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.
"I'm anxious to see whether -- what my Republican friends do, if they stand up," Biden told reporters.
Biden, who had just finished taking a walk with first lady Jill Biden, added that he was not planning on speaking with any GOP senators on how they might vote. Some Republican senators did meet on Thursday evening with Trump's defense team.
-ABC News' Justin Gomez
Feb 12, 2021, 12:09 PM EST
Senate reconvenes for Trump's second trial
The Senate has reconvened for Trump's second impeachment trial and will hear arguments from Trump's defense team Friday.
Senate Chaplain Barry Black first led the chamber in a prayer. Presiding officer Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., then led the group through the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by the traditional "Hear ye! Hear ye! Hear ye!" proclamation from the Sergeant-at-Arms.
Sen. Patrick Leahy wields the gavel to convene the U.S. Senate as he presides over the start of the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, on charges of inciting the deadly attack, on the floor of the Senate chamber in Washington, Feb. 9, 2021.
With the defense team expected to use only three or four hours of the 16 hours over two days allotted to them for opening arguments, the question and answer portion of the trial could begin as early as Friday afternoon.
Republican Sens. Ted Cruz, Lindsey Graham and Mike Lee -- acting under oath as impartial jurors in the Senate impeachment trial -- met with Trump's defense team after House managers wrapped their arguments on Thursday.
Sen. Ted Cruz, on Capitol Hill, Feb. 10, 2021, during a break on the second day of the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump.
Susan Walsh/AP
Cruz, asked what was the purpose of the meeting with Trump legal team, said, "We were discussing their legal strategy and sharing our thoughts."
-ABC News' Trish Turner
Feb 12, 2021, 11:57 AM EST
Trump attorneys to lay out defense
Trump's second impeachment trial -- the first for a former president -- resumes Friday at noon with arguments from Trump's defense attorneys who are making their case that Trump is not guilty for incitement of insurrection.
The public should expect to see four attorneys on the Trump team: David Schoen, Bruce Castor, Michael van der Veen and Julieanne Bateman. They're expected to argue the trial is unconstitutional because Trump is no longer in office -- despite the Senate already voting to affirm it has the authority -- and that Trump's use of social media and comments made on Jan. 6 are protected by the First Amendment. They've also signaled they'll only use three or four hours of their allotted time.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who joined Democrats and five other Republicans in voting that the trial is constitutional -- changing his vote from an earlier motion on the issue -- said he hopes the defense team can explain the timeline of events and Trump's repeated assertions that the election was stolen.
Senator Bill Cassidy speaks to the media as he departs after House impeachment managers rested their case in the impeachment trial of former U.S. President Donald Trump, on charges of inciting the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., Feb. 11, 2021.
Joshua Roberts/Reuters
House impeachment managers, over the past two days, argued that Trump spent months priming supporters to storm the Capitol on Jan. 6, in a last-ditch effort to overturn the election results after failed attempts to compel local, state and federal law enforcement and election officials to do so, and that he showed a "lack of remorse."
They also used never-before-seen Capitol security footage of senators, House members and former Vice President Mike Pence fleeing the chambers during the riot -- reminding lawmakers of when many of them were fearing for their lives.
House impeachment manager Del. Stacey Plaskett presented this exhibit slide of an image from U.S. Capitol security video showing Vice President Mike Pence being evacuated in close proximity to rioters who breached the Capitol Jan. 6 during the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump in the Senate at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Feb. 10, 2021.
Senate TV via AP
Democrats would need at least 17 Republicans to side with them in order to convict Trump and bar him from federal office, but the majority of Republicans have already signaled they will vote to acquit, despite evidence of the attack showing several of them may have also been targets.
Feb 12, 2021, 11:23 AM EST
Consequences of impeachment, acquittal loom over Trump defense: The Note
Truths are less in question than consequences in Trump's second impeachment trial.
In this image from video, House impeachment manager Rep. Ted Lieu speaks during the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump in the Senate at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Feb. 11, 2021.
Senate Television via AP
House impeachment manager Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., speaks during the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump in the Senate at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Feb. 11, 2021.
Senate TV via AP
"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.
From left, David Schoen, Bruce Castor and Michael van der Veen, lawyers for former President Donald Trump, arrive at the Capitol on the third day of the second impeachment trial of Trump in the Senate, Feb. 11, 2021, in Washington.
Jose Luis Magana/AP
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.