Trump’s second impeachment trial: Day 4

Sen. Lindsey Graham arrives before a Senate Committee on the Budget hearing on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, February 10.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, just went into the LBJ Room, which former President Trump’s lawyers are using as a workspace.

Trump attorneys David Schoen and Bruce Castor are also in there.

Graham’s arrival was seen on the Reception Room pool camera about four minutes ago.

Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, was in the LBJ room in the previous break.

David Schoen, an attorney for former President Donald Trump, speaks during the second impeachment trial of Trump in the Senate, on Friday, February 12.

Former President Trump’s defense team cut their rebuttal short because advisers wanted David Schoen to be present for the question-and-answer session before he leaves to observe the Sabbath, a person familiar says.

Notably, only one attorney was willing to push former President Trump’s voter fraud claims, Bruce Castor. Trump has been complaining about Castor all week long and briefly considered firing him. 

Additionally, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins was told the attorneys were very defensive as Republican senators sought to give them advice ahead of their rebuttal today and repeatedly interrupted them.

The Republicans didn’t think their arguments were breaking through to the defense team, one person said. 

Senators will be able to ask questions of the House impeachment managers and former President Trump’s legal team now that they have concluded their arguments.

CNN obtained the question card senators will use during the question and answer portion. They have to write questions as they are not allowed to speak during the trial. 

As in the first impeachment trial last year, these questions are submitted in writing and then read out loud by the presiding officer. In this case, that will be Sen. Patrick Leahy, the longtime Vermont Democrat.

There will be up to four hours of “senators’ questions.” It’s unknown if they will use the full four hours.

This is the card that will be used by the senators:

Some former Trump White House officials and advisers said they were still sickened by Trump’s actions on Jan. 6 and were disappointed in the defense mounted by the former President’s impeachment team. 

One of those aides, a former senior White House official, said Trump’s lawyers were making a mistake in trying to explain away the former President’s role in the siege at the Capitol.

Another top official said some former Trump White House staffers are still furious that the ex-President placed Vice President Mike Pence in a dangerous situation by blaming him for failing to overturn the election results.

“He wanted someone to blame, and Pence became the fall guy,” the official said. “Infuriating,” the official added about Trump’s behavior toward Pence that day.

Still, a Trump adviser said the former President’s lawyers made the right decision in opting for a quick defense.

“Enough cover to acquit,” the adviser said.

As for the Trump defense, impeachment lawyer Bruce Castor said the team is not expected to call witnesses.

Trump’s legal team just wrapped up presenting their case during the former President’s second impeachment trial.

Senators are now taking a short break. Here’s what to expect today and tomorrow:

The Senate is taking their second break of the day.

The defense team team just wrapped up presenting their case during former President Trump’s second impeachment trial.

His attorneys argued that Trump’s language on Jan. 6 telling his supporters to “fight like hell” was merely “ordinary political rhetoric,” and that the House impeachment managers ignored Trump’s comments in his speech for protesters to remain peaceful.

Trump’s lawyers also went after House Democrats, accusing them of carrying out political retribution by impeaching the former president a second time after going after him throughout his time in office. They accused the managers of selectively editing footage of Trump’s speeches.

The Senate is expected to begin a question-and-answer session when they come back.

The Senate will turn to the question-and-answer period after former President Trump’s defense team is done shortly, according to Democratic Senate sources.

They will take a short break when Trump’s defense team finishes, and when they return, they will begin up to four hours of “senators’ questions.” 

It’s unknown if they will use the full four hours, but that will likely be the last thing they do today. There’s no way of estimating what time questions will be done because any senator can decide to ask a question on the floor on the fly as long as it’s within the four-hour time period.

Remember: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced they would take a dinner break at 5 p.m. ET. 

Democratic senators told CNN they’ve been informed that the Senate will reconvene at 10 a.m. ET tomorrow, and the final vote will be around 3 p.m. ET. This is not locked in yet and can change, but that’s the expectation at the moment.

Trump’s lawyer Bruce Castor claimed during his presentation today that “there was no insurrection” on Jan. 6

However on the night of Jan. 6, then Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, called the events of that day a “failed insurrection.”

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) walk through the Senate subway on their way to the second day of former President Donald Trump's second impeachment trial at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, February 10.

