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Democratic prosecutors began their formal plea against former President Donald Trump on Wednesday. Since noon they have been arguing why the Senate should convict Trump for the assault on the Capitol on January 6th, which left five dead.
The team of nine prosecutors, made up of Jamie Raskin of Maryland (lead prosecutor), Diana DeGette of Colorado, David Cicilline of Rhode Island, Joaquin Castro of Texas, Eric Swalwell of California, Ted Lieu of California, Stacey Plaskett of the Virgin Islands, Joe Neguse of Colorado and Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania, was selected by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
They will have until tomorrow, Thursday, to state their case, although the Washington Post quoted by EFE assured that it is likely that they will not use all the time they have been granted.
What is expected
Congressman Jamie Raskin, the Democrat leading the prosecution, said that once the issue of the constitutionality of the process was resolved on Tuesday, “the Senate is exercising its jurisdictional power” to prosecute Trump and prevent future presidents from following his example and repeating actions that the now former president considers “totally appropriate”.
Prosecutors plan to screen previously unreleased Capitol security footage in the Senate that shows the “extreme violence” used by protesters after storming the Capitol, according to the newspaper.
The Democrats already screened a first video of the assault on the Capitol on the first day of the impeachment trial, which was devoted to debating whether it was constitutional to try a president once he has already left power and ended with a vote declaring the process legitimate.
When they finish, it will be the turn of Trump’s defense, who has so far refused to testify in the impeachment trial and has left the case in the hands of three lawyers, who will have the same time as the Democratic representatives to speak on behalf of the former president.
This schedule means that the impeachment trial could end this weekend at the earliest, unless it is decided to call witnesses, given that both parties are interested in dispatching the matter quickly.
The former president’s lawyers maintain that the process is unconstitutional because Trump is no longer in office, invoking Trump’s right to free speech. In addition, they will argue that impeachment trials for presidents require the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court to preside over the impeachment.
In general terms, Trump’s lawyers could also attribute the process to political vengeance by assuring in their pleadings to the senators that “there is no place for political hatred in the administration of justice anywhere in the United States, least of all in Congress,” according to a document filed by the defense last Saturday.
