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

Truths are less in question than consequences in Trump's second impeachment trial.

In wrapping their case, House managers argued for Trump's conviction in part by talking about what it would mean to do nothing.

"I'm afraid he's going to run again and lose, because he can do this again," Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., warned in his presentation Thursday.

"Impeachment is not to punish, but to prevent," said Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo.

Now comes Trump's defense, in what could be a single day of arguments in a trial that could even wrap on Friday or Saturday. The former president's lawyers are conceding critical facts rather than suggesting alternative ones.

They have not sought to call election results into question and say they will not defend the actions of the riotous mob that took over the Capitol Jan. 6. Where they draw the line -- and where they are asking Republicans to hold it -- is on whether Trump's actions should be punished through this particular means.

Part of their argument carries a warning on what will happen if tens of millions of voters feel disenfranchised. Trump attorney Bruce Castor employed two different metaphors earlier this week: "The floodgates will open. I was going to say, 'release the whirlwind.'"

Voting to acquit might still seem like the easier path for Republicans, given Trump's enduring appeal to GOP voters. But as Jan. 6 made clear, there are more than simple political consequences to consider.

-ABC News Political Director Rick Klein

Just hours before Donald Trump's attorneys are to launch their defense of the former president in his Senate impeachment trial, sources tell ABC News that there is growing tension within the legal team.

Sources with direct knowledge of the situation tell ABC News that Trump wants attorney Bruce Castor to have a reduced role in the presentation in favor of co-counsel David Schoen, which they say is leading to some infighting. Multiple sources close to Trump say they are hoping that Schoen takes control and wraps up the defense's presentation on Friday.

Neither Castor, Schoen or representatives of the former president immediately responded to inquiries from ABC News seeking comment.

Trump defense attorney David Schoen, when leaving the Capitol on Thursday after House impeachment managers wrapped their arguments, said the defense would use around "three or four hours" allotted to them on Friday, signaling the trial could wrap by the end of the day.

"The evidence they [House impeachment managers] have, under no circumstances, would make out a case for incitement. I thought that the argument we heard today from Congressman Raskin about what he understands the law to be was as dangerous a -- was as dangerous a formulation as I have ever heard," Schoen said, saying it puts every senator in the chamber who wishes to speak freely at risk.

"There’s sort of a false dichotomy here. Either you condemn what he said, and, and, you know, find him guilty. There’s no middle ground, there’s no possibility of thinking what he said maybe, you know, was inappropriate," Schoen continued of the trial.

He said Trump's rhetoric on Jan. 6 shouldn't be seen as incitement.

"It's a powerful speech, but when he uses the word 'fight,' most of the times during the speech, it's clear he's talking about legislators fighting for our rights, people fighting to advocate and -- and, you know, everyone likes to overlook the word 'peacefully' in there," Schoen said.

Asked if he thinks Trump should have spoken out sooner as the siege continued, he said, "When we look back, I think there are a lot of, a lot of things that people could have done differently, probably."

"We're starting to learn now is that apparently there were some warnings to the Capitol Police ahead of time. They apparently made some inquiry into the House, and reinforcements weren't provided when they should have been," Schoen added.

He maintained that Trump, in Florida, remains "upbeat."

-ABC News' Trish Turner and Katherine Faulders

Republican Sens. Ted Cruz, Lindsey Graham and Mike Lee -- under oath as impartial jurors in the Senate impeachment trial -- met with Trump's defense team after House managers wrapped their arguments on Thursday.

Cruz, asked about the purpose of the meeting with Trump's lawyers, pointed to the team preparing their arguments for Friday.

"We were discussing their legal strategy and sharing our thoughts," Cruz said.

He was then asked if he was comfortable with the strategy they were presenting.

"I think the end result of this impeachment trial is crystal clear to everybody," Cruz said. "And every person in the Senate chamber understands that there are not the votes to convict, nor should there be."

Democrats, too, flocked to House impeachment managers after the Senate recessed for the night "presumably to praise their performance," according to a reporter in the chamber at the time.

During the last impeachment trial, then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made clear he was in "lockstep" with the White House. The Biden White House has also reportedly been working through back channels with Democrats.

-ABC News' Benjamin Siegel and Katherine Faulders