A group of key Republican senators, who have also been actively counseling the Trump legal team, huddled on the Senate floor during the break and could be heard talking about the “standard” of impeachment. 

Sens. Ted Cruz, from Texas, and Mike Lee from Utah, who were seen entering a room with the Trump legal team last night, had an animated conversation during the break. After talking for a period of time, Cruz and Lee were joined by Sens. Dan Sullivan, from Alaska, Mike Braun from Indiana, Todd Young also from Indiana, and Marsha Blackburn from Tennessee.

Cruz, who was maskless during the conversation, could be heard saying, “The House has their standard of impeachment, but standard is different on this side.”

Several of the senators nodded in agreement and then asked questions of Cruz and Lee. Eventually the senators went in separate directions.

Former President Trump’s lawyer Michael van der Veen claimed that Washington officials other than former President Trump are the ones who used reckless and inflammatory rhetoric.

He claimed: “The entire Democratic Party and national news media spent the last four years repeating without any evidence that the 2016 election had been hacked.” 

Facts First: The Democratic National Committee and the Hillary Clinton campaign were indeed hacked during the 2016 election campaign; this is a fact, not a claim made “without any evidence.” The US intelligence community, special counsel Robert Mueller and the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee all concluded that the Russian government was responsible for stealing and leaking internal documents and emails. 

If van der Veen was suggesting that the “entire Democratic Party and national media” spent four years falsely alleging that hackers altered actual votes or vote totals in the 2016 election, that would not be true either. We can’t speak for every word uttered by every Democrat or every journalist since 2016, but it is clearly inaccurate to say that the entire party or entire media spent four years pushing such a claim. The national discussion about hacking during the 2016 election focused on the actual, confirmed hacking that targeted the Democrats’ computer systems.

The House impeachment managers on Feb. 4 requested Donald Trump testify during the Senate impeachment trial, in a dramatic move to try to get the former President on the record about his conduct surrounding the Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol.

But Trump’s legal team quickly responded by rejecting the invitation in a terse response to the House impeachment team, putting the decision back on the Democrats over whether to try to compel Trump’s testimony with a subpoena or call other witnesses. 

Lead impeachment manager Rep. Jamie Raskin sent a letter to Trump’s attorney Feb. 4 requesting that Trump testify before or during the upcoming impeachment trial arguing that his testimony was needed after he disputed the House’s allegations that he incited the insurrection at the Capitol.

“The use of our Constitution to bring a purported impeachment proceeding is much too serious to try to play these games,” wrote Trump’s attorneys Bruce Castor and David Schoen.

Trump adviser Jason Miller confirmed that Trump was rejecting the request, telling CNN, “The President will not testify in an unconstitutional proceeding.”

During his closing remarks last night, Raskin shared a series of questions that the impeachment lawyers would have asked Trump had he agreed to testify, including why Trump did not tell his supporters to stop the attack on the Capitol “as soon as he learned of it.”

At the request of the managers, there will be an option to hold a debate and vote on calling witnesses. But that’s only keeping open the possibility — it’s not an indication on its own that the managers plan to do so.

The problem for the managers is it’s unclear whom they could call as a witness voluntarily who could speak to Trump’s mindset. Even if the Senate voted to subpoena a witness who was in the White House on Jan. 6, there could be a court fight over executive privilege that would delay the trial.

The Senate is back in session after taking a short break.

Former President Trump’s defense team is making their case today.

Although they have up to 16 hours for arguments, Trump’s attorneys have signaled they will keep it short and intend to conclude their case as soon as today.

During the break, Trump attorney David Schoen said he didn’t expect their defense to last much longer.

Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia, told CNN the video montage former President Trump’s defense team showed amounted to a “bogus argument.”

Sen. Martin Heinrich, a Democrat from New Mexico, called it a “completely false equivalence. I don’t remember any violent mobs after any of those comments, so it’s just not the same thing.”

Sen. Chris Coons, a Democratic from Delaware, said, “Show me any time that the result was, our supporters pulled someone out of the crowd, beat the living crap out of them, and then we said, ‘That’s great, good for you, you’re a patriot.’”

But some Republicans are praising the Trump team.

