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

Sens. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, asked both Trump's team and the House managers whether the former president knew that former Vice President Mike Pence had been escorted out of the Senate chamber for his safety when Trump sent a "disparaging tweet." Romney was the only Republican to vote to impeach Trump in the last trial.

House manager Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, insisted Trump "had to know." Castro pointed to a call the former president made to Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R.-Ala., saying that during the call, Tuberville told the president.

"And after Wednesday's trial portion concluded, as Sen. Tuberville spoke to reporters and confirmed the call he had with the president and did not dispute Manager Cicilline’s description in any way that there was a call between he and the president around the time that Mike Pence was being ushered out of the chamber, and that was shortly after 2:00 p.m.," Castro said. "And Sen. Tuberville specifically said he told the president, 'Mr. President, they just took the vice president out. I've got to go.'"

However, Michael van der Veen insisted that there is no evidence presented by the House managers that the president knew Pence had been escorted out.

"There's nothing at all on the record at this time," van der Veen said. "Because the House failed to do even minimal amount of due diligence."

Democratic Sens. Ed Markey and Tammy Duckworth asked House impeachment managers when Trump learned of the breach of the Capitol and what specific actions he took to end the violence.

Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett, D-Virgin Islands, responded, "The answer is nothing."

"Mr. President, senators, this attack was on live TV, on all major networks in real time," Plaskett said. "He knew the violence underway. He knew the severity of the threat and he knew Capitol Police were overwhelmingly outnumbered and fighting for their lives against thousands of insurgents with weapons. We know he knew that."

"'This is wrong. You must go back.' We did not hear that," she noted.

"Why did President Trump do nothing to stop the attacks for two hours after the attacks began? Why did President Trump do nothing to help protect the Capitol and law enforcement, battling the insurgents?" she asked. "The reason this question keeps coming up is because the answer is nothing."

Sen. Lisa Murkowksi of Alaska, one of six Republicans to vote Tuesday that the trial is constitutional, asked the same question to Trump's defense team earlier. Trump's attorney blamed House impeachment managers for not allowing for the time to investigate Trump's action's during the riot.

Sens. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., and Tim Scott, R-S.C., asked Trump's defense lawyers if this wasn't just a "political show trial" "designed to discredit Trump and his policies and shame the 74 million Americans who voted for him" because the "appropriate persons" are already being held accountable in court already.

Trump's lawyer Bruce Castor answered by saying, "that's precisely what the 45th president believes this gathering is about."

Castor reiterated that federal authorities are continuing to prosecute those who invaded the Capitol on Jan. 6, and that the trial has "no sanction available under the Constitution in our view" because Trump no longer holds political office.

Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., asked the House managers, "Is there evidence that President Trump knew or should have known that his tolerance of anti-semitic hate speech, combined with his own rhetoric, could incite the kind of violence we saw January 6?"

Del. Stacey Plaskett, D-Virgin Islands, argued that a series of Trump's tweets and speeches prior "pattern and practice" of encouraging violence contributed to the violent assault on the Capitol.

"Donald Trump has a long history praising and encouraging violence, as you saw. He has espoused hateful rhetoric himself. He has not just tolerated it, but he’s encouraged hateful speech by others. He has refused, as you saw in the September debate, that interview, to condemn extremists and white supremacist groups like the Proud Boys," Plaskett said. "And he has, at every opportunity, encouraged and cultivated actual violence by these groups."

Plaskett argued that Trump "deliberately encouraged" protesters to engage in violence by calling them to the rally on Jan. 6.