WARNING: The following content may contain violent images and strong or coarse language. Viewer discretion is advised.Follow along below for updates as the impeachment trial resumes (all times eastern)11:15 a.m.Former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial came to an abrupt standstill after a majority of senators voted to consider calling witnesses about the deadly storming of the Capitol.Even senators seemed confused by the sudden turn of events Saturday. The quick trial had been racing toward closing arguments and a vote on whether to acquit or convict Trump.Under Senate rules for the trial, it appears debate and votes on potential witnesses could be allowed, potentially delaying the final vote.House prosecutors want to hear from a Republican congresswoman who has said she was aware of a conversation Trump had with the House GOP leader as rioters were ransacking the Capitol over the election results.Rep. Jamie Herrera Beutler of Washington has widely discussed her reported conversation with House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, who had called on Trump to stop the attack by his supporters.Five Republican senators joined all Democrats in voting 55-45 on a motion to consider witnesses and testimony.Trump’s defense attorneys blasted the late action. Attorney Michael van der Veen said it’s time to “close this case out.”Senators are in a brief recess as leaders confer on next steps.10:35 a.m.Senators have voted to consider witnesses in the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump.Closing arguments were expected Saturday with no witnesses called. But lead Democratic prosecutor Jamie Raskin of Maryland asked for a deposition of Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler over fresh information.She has widely shared a conversation she had with House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy over Trump’s actions on Jan. 6 as the mob was rioting over the presidential election results. Raskin said it was necessary to determine Trump’s role in inciting the deadly Jan. 6 riot. There were 55 senators who voted to debate the motion to subpoena, including Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, who changed his vote in the middle of the count.Trump’s attorney Michael van der Veen balked at the request, saying he’d then call 100 witnesses and insist they give depositions in person in his office in Philadelphia.His animated statement was met with laughter from the chamber, which visibly angered van der Veen.“There’s nothing laughable here,” he said. The trial is being held in person, but lawmakers are wearing masks and the coronavirus pandemic has halted most normal activity, including close contact in offices for depositions. In many civil and criminal cases, such work is handled via conference call.10:05 a.m.The Senate is gaveling open as the court of impeachment is expecting to wrap up Donald Trump’s trial over the Capitol siege.Senators were speeding toward an expected vote in the rare Saturday session on whether to convict or acquit the former president on the charge of incitement of insurrection in the Jan. 6 attack.Some senators want to consider witnesses, but it’s unclear if any will be called to testify, or if there would be enough support in a vote to do so.The weeklong impeachment trial is the first of a former president.9:45 a.m.The closing phase of Donald Trump’s impeachment trial is putting new scrutiny on what actions the former president took when his supporters overwhelmed police and stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6. It comes as Democrats consider whether to force a debate on calling witnesses for the trial, which would require a majority vote of the Senate.Democrats argue Trump incited the riot and then refused to stop it, putting Vice President Mike Pence in danger. Pence was in the Capitol presiding over the certification of President Joe Biden’s election victory and was rushed to safety as the Capitol was invaded.Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington, who was one of 10 Republicans to vote for Trump’s impeachment in the House, said in a statement late Friday Trump rebuffed a plea from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to call off the rioters on Jan. 6. She said McCarthy had relayed the conversation to her.Another Republican, Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, said he told Trump during a call on Jan. 6 that Pence was being evacuated from the Senate.Several Republicans who are seen as wavering on whether to convict Trump pressed Trump’s lawyers during questioning to account for Trump’s actions on Jan. 6.One of Trump’s lawyers, Michael van der Veen, responded to those questions by saying that at “no point” was the president informed of any danger to Pence.Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat from Rhode Island, said the Senate should “suspend the trial” to question McCarthy and Tuberville under oath, and to seek records from the Secret Service.“What did Trump know, and when did he know it?” Whitehouse tweeted. Original story below: Senators are poised to vote on whether Donald Trump will be held accountable for inciting the horrific attack at the Capitol after a speedy trial that laid bare the violence and danger to their own lives and the fragility of the nation’s tradition of a peaceful transfer of presidential power.Barely a month since the deadly riot, closing arguments are set for the historic impeachment trial as senators arrive for a rare Saturday session, all under the watch of armed National Guard troops still guarding the iconic building.The outcome of the quick, raw and emotional proceedings are expected to reflect a nation divided over the former president and the future of his brand of politics in America.