Live

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, 6:01 PM EST

Republican senator calls evidence against Trump 'damning'

Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska called the evidence presented by House impeachment managers "damning" and told reporters during the Senate trial's dinner break Wednesday, "I don't see how Donald Trump could be reelected to the presidency again."

"I'm angry. I'm disturbed. I'm sad," said Murkowski, who is in the minority of Senate Republicans. "We lived it once and that was awful. And we're now we're now reliving it within a more comprehensive timeline."

"I know what I was feeling in the Senate chamber when I could hear those voices. I knew what it meant to be running down this hallway with my colleagues. I wasn't fully aware of everything else that was happening in the building and so when you see all the pieces come together, just the total awareness of that the enormity of this, the threat -- not just to us as people, as lawmakers, but the threat to the institution and what Congress represents -- it's disturbing."

"I think that the House managers are making a very strong case for a timeline that laid out very clearly, with the words that were used, when he used them, how he used them to really build the anger, the violence that we saw here," she continued.

Asked if she was concerned with the Senate not acting and barring Trump from running for office again, she said she doesn't see how he could be reelected, citing the House managers' evidence.

"Frankly I don't see how -- I don't see how after the American public sees the full story laid out here," she said. "I just, I don't see how Donald Trump could be reelected to the presidency again."

She also said she's under no pressure from leadership to vote a certain way and feels free to vote her conscience. Murkowski did not vote to convict Trump at his last impeachment trial. She did join five other Republicans Tuesday in voting to affirm the trial was constitutional.

-ABC News' Trish Turner

Feb 10, 2021, 5:49 PM EST

Romney says he didn't know how close he was to mob

Republican Sen. Mitt Romney told ABC News when he was exiting the chamber for Wednesday's dinner break that it was his first time seeing the footage of Officer Eugene Goodman directing him away from the mob during the Jan. 6 attack.

"Obviously very troubling to see the -- the great violence that our Capitol Police and others are subjected to. It tears you at your heart and brings tears to your eyes. That was overwhelmingly distressing and emotional," Romney said.

He said he didn’t know it was Goodman, the officer who has gained notoriety for directing rioters away from the Senate chamber, and looks forward to thanking him.

-ABC News' Katherine Faulders

Feb 10, 2021, 5:33 PM EST

Trial breaks until 6:15 p.m. for dinner

After Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., spoke, the Senate took a break for dinner. Arguments will resume at 6:15 p.m.

Feb 10, 2021, 5:32 PM EST

Swalwell shows chilling video of lawmakers fleeing rioters

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., presented video evidence which showed for the first time just how close House lawmakers were to rioters.

New security video showed members -- many in gas masks -- being escorted by Capitol Police out of the chamber and to another location, as police officers had guns drawn, with some rioters lying on the ground with their hands zip-tied. 

Swalwell also played video of the senators being escorted out of the Senate chamber. 

"Some of you, I understand, could hear them. But most of the public doesn't understand how close the rioters came to you," he said. "You were just 58 steps away from where the mob was amassing and where police were rushing to stop them."

"If the doors to the chamber had been breached just minutes earlier, imagine what they could have done with those cuffs," he said, showing a photo of a rioter in the chamber with plastic flex cuffs.

He then played video of senators walking by a group of Capitol Police officer barricading a hallway between them, and the rioters.

Swalwell also showed what he described as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's "near miss" with rioters, playing a video of Schumer being escorted down a hallway and doubling back to avoid running into the mob.

"They came within just 2 yards of the rioters and had to turn around," Swalwell said. 

He also played video from Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., from the House gallery during the riot in which Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., a Marine veteran, can be heard shouting to his colleagues, "Take your pins off!"

-ABC News' Benjamin Siegel

Related Topics

Sponsored Content by Taboola