WASHINGTON (AP) – Donald Trump endangered the lives of all members of Congress when he led a crowd of supporters “like a loaded cannon” to the U.S. Capitol, House Democrats said Tuesday in presenting the his most detailed case so far on why the former president. be convicted and permanently banned from office.
The legal summary he bluntly linked Trump’s unfounded efforts to overturn the results of the presidential election in the deadly January 6 revolt at the Capitol, saying he is “unequivocally” to blame for actions that directly threatened the foundations of American democracy. He argued that he should be found guilty when the impeachment trial opens before the Senate next week on charges of inciting the siege. And he used evocative language to conjure up the events of the day, where “terrorized members were trapped in the chamber” and shouted at loved ones “for fear they would not survive.”
“His conduct endangered the lives of all members of Congress, endangered the peaceful transition of power and the line of succession, and compromised our national security,” Democratic managers of the impeachment case wrote. “This is precisely the kind of constitutional violation that justifies disqualification for federal office.”
The legal document set out for the first time the arguments that House legislators hope to present at the removal trial. Not only does he explicitly blame him for his role in the riot, but he also seeks to preemptively reject the defense’s claims that Trump’s words were protected in some way by the First Amendment or that a removal process is unconstitutional, or even all unnecessary, now that Trump has left the White House. Trump’s behavior was said to be so blatant that it required a permanent disqualification from office.
The Constitution specifies that disqualification from office may be a punishment for a conviction for dismissal.
“This is not a case where the elections alone are a sufficient safeguard against future abuses; it’s the very electoral process that President Trump attacked and that must be protected from him and anyone else who tried to mimic his behavior, ”the Democrats wrote.
Trump’s lawyers are expected to present their own brief on Tuesday. In a Fox News appearance Monday night, one of the lawyers, David Schoen, said he would argue that the trial was unconstitutional, that efforts to ban Trump’s office were undemocratic, and that his words were protected by the First Amendment. .
Democrats made it clear they disagree on all points.
“The only honorable path at the time was for President Trump to accept the results and concede his electoral defeat. Instead, he convened a crowd in Washington, urged them to a frenzy, and targeted them as a cannon loaded down Pennsylvania Avenue, ”they wrote in their 77-page writing.
Democrats were heavily inspired by the words of prominent Republicans who have criticized the former president. Among them is Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney, who voted for Trump’s ouster and said there has never been any. “
However, Republicans have noted that acquittal is likely, and many say they believe Congress should continue and question the constitutionality of a removal process – Trump’s second – now that he has left office. In a test vote in the Senate last week, 45 Republicans, including McConnell, voted in favor of an effort to dismiss the trial for these constitutional concerns.
Although no president has been tried after leaving the White House, Democrats say there are precedents, pointing to an 1876 removal of a war secretary who resigned in a last-ditch attempt to avoid a dismissal trial. The Senate maintained it as well.
Democrats wrote that the creators of the Constitution would not have wanted to leave the country helpless against “the betrayal of a president in his last days, allowing him to misuse power, violate his oath and incite insurrection against Congress and our electoral institutions “simply because he leaves office. Setting that precedent now would “horrify the Framers,” the document said.
“There are no ‘January exceptions’ to the dismissal or any other provision of the Constitution,” the Democrats wrote. “A president must be thoroughly accountable for his conduct in office from his first day to the last.”
Trump was indicted by the House while he was still in office, they noted, forcing a trial in the Senate. And there are precedents for judging former officials.
“Trump is personally responsible for a violent attack on the Capitol,” they wrote. “He was charged while he was still in office. The case of having tried him after leaving office is stronger than any of the precedents.
The document also traces Trump’s efforts to subvert democracy until the summer of 2020, when he refused to say for the first time that he would accept election results through elections and his numerous failed attempts to challenge the results in the courts. When those efforts failed, Democrats wrote, “He turned to inappropriate and abusive means to stay in power,” specifically launching a pressure campaign targeting state election officials, the Justice Department and Congress.
Democrats cited their unsuccessful efforts to influence Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and former Attorney General William Barr. Trump was “fixed” on Jan. 6, managers wrote. They noted that many of his supporters, including the Proud Boys, whom Trump told to “stand back and stand by” in a September debate, were already prepared for violence.
“With all of this in mind, the crowd that gathered on January 6 incredibly included many who were armed, angry and dangerous, and willing to shoot their hair out for President Trump to confirm that they actually had to‘ fight ’to save United States of an imagined conspiracy. “, Wrote the Democrats.