“What’s important about this trial is that it’s really aimed to some extent at Donald Trump, but it’s more aimed at some president we don’t even know 20 years from now,” said Sen. Angus King, the independent from Maine, weighing his vote.The nearly weeklong trial has been delivering a grim and graphic narrative of the Jan. 6 riot and its consequences for the nation in ways that senators, most of whom fled for their own safety that day, acknowledge they are still coming to grips with.Acquittal is expected in the evenly-divided Senate, a verdict that could heavily influence not only Trump’s political future but that of the senators sworn to deliver impartial justice as jurors as they cast their votes.House prosecutors have argued that Trump’s rallying cry to go to the Capitol and “fight like hell” for his presidency just as Congress was convening Jan. 6 to certify Joe Biden’s election was part of an orchestrated pattern of violent rhetoric and false claims that unleashed the mob. Five people died, including a rioter who was shot and a police officer.The defense attorneys countered in a short three hours Friday that Trump’s words were not intended to incite the violence and impeachment is nothing but a “witch hunt” designed to prevent him from serving in office again.Only by watching the graphic videos — rioters calling out menacingly for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence, who was presiding over the vote tally — did senators say they began to understand just how perilously close the country came to chaos. Hundreds of rioters stormed into the building, taking over the Senate and some engaging in hand-to-hand, bloody combat with police. While it is unlikely the Senate would be able to mount the two-thirds vote needed to convict, several senators appear to be still weighing their vote. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell will be widely watched for cues, but he is not pressuring his GOP side of the aisle and is telling senators to vote their conscience.Many Republicans representing states where the former president remains popular doubt whether Trump was fully responsible or if impeachment is the appropriate response. Democrats appear all but united toward conviction.Trump is the only president to be twice impeached, and the first to face trial charges after leaving office.Unlike last year’s impeachment trial of Trump in the Ukraine affair, a complicated charge of corruption and obstruction over his attempts to have the foreign ally dig up dirt on then-rival Biden, this one brought an emotional punch over the unexpected vulnerability of the nation’s tradition of peaceful elections. The charge is singular, incitement of insurrection.On Friday, Trump’s impeachment lawyers accused Democrats of waging a campaign of “hatred” against the former president as they wrapped up their defense, sending the Senate toward a final vote in his historic trial.The defense team vigorously denied that Trump had incited the deadly riot and played out-of-context video clips showing Democrats, some of them senators now serving as jurors, also telling supporters to “fight,” aiming to establish a parallel with Trump’s overheated rhetoric.“This is ordinarily political rhetoric,” declared Trump lawyer Michael van der Veen. “Countless politicians have spoken of fighting for our principles.”But the presentation blurred the difference between general encouragement politicians make to battle for health care or other causes and Trump’s fight against officially accepted national election results, and minimized Trump’s efforts to undermine those election results. The defeated president was telling his supporters to fight on after every state had verified its results, after the Electoral College had affirmed them and after nearly every election lawsuit filed by Trump and his allies had been rejected in court.Democratic senators shook their heads at what many called a false equivalency to their own fiery words. “We weren’t asking them ‘fight like hell’ to overthrow an election,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.Democrats say that Trump was the “inciter in chief” whose monthslong campaign against the election results was rooted in a “big lie” and laid the groundwork for the riot, a violent domestic attack on the Capitol unparalleled in history.“Get real,” lead prosecutor Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said at one point. “We know that this is what happened.”The Senate has convened as a court of impeachment for past presidents Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton and now twice for Trump, but the unprecedented nature of the case because he’s no longer in the White House has provided Republican senators one of several arguments against conviction.Republicans maintain the proceedings are unconstitutional, even though the Senate voted at the outset of the trial on this issue and confirmed it has jurisdiction.Six Republican senators who joined Democrats in voting to take up the case are among those most watched for their votes.Early signals came Friday during questions for the lawyers. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, asked the first question, the two centrists known for independent streaks. They leaned into a point the prosecutors had made asking exactly when did Trump learn of the breach of the Capitol and what specific actions did he take to bring the rioting to an end?Democrats had argued that Trump did nothing as the mob rioted.Another Republican who voted to launch the trial, Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, asked about Trump’s tweet criticizing Pence moments after having been told by another senator that the vice president had just been evacuated.Van der Veen responded that at “no point” was the president informed of any danger. Cassidy told reporters later it was not a very good answer.
