The Senate trial of former President Donald Trump began with a jarring and graphic video of the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6. The lead House manager, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., used the montage to tie Trump’s message to his supporters that morning to their violent actions breaching the building and attacking U.S. Capitol police.
The resolution setting the rules for the trial designated Tuesday for a debate on the question of whether the Senate trial of Trump, whose term in office has expired, is constitutional. The House managers and the defense team eventually each addressed the issue. But the most memorable moments of Day 1 of the trial were less about the arguments on that issue, and more about the contrasting styles of the two legal teams and the reactions they elicited from senators sitting as jurors in the second impeachment trial for Trump in roughly a year.
The Senate voted 56-44, as expected, that the trial was constitutional and to proceed to a presentation by the managers. The vote, with six Republicans joining all the Democrats, was similar to a test vote a couple of weeks ago on the same issue, with one Republican, Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, changing his vote. He said he was persuaded by the arguments from the managers that the trial met the standard to move forward.
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