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Trump impeachment trial live updates: Biden says charge 'not in dispute' in 1st comments on acquittal

Biden remembered those who were killed and called for unity going forward.

Last Updated: February 15, 2021, 4:10 PM EST

Former President Donald Trump's historic second impeachment trial ended with a 57-43 vote to acquit in the Senate. He faced a single charge of incitement of insurrection over his actions leading up to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Feb 10, 2021, 11:49 AM EST

House impeachment managers to begin presenting their case

Trump's second impeachment trial -- the first for a former president -- resumes Wednesday at noon with opening arguments from House impeachment managers who will begin making their case that Trump incited an insurrection.

They have up to 16 hours to convince 17 Republicans to join the Democrats in voting to convict Trump and bar him from federal office. To compel senators, and the American public, they are expected to use "never-seen-before" video footage of the attack, aides to the House impeachment managers said.

Congress adjourns the second impeachment hearing of President Donald Trump, Feb. 9, 2021, in Washington, D.C.
Senate TV

On Tuesday, the group, led by Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., presented a 13-minute montage video of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, interspersed with Trump's remarks at the rally outside the White House, and argued acquitting Trump would allow a "January exception" to the Constitution not intended by the Framers. 

Trump's defense team argued that the trial was unconstitutional because Trump is now a private citizen and that moving forward would encourage "snap impeachments." However, lead attorney, Bruce Castor, first setting the tone for the trial, spent most of his 48 minutes on the Senate floor meandering through topics that weren't related to the constitutional questions facing the Senate.

Bruce Castor, an attorney for former President Donald Trump, speaks during the second impeachment trial of Trump in the Senate at the U.S. Capitol, Feb. 9, 2021, in Washington, D.C.
Senate Television via AP

Trump, watching from Mar-a-Lago, was unhappy with Castor's performance, sources told ABC News.

After the first day's arguments, in an unexpected move, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., joined Democrats and five other Republicans in voting that the trial is constitutional, changing his vote from an earlier motion on the issue, citing the Democrats' "compelling argument."

John Cornyn, R-Texas, and other Republicans also criticized the performance of Trump's legal team, but the majority of Republicans, 44-56, voted not to move forward with the proceedings, signaling it's all but certain Democrats won't have the votes to convict Trump. At Trump's impeachment trial last year, only one Republican, Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, voted with Democrats.

Lead House impeachment manager Rep. Jamie Raskin and counsel Joshua Matz watch as Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy explains why he switched his vote regarding the constitutionality of impeaching former President Donald Trump in Washington on Feb. 9, 2021.
Lead House impeachment manager Rep. Jamie Raskin, right, and counsel Joshua Matz watch as Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy talks to reporters on TV about why he switched his vote regarding the constitutionality of impeaching former President Donald Trump at the close of the first day of the Senate impeachment trial at the Capitol in Washington on Feb. 9, 2021.
Erin Schaff/The New York Times/Redux Pictures

Feb 10, 2021, 11:48 AM EST

Fulton County DA opens criminal probe into Trump's efforts to overturn Ga. election results

The district attorney's office in Fulton County, Georgia, has formally launched a criminal probe into Trump's efforts to overturn his election loss in the state, after Trump was heard in a January phone call pleading with Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to help him "find 11,780 votes," the exact number he needed to win Georgia.

The launching of the investigation was revealed in a letter from District Attorney Fani Willis to state officials asking them to preserve any documents potentially related to the 2020 general election, "with particular care given to set aside and preserve those that may be evidence of attempts to influence the actions of persons who were administering" it, which would include Trump's Jan. 2 phone call with the secretary. The existence of the letter was first reported by the New York Times and obtained by ABC News.

"This investigation includes, but is not limited to, potential violations of Georgia law prohibiting the solicitation of election fraud, the making of false statements to state and local governmental bodies, conspiracy, racketeering, violation of oath of office and any involvement in violence or threats related to the election's administration," Willis writes in the letter.

Feb 10, 2021, 10:07 AM EST

Impeachment managers plan to use 'never seen before' footage: Senior aides

Senior aides to the House impeachment managers said they plan to show "never before seen" security camera footage offering a view of the Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot "that has never been published before."

"We have the goods, we will be presenting the goods," said a senior aide.

House impeachment managers proceed through the Capitol Rotunda for the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, Feb. 9, 2021, in Washington, DC.
Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images

When asked about whether they had body camera footage from law enforcement, aides dodged the specifics, but said it would provide "new insight into the extreme violence and risk" people faced on Jan. 6.

National Guard troops stand guard before the start of the second impeachment trial of former U.S. President Donald Trump, Feb. 9, 2021, in Washington, DC.
Win Mcnamee/Getty Images

They plan to try the case against Trump like a criminal prosecution with "a beginning, middle and an end." 

"The Trump team really has one strategy, and that is to talk about anything and everything else, besides the President's actions on that day in the lead up," an aide said. 

-ABC News' Rachel Scott, Benjamin Siegel, Katherine Faulders, Trish Turner, Mariam Khan and Allison Pecorin

Feb 09, 2021, 9:00 PM EST

Rep. Kinzinger says impeachment vote would pass if held in private

Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., who voted in the House to impeach President Donald Trump, told ABC News Live Prime anchor Linsey Davis that he believes it is possible, but not likely, that more Senate Republicans will vote to convict Trump. Kinzinger estimates there will not be enough to get to 67 votes, though he also said if the Senate impeachment vote was held in private, he believes it would "certainly" pass.

"I think over time, people are going to wake up to really how bad, at least, the tone was in the last four years, particularly Jan. 6, and I don't think history is going to judge too kindly those that stood by and picked politics over that oath-keeping decision," Kinzinger said.

The Republican congressman also discussed the future of the GOP and said that if the party continues to go in the direction he feels it's going in, he wouldn't be able to "stay under the Republican banner."

"I'm determined to fight for my party, but if it continues down this track, and there's no hope for it. I certainly wouldn't be able to stay under the Republican banner as much as I want to, you know, I need to be associated with a party that's optimistic about the future," Kinzinger said. "And I'm not there yet. I'm going to fight for the soul of this party and down the road, hopefully, that won't be a decision I'll have to make."

-ABC News' Jon Schlosberg

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