WARNING: The following content may contain violent images and strong or coarse language. Viewer discretion is advised.
Follow along below for updates as the impeachment trial resumes (all times eastern)
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10:50 a.m.
The proceedings in former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial have come to an abrupt halt, with senators seemingly confused about the next steps.
Senators were huddling on the floor of the chamber as leaders spoke to the clerks at the dais.
Impeachment trials are rare, especially for a president, and the rules are negotiated for each one at the outset.
For Trump’s trial, the agreement said if senators agree to hear witnesses, votes to hear additional testimony would be allowed.
It’s unclear if there will be support in the evenly split Senate for calling witnesses.\
10:35 a.m.
Senators have voted to consider witnesses in the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump.
Closing arguments were expected Saturday with no witnesses called. But lead Democratic prosecutor Jamie Raskin of Maryland asked for a deposition of Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler over fresh information.
She has widely shared a conversation she had with House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy over Trump’s actions on Jan. 6 as the mob was rioting over the presidential election results.
Raskin said it was necessary to determine Trump’s role in inciting the deadly Jan. 6 riot. There were 55 senators who voted to debate the motion to subpoena, including Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, who changed his vote in the middle of the count.
Trump’s attorney Michael van der Veen balked at the request, saying he’d then call 100 witnesses and insist they give depositions in person in his office in Philadelphia.
His animated statement was met with laughter from the chamber, which visibly angered van der Veen.
“There’s nothing laughable here,” he said. The trial is being held in person, but lawmakers are wearing masks and the coronavirus pandemic has halted most normal activity, including close contact in offices for depositions. In many civil and criminal cases, such work is handled via conference call.
10:05 a.m.
The Senate is gaveling open as the court of impeachment is expecting to wrap up Donald Trump’s trial over the Capitol siege.
Senators were speeding toward an expected vote in the rare Saturday session on whether to convict or acquit the former president on the charge of incitement of insurrection in the Jan. 6 attack.
Some senators want to consider witnesses, but it’s unclear if any will be called to testify, or if there would be enough support in a vote to do so.
The weeklong impeachment trial is the first of a former president.
9:45 a.m.
The closing phase of Donald Trump’s impeachment trial is putting new scrutiny on what actions the former president took when his supporters overwhelmed police and stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6. It comes as Democrats consider whether to force a debate on calling witnesses for the trial, which would require a majority vote of the Senate.
Democrats argue Trump incited the riot and then refused to stop it, putting Vice President Mike Pence in danger. Pence was in the Capitol presiding over the certification of President Joe Biden’s election victory and was rushed to safety as the Capitol was invaded.
Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington, who was one of 10 Republicans to vote for Trump’s impeachment in the House, said in a statement late Friday Trump rebuffed a plea from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to call off the rioters on Jan. 6. She said McCarthy had relayed the conversation to her.
Another Republican, Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, said he told Trump during a call on Jan. 6 that Pence was being evacuated from the Senate.
Several Republicans who are seen as wavering on whether to convict Trump pressed Trump’s lawyers during questioning to account for Trump’s actions on Jan. 6.
One of Trump’s lawyers, Michael van der Veen, responded to those questions by saying that at “no point” was the president informed of any danger to Pence.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat from Rhode Island, said the Senate should “suspend the trial” to question McCarthy and Tuberville under oath, and to seek records from the Secret Service.
“What did Trump know, and when did he know it?” Whitehouse tweeted.
Original story below:
Senators are poised to vote on whether Donald Trump will be held accountable for inciting the horrific attack at the Capitol after a speedy trial that laid bare the violence and danger to their own lives and the fragility of the nation’s tradition of a peaceful transfer of presidential power.
Barely a month since the deadly riot, closing arguments are set for the historic impeachment trial as senators arrive for a rare Saturday session, all under the watch of armed National Guard troops still guarding the iconic building.
The outcome of the quick, raw and emotional proceedings are expected to reflect a nation divided over the former president and the future of his brand of politics in America.
“What’s important about this trial is that it’s really aimed to some extent at Donald Trump, but it’s more aimed at some president we don’t even know 20 years from now,” said Sen. Angus King, the independent from Maine, weighing his vote.