Sen. John Barrasso, a Republican from Wyoming, said it’s a “really well done defense” to start.

Sen. Ron Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin, offered up a full-throated endorsement of the defense’s presentation, saying that “the President’s lawyers blew the house managers’ case out of the water.”

Sen. Ron Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin, offered up a full-throated endorsement of the defense’s presentation, saying that “the President’s lawyers blew the house managers’ case out of the water.”

“They just legally eviscerated what the House managers put in front. I mean, the fact of the doctored and falsified facts, starting out with that. But again the video is just powerful I mean we all know that,” he said.

Johnson also charged that incitement began four years ago, and came from Democrats against the former President.

“Again what I was saying going in here that the incitement, if there’s incitement involved here it started four years ago, it’s been relentless,” he said.

Read more about the Democrats’ charge against Trump here.

As former President Trump’s lawyers presented their arguments, only three GOP seats were empty.

Yesterday, CNN’s Manu Raju reported that at one point during the Democrats’ presentation, he saw 15 empty GOP seats.

Today, almost all senators were paying close attention inside the chamber. Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy took many notes.

Republicans appeared much more alert today. Many were taking notes and GOP Sen. Rand Paul was particularly attentive today. He’s chuckled several times, including when footage played showing Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters challenging Electoral College results.

He was smiling and nodding as video footage showed protests over the summer and Michael van der Veen, a defense attorney fo Trump, noted the Democratic responses.

On the other side of the chamber, some Democrats could been seen shaking their heads and whispering at times in the presentation.

During the protest footage, Sen. Brian Schatz shook his head several times and leaned in to whisper to Sen. Richard Blumenthal. Sen. Bernie Sanders was fidgeting with his wrist and the cuff of his shirt when he was mentioned with the 2017 shooting involving Rep. Steve Scalise. He was leaned back in his chair, not taking notes. 

When Republican Sen. Susan Collins was cited on the Rep. Eric Swalwell tweet about the threats against her after the Justice Brett Kavanaugh vote, Collins didn’t have much of a response. She remained leaning over her desk. She was looking up then jotted down some notes on a white legal pad.

When Trump’s other attorney David Schoen brought up what he alleged was manipulation by House managers, lead House impeachment manager Rep. Jamie Raskin began scribbling in his notepad furiously.

When Schoen mentioned Trump representing Christ’s calvary, Democrats in the room were aghast. Democratic Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse, Mazie Hirono, Kirsten Gillibrand and Joe Manchin all began talking, with Whitehouse saying incredulously, “Oh my God.” 

During a number of Sen. Elizabeth Warren clips at the top, the Massachusetts lawmaker sat fidgeting with her pen, her chair turned toward the screen. She nodded slightly as more clips played.

As more Warren clips played, Sen. Ed Markey said something quite loud to Schatz a row away. 

When an ad featuring Sen. Jon Tester played, with him saying “damn right,” quite a few Democrats started giggling. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Sen. Chris Coons started to whisper back and forth, something they continued throughout the rest of the montage. 

Gillibrand appeared to giggle when she appeared in the montage. She was leaned over talking with Schatz when her clip played.

Sen. Sherrod Brown patted Sen. Bob Casey on the shoulder after a clip played showing Casey. 

As a montage of Hillary Clinton remarks played, Sen. Alex Padilla showed Warren several notes he’d written. She nodded. 

Sen. Patty Murray passed a note to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who sat directly in front of her, toward the end of the montage. Schumer nodded several times before turning around and passing it back to her. 

At the end, there was a lot of murmurs in the chamber, particularly from the Democratic side of the chamber. Klobuchar raised her hands slightly and said “Aw” as though she was saying “is it already over.” 

The Senate is taking a short break – the first break of the day.

Former President Trump’s defense team have been making their case today.

Trump’s attorneys opened their presentation at the Senate impeachment trial arguing that Trump’s language on Jan. 6 telling his supporters to “fight like hell” was merely “ordinary political rhetoric,” and that the House impeachment managers ignored Trump’s comments in his speech for protesters to remain peaceful.

Trump’s lawyers also went after House Democrats, accusing them of carrying out political retribution by impeaching the former president a second time after going after him throughout his time in office. They accused the managers of selectively editing footage of Trump’s speeches.

