Trump aimed mob ‘like a loaded cannon’ at Capitol

The US House of Representatives Democrats who will prosecute former President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial said in a brief filed yesterday he pointed a mob "like a loaded cannon" at the Capitol shortly before a deadly January 6 rampage.

Trump also faced a Tuesday deadline to respond to the article of impeachment passed by the Democratic-led House on January 13 charging him with inciting insurrection in his speech to supporters before the rampage at the Capitol that left five people dead including a police officer.

The nine House Democrats, known as House impeachment managers, in their brief also rejected Republican claims that it would be unconstitutional to put Trump on trial in the Senate since he became a private citizen after leaving office on January 20.

"There is no 'January Exception' to impeachment or any other provision of the Constitution," the managers said in the brief.

"He summoned a mob to Washington, exhorted them into a frenzy, and aimed them like a loaded cannon down Pennsylvania Avenue. As the Capitol was overrun, President Trump was reportedly 'delighted,'" they said.

Trump is just the third president to have been impeached, the first to be impeached twice and the first to face trial after leaving office. Members of the 100-seat Senate will serve as jurors in his impeachment trial, due to begin next week.

Convicting Trump would require a two-thirds vote, meaning that 17 Republicans would need to join the Senate's 50 Democrats in voting to convict. That presents a daunting hurdle for Democrats.

A conviction could lead to a second vote banning Trump from holding public office again.