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
Trump lawyer threatened to quit night before defense began
David Schoen, one of former President Donald Trump's impeachment lawyers, threatened to quit Thursday night -- just hours before he was to mount a defense of Trump's actions on Jan. 6.
The threat came as tensions grew among the team, specifically over how videos would be used in the defense and that some of the videos would be repeated multiple times, sources with direct knowledge told ABC News.
It wasn't until Trump called Schoen directly that he agreed to remain on the team. It also led to the speaking roles and order of the attorneys during the Friday defense presentation being altered, according to the sources.
Schoen and a spokesperson for the former president did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
-ABC News' John Santucci and Katherine Faulders
Senate on track to wrap Trump's impeachment trial Saturday
After roughly three hours of opening arguments for Trump's defense team, followed by about three hours of questions and answers from senators, the Senate has adjourned Trump's second impeachment trial until Saturday at 10 a.m.
House impeachment managers and the defense team on Saturday will deliver closing arguments, for which they each have two hours, followed by the final vote on whether Trump is guilty of "incitement of insurrection."
Trump attorney Bruce Castor told Capitol Hill reporters late Friday he thought his side would take roughly an hour for their final argument.
Among other motions that could be called, a side could motion for witnesses, prompting two hours of debate on whether to call them to the chamber. However, leadership from both parties have signaled a desire for a speedy trial, and House impeachment managers have agued the senators, as impartial jurors, are themselves witnesses of the Jan. 6. attack.
Although the trial has been marked by partisan divides, all 100 senators agreed to pass legislation to award hero Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman the Congressional Gold Medal at the end of Friday's proceedings and gave Goodman, who was in the chamber, a standing ovation.
The House would still have to pass the bill for Goodman to make it official, but it may be one measure both chambers and parties can get behind in Washington in the wake of the deadly Capitol attack.
-ABC News' Trish Turner
Capitol Police Officer Goodman receives standing ovation
After the question-and-answer period of the trial, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer praised U.S. Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman, who led violent protesters away from the Senate chamber and whose actions helped prevent Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah from harm during the riot on Jan. 6.
"In the weeks after the attack on January the 6th, the world learned about the incredible, incredible bravery of Officer Goodman on that fateful day," Schumer said.
"Here in this trial, we saw a new video, powerful video, showing calmness under pressure, his courage in the line of duty, his foresight in the midst of chaos, and his willingness to make himself a target of the mob’s rage so that others might reach safety. Officer Goodman is in the chamber tonight," he added.
Senators from both sides of the aisle rose to give Goodman a standing ovation.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell also sang the praises of Goodman, and the U.S. Capitol Police force's bravery during the riot.
"In the face of lawlessness, the officers of the U.S. Capitol lived out the fullest sense of their oath. If not for the quick thinking and bravery of Officer Eugene Goodman, in particular, people in this chamber may not have escaped that day unharmed," McConnell said. "Officer Goodman's actions reflect a deep, personal commitment to duty and brought even greater distinction upon all the brave brothers and sisters in uniform."
The Senate then passed a bill to award Goodman the Congressional Medal, the highest honor the body can bestow.
The bill goes to the House for approval. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested on Thursday that she would propose awarding the honor to all Capitol Police officers, which is not what the Senate passed.
'Future of democracy rests in your hands': Castro
Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, answered a question on behalf of House impeachment managers from Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., who noted that since the November election, officials have been under enormous pressure over upholding the election of President Joe Biden, and asked what would've happened if these officials had "bowed to the force" of Trump or the mob that attacked the Capitol.
Castro pointed to pressure put on officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Republican-controlled legislatures across the country, and said if senators don't vote to convict they are giving a "green light" to this behavior.
"As a Congress and as a nation, we cannot be numb to this conduct. If we are, and if we do not set a precedent against it, our presidents will do this in the future. And this will be a green light to them to engage in that kind of pressure and conduct," he said.
"This could've gone a very different way if those election officials had bowed to the intimidation and the pressure of the president of the United States," he said.
"For us to believe otherwise and think that somehow a rabbit came out of the hat and a mob just showed up on their own, all by themselves. This is dangerous, senators," he said.
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."