Read more about how today’s events have played out so far here.

Trump’s defense lawyer Michael van der Veen claimed during today’s presentation that “the first two messages the President sent via Twitter once the incursion of the Capitol began” on Jan. 6 urged people to “stay peaceful” and called for “no violence.”

Facts First: This is not true.

Trump’s “stay peaceful” tweet at 2:38 p.m. ET and “no violence” tweet at 3:13 p.m. ET were his second and third tweeted messages after the Capitol was breached, not his first.

Trump’s first tweet was at 2:24 p.m. ET: “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!”  

Rioters had already entered the US Capitol building by the time of the Trump tweet about Pence. 

While presenting their case in the Senate, former President Trump’s defense lawyers showed a video to argue that prominent Democrats have consistently used the word “fight” and the phrase “fight like hell” in several speeches and interviews. The video spent a significant time focusing on Sen. Elizabeth Warren. 

“The House managers spoke about rhetoric, about a constant drumbeat of heated language,” Trump lawyer David Schoen said. “We need to show you some of their own words.”

The Democratic leaders shown on the video were not saying “fight” to a crowd that would later head to the US Capitol with the 2020 electoral votes at stake. Some of the statements shown in the video were made during media interviews or at rallies.

Remember: The allegation of “incitement” is central to the impeachment case House Democrats are making because it ties his words and actions to the Jan. 6 insurrection on Capitol Hill.

Watch the moment:

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Former President Trump’s defense team showed a video montage of various Democratic lawmakers using the word “fight” at various events, including election campaigns and in media interviews.

His attorneys are trying to make the case that Trump’s language on Jan. 6 telling his supporters to “fight like hell” was merely “ordinary political rhetoric,” and that the House impeachment managers ignored Trump’s comments in his speech for protesters to remain peaceful. You can read Trump’s whole Jan. 6 speech here.

While it’s common for lawmakers to use fiery language, the charge against the former President is that he “incited” violence – and not just violence in general, but “against the Government of the United States.”

The single article of impeachment passed by the House in January reads, in part: “Donald John Trump engaged in high Crimes and Misdemeanors by inciting violence against the Government of the United States.” Read the whole thing here.

The allegation of “incitement” is key to the impeachment case House Democrats are making against Trump because it ties his words and actions to the Jan. 6 insurrection on Capitol Hill.

House impeachment managers devoted most of their presentation this week to the results, airing graphic video footage and audio from the attack on the Capitol — which put members of the Senate, who will vote on the charges, personally at risk.

But what is incitement, exactly? The dictionary definition of “incite,” according to Merriam-Webster, is simple: “to move to action : stir up : spur on : urge on.” Trump clearly did that, when he directed his supporters to march toward Capitol Hill from a rally held under the “Stop the Steal” banner.

But there’s a much more detailed definition in US law, which is:

“…the term ‘to incite a riot’, or ‘to organize, promote, encourage, participate in, or carry on a riot”, includes, but is not limited to, urging or instigating other persons to riot, but shall not be deemed to mean the mere oral or written (1) advocacy of ideas or (2) expression of belief, not involving advocacy of any act or acts of violence or assertion of the rightness of, or the right to commit, any such act or acts.”

Federal courts said Trump did not incite a mob back in 2016 when he told supporters to turn on protesters, who later sued the President.

The New York Times has a thorough examination of how courts have looked upon “incitement.” Read that here.

Former President Trump’s defense team has said that Trump’s false claims that the presidential election was rigged and his speech to the crowd ahead of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot are protected by the First Amendment.

The First Amendment is often brought up in cases to protect people’s claims but it doesn’t always guarantee you the rights you think it does.

Here’s what the First Amendment actually says:

That’s the entirety of the US Constitution’s First Amendment.

There’s a lot going on in those few sentences, and it’s important to know when and how it applies to common situations – and, equally as important, when it doesn’t.

Our constitutional experts look at some common First Amendment arguments and when the amendment actually applies. You can read them here.

Former President Trump’s defense team showed footage of Democratic lawmakers calling for Trump to be impeached since 2017. 

Video clips of lawmakers such as Rep. Maxine Waters, Rep. Al Green, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Elizabeth Warren were stitched together, urging for his impeachment.