The nearly weeklong trial has been delivering a grim and graphic narrative of the Jan. 6 riot and its consequences for the nation in ways that senators, most of whom fled for their own safety that day, acknowledge they are still coming to grips with.
Acquittal is expected in the evenly-divided Senate, a verdict that could heavily influence not only Trump’s political future but that of the senators sworn to deliver impartial justice as jurors as they cast their votes.
House prosecutors have argued that Trump’s rallying cry to go to the Capitol and “fight like hell” for his presidency just as Congress was convening Jan. 6 to certify Joe Biden’s election was part of an orchestrated pattern of violent rhetoric and false claims that unleashed the mob. Five people died, including a rioter who was shot and a police officer.
The defense attorneys countered in a short three hours Friday that Trump’s words were not intended to incite the violence and impeachment is nothing but a “witch hunt” designed to prevent him from serving in office again.
Only by watching the graphic videos — rioters calling out menacingly for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence, who was presiding over the vote tally — did senators say they began to understand just how perilously close the country came to chaos. Hundreds of rioters stormed into the building, taking over the Senate and some engaging in hand-to-hand, bloody combat with police.
While it is unlikely the Senate would be able to mount the two-thirds vote needed to convict, several senators appear to be still weighing their vote. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell will be widely watched for cues, but he is not pressuring his GOP side of the aisle and is telling senators to vote their conscience.
Many Republicans representing states where the former president remains popular doubt whether Trump was fully responsible or if impeachment is the appropriate response. Democrats appear all but united toward conviction.
Trump is the only president to be twice impeached, and the first to face trial charges after leaving office.
Unlike last year’s impeachment trial of Trump in the Ukraine affair, a complicated charge of corruption and obstruction over his attempts to have the foreign ally dig up dirt on then-rival Biden, this one brought an emotional punch over the unexpected vulnerability of the nation’s tradition of peaceful elections. The charge is singular, incitement of insurrection.
On Friday, Trump’s impeachment lawyers accused Democrats of waging a campaign of “hatred” against the former president as they wrapped up their defense, sending the Senate toward a final vote in his historic trial.
The defense team vigorously denied that Trump had incited the deadly riot and played out-of-context video clips showing Democrats, some of them senators now serving as jurors, also telling supporters to “fight,” aiming to establish a parallel with Trump’s overheated rhetoric.
“This is ordinarily political rhetoric,” declared Trump lawyer Michael van der Veen. “Countless politicians have spoken of fighting for our principles.”
But the presentation blurred the difference between general encouragement politicians make to battle for health care or other causes and Trump’s fight against officially accepted national election results, and minimized Trump’s efforts to undermine those election results. The defeated president was telling his supporters to fight on after every state had verified its results, after the Electoral College had affirmed them and after nearly every election lawsuit filed by Trump and his allies had been rejected in court.
Democratic senators shook their heads at what many called a false equivalency to their own fiery words. “We weren’t asking them ‘fight like hell’ to overthrow an election,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.
Democrats say that Trump was the “inciter in chief” whose monthslong campaign against the election results was rooted in a “big lie” and laid the groundwork for the riot, a violent domestic attack on the Capitol unparalleled in history.
“Get real,” lead prosecutor Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said at one point. “We know that this is what happened.”
The Senate has convened as a court of impeachment for past presidents Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton and now twice for Trump, but the unprecedented nature of the case because he’s no longer in the White House has provided Republican senators one of several arguments against conviction.
Republicans maintain the proceedings are unconstitutional, even though the Senate voted at the outset of the trial on this issue and confirmed it has jurisdiction.
Six Republican senators who joined Democrats in voting to take up the case are among those most watched for their votes.
Early signals came Friday during questions for the lawyers. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, asked the first question, the two centrists known for independent streaks. They leaned into a point the prosecutors had made asking exactly when did Trump learn of the breach of the Capitol and what specific actions did he take to bring the rioting to an end?
Democrats had argued that Trump did nothing as the mob rioted.
Another Republican who voted to launch the trial, Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, asked about Trump’s tweet criticizing Pence moments after having been told by another senator that the vice president had just been evacuated.
Van der Veen responded that at “no point” was the president informed of any danger. Cassidy told reporters later it was not a very good answer.
