The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

Trump’s call to ‘fight’ was just political speech, impeachment lawyers say in seeking acquittal

On Feb. 12, the impeachment trial of former president Donald Trump moved to a question and answers portion where senators hashed out Trump's Jan. 6 timeline. (Video: Blair Guild/The Washington Post)

Tensions rose in the Senate on Friday night as senators asked questions of attorneys for Donald Trump and the House impeachment managers seeking to convict the former president on a charge of inciting the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.

Defense attorneys, seeking to downplay the former president’s role in the violent attack, accused House impeachment managers of being motivated by hatred of Trump and showed selectively edited video of Democrats using the word “fight.” Impeachment managers insisted that Trump perpetuating the “big lie” that the election was rigged drove his supporters to attack the Capitol.

At the conclusion of the question-and-answer period, the Senate voted unanimously to award the Congressional Gold Medal to Officer Eugene Goodman, whose actions Jan. 6 are credited with saving the lives of members of Congress.

Here’s what to know:

  • As the drama unfolds on Capitol Hill, President Biden continues to try to focus on his agenda. On Friday, he met with governors and mayors at the White House to discuss his coronavirus relief package.
  • House Democrats closed their impeachment case against Trump on Thursday by linking his history of incendiary rhetoric and his months-long campaign to undermine the election to the statements of rioters who stormed the Capitol. They also raised the prospect of future violence without a conviction.
  • The impeachment charge against Trump alleges that he “willfully made statements that encouraged — and foreseeably resulted in — imminent lawless action at the Capitol.”
  • Trump’s speech before the riot contained no overt calls for his supporters to enter the Capitol or resort to violent means. But it included plenty of allusions to the idea that Congress accepting Biden’s victory was a result that must be stopped.
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Here's what to know:

As the drama unfolds on Capitol Hill, President Biden continues to try to focus on his agenda. On Friday, he met with governors and mayors at the White House to discuss his coronavirus relief package.
House Democrats closed their impeachment case against Trump on Thursday by linking his history of incendiary rhetoric and his months-long campaign to undermine the election to the statements of rioters who stormed the Capitol. They also raised the prospect of future violence without a conviction.
The impeachment charge against Trump alleges that he “willfully made statements that encouraged — and foreseeably resulted in — imminent lawless action at the Capitol.”
Trump’s speech before the riot contained no overt calls for his supporters to enter the Capitol or resort to violent means. But it included plenty of allusions to the idea that Congress accepting Biden’s victory was a result that must be stopped.

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