Schoen also presented a compilation of Democrats such as Sen. Jon Tester saying “you need to go back and punch [Trump] in the face” and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi saying “you’ve got to be ready to throw a punch.” The footage included President Joe Biden’s words on the campaign trail that if he were in high school, he’d take Trump behind the gym and “beat the hell out of him.”

See the video played by the defense:

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A banner reading “CONVICT TRUMP AND LOCK HIM UP” was flown over former President Trump’s club Mar-a-Lago before his lawyers began their defense in his second impeachment trial.

The banner flew over Trump’s club in Palm Beach only minutes before his defense team’s arguments.

His defense team is speaking right now on the Senate floor. His attorney Michael van der Veen called the article of impeachment against Trump “an unjust and blatantly unconstitutional act of political vengeance.”

Former President Trump’s lawyers have twice shown video of now-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer at a March 2020 pro-abortion rights rally when he appeared to threaten Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.

“I want to tell you Gorsuch. I want to tell you Kavanaugh. You have released the whirlwind and you will pay the price. You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions,” Schumer said.

Those comments drew a very rare public rebuke from Chief Justice John Roberts, who has also sparred with Trump about the independence of the judiciary.

“Justices know that criticism comes with the territory, but threatening statements of this sort from the highest levels of government are not only inappropriate, they are dangerous. All Members of the Court will continue to do their job, without fear or favor, from whatever quarter,” Roberts said.

Schumer later apologized, saying, “I shouldn’t have used the words I did, but in no way was I making a threat, I never, never would do such a thing.”

A Republican senator tells CNN there is “real concern” about the quality of the former President Trump team’s defense today, saying a poor performance will make it even more difficult to defend their expected votes to acquit him. 

The senator, who has been among those paying far closer attention to the proceedings in the chamber than many colleagues, said there is no question the House impeachment managers’ presentation will almost certainly be stronger that the defense presentation. But the senator said Republicans hope the defense is presented “in a professional and serious way – unlike the rambling show” from the first day of the trial.

This senator, along with many others, are clinging to the idea that convicting a former President is not constitutional, despite that matter being settled on a 56-44 vote on Tuesday.

Senators have been told to expect to have dinner in the Capitol on Friday evening, with the question portion of the trial expected tonight.

Michael van der Veen, a defense attorney for former President Trump, called the unprecedented second impeachment trial “constitutional cancel culture” in his opening presentation. 

Van der Veen called impeachment proceedings “plainly unconstitutional.” 

Van der Veen said the “canceling” would extend to those who voted for Trump.

“History will record this shameful effort as a deliberate attempt by the Democrat party to smear, censor and cancel not just President Trump, but the 75 million Americans who voted for him. Now is not the time for such a campaign of retribution. It is the time for unity and healing and focusing on the interests of the nation as a whole,” he said. 

Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, defended his meeting with former President Trump’s defense lawyers last night.

Cornyn was one of three GOP senators to meet with the defense team.

“Obviously, in a normal legal proceeding, that would not be permissible,” he added.

CNN is seeking additional comment from Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, the two other Republicans who met with Trump’s team of lawyers Thursday night where they discussed the legal strategies the lawyers would pursue in their arguments today.

Another Republican, Sen. Mike Lee from Utah, refused to answer a question from CNN whether it was appropriate for him to meet with Trump’s defense counsel while also being a sworn juror in his impeachment trial.

Democratic senators discussed today limiting the number of questions they plan to ask the impeachment managers and former President Trump’s attorneys.

It’s unclear how many questions they might ask — one Democratic Senate source said perhaps just five on their side — but the belief is there’s no need to further clarify what they believe is a slam-dunk case from House Democrats.

This also is another indication that the question period — which is expected to happen as soon as tonight — is not expected to go the full four hours as allotted under the Senate trial rules.

As in the first impeachment last year, these questions are submitted in writing and then read out loud by the presiding officer. In this case, that will be Sen. Patrick Leahy, the longtime Vermont Democrat.

Questions have arisen over the constitutionality of former President Trump’s trial in the Senate, and it is a central part of the Trump defense team’s argument. 

Trump’s defense attorney Michael van der Veen claimed during today’s proceedings that the Democrats’ article of impeachment is an “unjust and blatantly unconstitutional act of political vengeance.”

