Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., spoke Feb. 10 as House impeachment managers made their case for why the Senate should convict former President Donald Trump on a charge of inciting insurrection during the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Trump was impeached by the House in January, while he was still in office.
Raskin, the lead House impeachment manager, reiterated key aspects of the House’s argument in favor of Trump’s conviction and addressed top counterarguments presented by the former president’s lawyers Tuesday.
Raskin drew upon a range of evidence, including comments made by Trump in the weeks leading up to and after the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters, as well as statements from constitutional scholars, to support his argument that Trump was both aware and in support of the “organized attack.” Raskin said that Trump’s rhetoric was not basic political speech but instead “incitement to violence,” which is not protected by the First Amendment.
“Portraying Trump as a guy on the street being punished for his ideas is a false description of his actions, his intent and the role that he played on January 6th when he willfully incited an insurrectionary mob to riot at the Capitol,” Raskin said on the Senate floor.
Raskin argued that the former president violated his oath of office when he “incited his followers” to storm the Capitol with the goal of preventing Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election.
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