House Democrats lay out core of case against Donald Trump
Impeachment manager use former president's own words to prosecute him - NBC's Alice Barr reports
WASHINGTON, D.C. (KYMA, KECY) - The Senate floor belonged to House Impeachment managers Wednesday as they laid out a detailed case of what the former president said on January 6th, and in the months leading up to the deadly Capitol Hill siege.
Newly-revealed, and extremely chilling, surveillance video presented as evidence in their case against Donald Trump.
"This is now - effectively - a riot!" said a recording of police communications.
Capitol Police were quickly overwhelmed by a coordinated combat-style assault. Some mob members were bent on finding, and potentially executing, then-Vice President Mike Pence, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
"President Trump put a target on their backs and his mob broke into the Capitol to hunt them down." said House Impeachment Manager Stacey Plaskett, (D-VI).
House Impeachment Manager used the former president's own words to argue he incited the Capitol siege.
"You've got to get your people to fight." said Trump in one clip.
They also say Trump planted the seeds of insurrection months earlier through a campaign of lies about the election.
"The Democrats are trying to steal the White House." the former president said in another clip.
"He assembled the mob, summoned the mob, incited the mob." said Impeachment Manager Joe Neguse, (D-Co.).
Democrats laid out allegations that Trump encouraged the angry group of supporters on the very same day Congress was to count the votes to finalize the 2020 election.
"He told them to fight like hell and they brought us hell on that day." said Rep. Jamie Raskin, (D-Md.).
And as the violence escalated...
"He watched it on TV like a reality show and he did nothing to help us." said Raskin.
Democrats say, when the former president finally told rioters to go home, he stopped short of condemning them.
"We love you. You're very special." Trump said in video recorded the day of the siege.
His legal team begins its defense on Friday. They'll focus on claims Trump was exercising free speech and never encouraged violence.
January 6th, a day Trump told supporters to remember, now looming large in the historic first impeachment trial of a former president.
Sources tell NBC News, Trump was furious with his lawyers' performance Tuesday. That's the day the Senate voted, mostly along party lines, on whether the trial of a former president is constitutional.