At the start of the impeachment trial on Tuesday, the Senate voted that the second impeachment trial of Trump is constitutional. The 56 to 44 vote, however, showed why there’s little path for the House managers to obtain the two-thirds majority needed for conviction, as all but six Republican senators voted for a second time that the trial was unconstitutional because Trump is no longer president.

Trump is the first president to be impeached twice and is the first ex-president to have his impeachment tried in the Senate while out of office. 

Following Trump’s most recent impeachment in the House, former US Circuit Court Judge J. Michael Luttig weighed in on some constitutional questions, writing on Jan. 12 in the Washington Post that “Congress loses its constitutional authority to continue impeachment proceedings against” Trump after he leaves office because “the Senate’s only power under the Constitution is to convict — or not — an incumbent President.”

Senate Democrat Richard Blumenthal called arguments questioning the constitutionality “bogus,” saying that “[T]here’s nothing in the Constitution that prevents any federal officer from being tried after they’re out of office.”

Facts First: Given the limited language in the Constitution on impeachment, legal experts disagree about whether the Senate can convict a former president. However, Democrats, who hold a slim control of the Senate, have gone forward with a trial.

Under the Constitution, the House can impeach a President for “treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors.” Then the Senate holds a trial and needs a two-thirds majority to convict and remove the President from office. Another vote would be necessary to bar the then ex-President from holding office again, but this vote would require only a simple majority.

The Constitution doesn’t specifically address convicting an ex-President but simply says “The President,” VP and all civil officers “shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”

Read more here.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana, says he wants former President Trump’s lawyers to address the call that Trump had with Sen. Tommy Tuberville on Jan. 6 as the riot was happening.

Trump had called Tuberville, a Republican from Alabama, to convince him to make additional objections to the Electoral College vote in a futile effort to block Congress’ certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s win, according to a source familiar with the call.  In that call, Tuberville says he told Trump that then Vice President Mike Pence was being evacuated. That call was before Trump tweeted about Pence. 

Trump’s tweet said: “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!”

“The President clearly had knowledge at that point and then the tweet went out,” Cassidy said.

Cassidy was one of six Republicans to vote that the impeachment trial is constitutional.

Former President Trump’s lawyers have returned to a familiar “witch hunt” argument and cited free speech in their arguments before the Senate today.

Attorney Michael van der Veen opened his arguments by criticizing the proceedings.

Van der Veen went on to argue that Trump’s speech on Jan. 6 before the Capitol riot “explicitly encouraged those in attendance to exercise their rights peacefully and patriotically.”

Former President Trump gave a Jan. 6 speech near the White House in which he exhorted his supporters to march on the US Capitol to challenge the final certification of President Biden’s electoral victory. 

That speech is now at the heart of the House Democrats’ case against him on a single impeachment charge of inciting the insurrection that followed.

Trump’s defense attorney Michael van der Veen claimed in his opening remarks on the Senate floor today that Trump’s remarks that day “encouraged those in attendance to exercise their rights peacefully and patriotically.”

You can read a CNN transcript of Trump’s speech here. And here is a fact check from CNN’s Daniel Dale.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, an Independent from Vermont, said he plans to ask Trump’s defense team if they believe former President Trump’s assertion that the 2020 election was stolen.

GOP and Democratic senators have been asked to submit their proposed questions to their respective party leaders, senior aides familiar with the request tell CNN.

The idea among the respective leaders is to avoid duplication, these senior aides said.

Remember: After Trump’s lawyers finish their allotted time today to present their case (which is up to 16 hours over two days), senators will have time to ask questions of the two legal teams.

As in the first impeachment last year, these questions are submitted in writing and then read out loud by the presiding officer. In this case, that will be Sen. Patrick Leahy, the longtime Vermont Democrat.

CORRECTION: This article has been updated to reflect that Sen. Sanders is an Independent.

The Senate has just convened for day four of the second impeachment trial against former President Trump.

Trump’s defense team will begin their arguments today. They have up to 16 hours to make their case, although they have signaled they intend to keep it short. Trump adviser Jason Miller told CNN the defense presentation could be as short as four hours.

