demand that his supporters stop via Twitter. He didn't authorize the National Guard to move in. Instead, even as the mob was hunting his own Vice President, shouting "hang Mike Pence," he again attacked Pence on Twitter.
Fourth, when it was over, he celebrated what had been done by the rioters in his name.
I don't know how my colleagues will vote. I don't know if 67 Senators will render a verdict of "guilty".
But I do know this: The House impeachment managers have made the case for history. There is no doubt what happened in days leading up to January 6, and on that terrible day. Our grandchildren's grandchildren will study this moment in history, and they will understand clearly that this was a moment of grave danger for our Republic — an insurrection and invasion of the Capitol incited by the President of the United States in direct contravention of his oath of office.
Stay tuned. More to come.
Jeff