‘He can do this again’
House prosecutors wrapped up their impeachment case against Donald Trump on Thursday with an impassioned appeal to the Senate to convict the former president of inciting the deadly January 6 attack on the US Capitol and bar him from holding office again.
They warned that if Senate fails to convict the former president, "he can do this again."
"We humbly, humbly ask you to convict President Trump for the crime (of) which he is overwhelmingly guilty," said Democratic Representative Joe Neguse, one of the nine impeachment managers from the House of Representatives.
"Because if you don't, if we pretend this didn't happen -- or worse, if we let it go unanswered -- who's to say it won't happen again?"
The House impeachment managers rested their case after two days of arguments that included Trump's own words and hours of graphic video from the assault on the Capitol by Trump supporters who were seeking to halt certification of Democrat Joe Biden's November 3 election victory.
Trump's lawyers were set to begin their defense yesterday, arguing that the former president cannot be held personally responsible for the storming of Congress.
They have also argued that the trial itself is unconstitutional because Trump is now out of office, although the Senate rejected that argument earlier this week.
Earlier, Biden said the video evidence against his 74-year-old predecessor presented at the Senate trial may change "some minds."
But despite what even some Republicans have said was a strong prosecution case, Trump retains an unshakeable grip on the party, making conviction highly unlikely.
It would take a two-thirds majority in the 100-member Senate, meaning 17 Republicans would need to join the chamber's 50 Democrats.
The mayhem on January 6 erupted after Trump held a large rally near the White House, insisting falsely, as he had done since losing to Biden in November, that he was cheated.
Instructed by Trump to march on Congress, where lawmakers were at that moment certifying Biden's election, the crowd smashed through police lines, then went on a rampage.
The chaos left five people dead.
Video footage played by impeachment managers showed the mob hunting down opponents of Trump, as well as senior figures, including then vice president Mike Pence, having to flee to safety.
The defense will stress that Trump did not expressly tell his supporters to commit violence, but Jamie Raskin, the lead House manager, pointed out that the Republican president had been stoking anger and encouraging extremism since Election Day -- and even before.
Raskin said it was imperative the Senate convict Trump and bar him from running for the White House again in 2024.
Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana said video footage shown by House managers on Wednesday was "powerful," but "how that influences final decisions remains to be seen."
Other Republican senators have clearly already made up their minds and do not intend to break with Trump, who has threatened to derail their careers.
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