Attorneys David Schoen, Bruce Castor, Michael van der Veen and William Brennan are all expected to speak during today’s arguments, according to a person familiar with the latest plan. Using videos of Democratic lawmakers, they plan to argue that Democrats glorified violence by recreating the Jan. 6 riot, will claim the trial is unconstitutional and stress Trump’s First Amendment rights.

The lawyers who signed on to lead former President Trump’s impeachment defense team bring a curious history of experience as they prepare to present their case today before the Senate.

The lawyers are tasked with arguing a defense for a former President who faces the impeachment charge of inciting a deadly insurrection at the US Capitol, something that if convicted could also result in him being barred from holding federal office ever again.

The two attorneys joined Trump’s team a day after five members of his defense left, effectively collapsing the team.

Here are key things to know about the lawyers’ leading Trump’s team:

Bruce Castor: He is a well-known lawyer and the former Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, district attorney. He already caused a stir during his opening remarks on the first day of the trial, befuddling jurors by calling out a Republican senator and eliciting a critical early review from one of Trump’s former lawyers who defended him during the first impeachment trial.

Castor served as Montgomery County district attorney from 2000 to 2008, before serving two terms as the county commissioner, according to a release from Trump’s office. He was involved in at least one high-profile case as district attorney, when he declined in 2005 to prosecute Bill Cosby after Andrea Constand reported the actor had touched her inappropriately at his home in Montgomery County, citing “insufficient credible and admissible evidence.”

Cosby was later tried and convicted in 2018 for drugging and sexually assaulting Constand at his home in 2004, despite the fact that Castor argued during a pre-trial hearing that he’d already committed the state to not prosecuting the actor.

David Schoen: He is a seasoned civil and criminal lawyer whose website says he “focuses primarily on the litigation of complex civil and criminal cases before trial and appellate courts.” Trump is just the latest controversial figure his career has brought him to in recent years.

Schoen was on the team of lawyers representing Roger Stone, Trump’s longtime friend and former adviser, in the appeal of his conviction related to issues Stone took with the jury. Stone dropped that appeal after the then-President commuted his prison sentence, but before Stone received a full presidential pardon for convictions, including lying to Congress to protect Trump.

Schoen, who holds a master of laws from Columbia University and a juris doctorate from Boston College, according to his biography, serves as chair of the American Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Subcommittee of the Civil Rights Litigation Committee.

Read more about the lawyers here

The allegation of “incitement” is key to the impeachment case House Democrats are making against former President Trump because it ties his words and actions to the Jan. 6 insurrection on Capitol Hill.

House impeachment managers have devoted most of their presentation this week to the results, airing graphic video footage and audio from the attack on the Capitol — which put members of the Senate, who will vote on the charges, personally at risk.

Their argument is that Trump was responsible for what happened, even though he did not join the mob that marched from his Jan. 6 rally near the White House to the US Capitol, where electoral votes were being tallied to seal Joe Biden’s victory.

The article of impeachment passed by the House in January reads, in part: “Donald John Trump engaged in high Crimes and Misdemeanors by inciting violence against the Government of the United States.” Read the whole thing here.

But what is incitement, exactly? The dictionary definition of “incite,” according to Merriam-Webster, is simple: “to move to action : stir up : spur on : urge on.” Trump clearly did that, when he directed his supporters to march toward Capitol Hill from a rally held under the “Stop the Steal” banner.

But there’s a much more detailed definition in US law, which is:

“…the term ‘to incite a riot’, or ‘to organize, promote, encourage, participate in, or carry on a riot”, includes, but is not limited to, urging or instigating other persons to riot, but shall not be deemed to mean the mere oral or written (1) advocacy of ideas or (2) expression of belief, not involving advocacy of any act or acts of violence or assertion of the rightness of, or the right to commit, any such act or acts.”

Federal courts said Trump did not incite a mob back in 2016 when he told supporters to turn on protesters, who later sued the President.

The New York Times has a thorough examination of how courts have looked upon “incitement.” Read that here.

The history of “incitement”: Oliver Wendell Holmes, the First Amendment-protecting Supreme Court justice who pushed the idea that a person can’t shout fire in a crowded theater, built the “clear and present danger” test for speech. He argued Congress could only regulate speech when it represented a “present danger of immediate evil or an intent to bring it about.”

