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.
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.
Top headlines:
- Biden praises police officers, calls charge 'not in dispute' in 1st comments
- Pelosi blasts McConnell, others who voted to acquit as 'cowardly group of Republicans'
- Managers highlight McConnell's agreement that they proved case
- McConnell says Trump solely to blame for attack after voting to acquit
- Schumer speaks on Senate floor
- Senate votes to acquit Trump: 57-43
Senate takes short break
The Senate is taking a short break before continuing with arguments from the House impeachment managers.
Cicilline focuses on trauma to lawmakers
Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., focused his arguments on the impact the Jan. 6 attack had on Capitol Hill lawmakers -- including the senators in the chamber who are acting as jurors in Trump's trial.
"I'd like to now turn to the harm that this has caused -- here in these walls as a result of the conduct on Jan. 6," Cicilline said. "Never did any of us imagine that we or our colleagues would face mortal peril by a mob riled up by the president of the United States -- the leader of the free world. But we did. All because Donald Trump could not accept his election defeat."
Cicilline played news reports of lawmakers describing the terror and trauma they suffered in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack -- and also quoted reporters, Capitol Hill staffers and employees who said they feared for their lives.
"Many members wondered if they'd see their family again. As the rioters reached the Capitol, they were outnumbered, trapped inside. They were calling loved ones to say good-bye," he said.
Cicilline also noted how the attack happened in the middle of a global pandemic but said social distancing was "impossible as we were hiding for our lives in cramped quarters for long periods of time."
DeGette says that threats of violence from Trump supporters 'is not over'
House impeachment manager Rep. Diana DeGette argued that Trump's supporters still represent a threat, adding that threats of violence during the inauguration were prevented by the increased security posture.
"In fact, after news broke of law enforcement's preparedness for further attacks, leaders of the Proud Boys, the Three Percenters militia, the organizers of the Million MAGA March, they all now told their followers to avoid protests up to or leading up to the inauguration for fear that law enforcement would crush them and arrest rioters who showed up," DeGette said. "Thank God there wasn't an insurrection sequel here on January 20th."
DeGette insisted that this impeachment should not be to "punish" Trump, but to prevent further violence from his supporters.
"Impeachment is not to punish but to prevent. We are not here to punish Donald Trump. We are here to prevent the seeds of hatred that he planted from bearing any more fruit. As my colleague showed, this was not the first time that President Trump inspired violence, but it must be the last time that he's given a platform to do so. This must be our wake-up call. We must condemn it," DeGette said. "Because the threat is not over."
A look inside the Senate chamber
As House impeachment managers are continuing to build their case that Trump’s actions and words led directly to rioters' actions on multiple occasions, some senators seemed to be losing interest in the early parts of Thursday's arguments.
However, their attention returned at a few key moments including when House managers played video of rioters yelling "fight for Trump." Most senators also looked up when video of the Charlottesville, Virginia, "Unite the Right" rally in 2017 played in which protesters chanted, "Jews will not replace us."
Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, who learned for the first time during the trial Wednesday how close he came to the mob until Officer Eugene Goodman steered him away, looked especially thoughtful during a clip played of a rioter saying on Jan. 6, "We were invited here."
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell remained stoic -- as he has throughout this trial -- with his hands folded in his lap, legs crossed. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer sat slumped in his chair as the presentation went on and sat back up as lead impeachment manager Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., finished speaking.
As Raskin finished and Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., began his presentation, several Republicans got up to go into the cloakroom, including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz who challenged the election results in Arizona on Jan. 6.
-ABC News' Trish Turner
House manager Raskin begins to lay out closing arguments
After the Senate decided it will not call any witnesses, lead House manager Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., was the first to speak during closing arguments. He reiterated the prosecution's case, calling for the conviction of Trump.
"It was suggested by defense counsel that Donald Trump's conduct during the attack, as described in Congresswoman Beutler's statement, is somehow not part of the Constitutional offense for which former President Trump has been charged," Raskin began. "I want to reject that falsehood and that fallacy immediately. After he knew that violence was underway at the Capitol, President Trump took actions that further incited the insurgents to be more inflamed and to take even more extreme, selective, and focused action against Vice President Mike Pence."
Raskin went on to use his time to describe Trump's months-long campaign to discredit the 2020 election results by spreading misinformation, which he argued laid the groundwork for deadly events of Jan. 6. He went on to claim that the former president assembled the mob, incited it and then sent it off to the Capitol during his speech. At every point, Trump sided with the insurrectionists rather than the Congress, Raskin said.
Once when the violence began, Raskin declared that Trump ignored the violence and further incited it by aiming the attacks on his own vice president.
"There has never been a greater betrayal by the president of the United States of his office, and of his oath to the Constitution."
Raskin then took a moment to suggest the GOP used "cancel culture" against one of its leaders, Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., who voted to impeach Trump in the House.
"Liz Cheney is a hero for standing up for the truth, and resisting this retaliatory cancel culture that she was subjected to."
Raskin emphasized his gratitude toward the Capitol Police, and finished his argument by saying convicting Trump is a vote for the "security of our democracy."
"They attacked this building, they disrupted the peaceful transfer of power, they injured and killed people, convinced that they were acting on his instructions, and with his approval, and protection," Raskin finished. "And while that happened, he further incited them, while failing to defend us. If that's not ground for conviction, if that's not a high crime and misdemeanor against the republic in the United States of America then nothing is. President Trump must be convicted for the safety and security of our democracy and our people."