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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 12, 2021, 9:49 AM EST

Tensions arise on Trump's legal team as impeachment defense prepares to get underway: Sources

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.

Feb 11, 2021, 8:14 PM EST

Trump attorney signals trial could end as early as Friday

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.

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

"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.

President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks during a rally to contest the certification of the 2020 presidential election results by the U.S. Congress, in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021.
Jim Bourg/Reuters

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

Feb 11, 2021, 7:31 PM EST

GOP senators meet with Trump defense team

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.

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

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

Feb 11, 2021, 7:24 PM EST

Trump's defense to take the floor Friday following House managers

House impeachment managers finished presenting the opening arguments in their case charging Trump with "incitement of insurrection" on Thursday.

House managers worked to directly link Trump's rhetoric at a rally shortly before -- and in the months leading up -- to the attack on the Capitol, saying that in his speech he "lit the fuse" and directed the enraged crowd toward the Capitol. Managers pointed to past violence, like in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the attack on the Michigan state capitol, to assert that Trump knew the violence his supporters were capable of and the result of sending them to the U.S. Capitol.

House impeachment managers led by Rep. Jamie Raskin arrive outside the Senate Chamber as the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump begins on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 9, 2021.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

They also honed in on Trump's actions during and after the riot, insisting that he showed no remorse for his role in the attack and refused to take action as the violence worsened. They argued that his lack of remorse and refusal to take accountability show that Trump would incite violence again.

As in the past two days, the managers relied on photos, videos and audio clips to lay out their case, forcing the senators to relive the day of the attack. Managers also were on an early defense, addressing attacks they expected would come from Trump's lawyers. For example, they said that the First Amendment did not protect the kind of speech Trump gave at the rally on Jan. 6 and his continued false claims of election fraud. Lead manager Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said that the former president was not someone who yelled fire in a crowded theater, but rather as the "proverbial municipal fire chief who incites a mob to go set the theater on fire."

In the conclusion of their opening argument, they made a plea to the Senate to hold Trump "accountable" and insisted that it would do a great deal of damage if he's given another chance at power. Raskin ended by asking senators to exercise their "common sense," a nod to Thomas Paine, in deliberations about whether Trump incited insurrection.

On Friday at noon, Trump's legal defense team will lay out their case. They are expected to argue that Trump's speech is protected by the First Amendment and that there's no evidence that Trump incited the mob.

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