Those words were written in the World War I era, when Congress and President Woodrow Wilson actively limited what Americans could say against the government and war effort.

More recently, the Supreme Court has protected all sorts of speech, like flag burning, crude political hyperbole and, importantly in this instance is Brandenburg v. Ohio, which allows advocating crime as long as it doesn’t incite imminent lawlessness. 

Trump’s legal team repeatedly cited that case in a legal brief laying out their free speech-focused defense.

You can read Trump’s whole Jan. 6 speech here.

House impeachment managers concluded their case against Donald Trump on Thursday, urging senators to convict the former President for inciting the insurrectionists that attacked the US Capitol on Jan. 6.

Lead manager Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat, delivered the team’s closing argument.

“Our Framers were so fearful of presidents becoming tyrants and wanting to become kings that they put the Oath of Office into The Constitution. They inscribed it into the Constitution to “preserve, protect and defend” The Constitution of the United States.

We’ve got the power to impeach the President, but the President doesn’t have the power to impeach us. Think about that,” he said.

Later in his speech, Raskin posed some specific questions for Trump’s defense team to answer. He said:

Watch his full remarks below:

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13:35 - Source: cnn

Read his full remarks here.

The three Republican senators who met with former President Trump’s defense team Thursday night were there to give them advice for their rebuttal, two people familiar with the meeting told CNN.

Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah were seen going into the room Trump’s team is working out of during the trial. While inside, they gave them their suggestions for how to proceed during today’s presentation, CNN has learned from multiple sources.

Lawyers Bruce Castor and David Schoen were both in the room for the meeting, as were multiple others. 

While the episode raises questions about jurors meeting with the defense team mid-trial, it also signals the uneasiness among Trump’s allies of how his legal team is prepared to defend his actions today. Trump has complained at length about Castor and urged others to talk to him before he got on the Senate floor today. 

Read more about Trump’s lawyers here.

The House impeachment managers wrapped up their case for the conviction of Donald Trump on Thursday. They centered their argument on connecting the former President’s words in advance of the Jan. 6 riot to the actions taken by his supporters on that day. They also used video, some from as far back as 2015, to show a pattern of what they said was the former President seeming to incite and condone violence.

In case you missed it, here are some of the key takeaways from the trial Thursday:

A trio of Republican senators allied with former President Trump met with his defense team Thursday evening, in the middle of an impeachment trial in which they will vote on whether to convict Trump and potentially bar him from holding public office again.

Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah were spotted going into a room in the US Capitol that Trump’s lawyers were using to prepare for their arguments.

Trump lawyer David Schoen said that the senators were “very friendly guys” who just wanted to make sure they were “familiar with procedure” on the eve of their rebuttal to the House impeachment managers’ presentation.

When asked if it’s appropriate to meet with senators during the trial, Schoen said, “Oh yeah, I think that’s the practice of impeachment.”

Some senators view themselves as impartial jurors during impeachment trials, while others lend a hand to their party’s side.

Cruz said the meeting with the Trump defense team was an opportunity for “sharing our thoughts” about their legal strategy. A wide array of Senate Republicans harshly criticized the defense team on Tuesday, the opening day of the trial, arguing that Trump attorney Bruce Castor had delivered a rambling and unfocused argument in making the case that the proceedings are unconstitutional.

When asked if he’s now comfortable with the Trump team’s legal strategy, Cruz said, “I think the end result of this impeachment trial is crystal clear to everybody.”

“Donald Trump will be acquitted,” he added. “It takes 67 votes to convict him and every person in the Senate chamber understands that there are not the votes to convict, nor should there be.”

Republican senators have already signaled that they will vote to acquit the former President of the charge of “incitement of insurrection,” preventing a subsequent vote on Trump’s political future. In a 50-50 Senate, the House impeachment managers – all of whom are Democrats – need to persuade 17 Republican senators to join every member of their party to convict Trump.

Clare Foran, Ted Barrett and Ali Zaslav contributed to this report.

In another sign that things are moving quickly and that senators may get their chance to question each side tonight, GOP and Democratic senators have been asked to submit their proposed questions to their respective party leaders, senior aides familiar with the request tell CNN.

The idea among the respective leaders is to avoid duplication, these senior aides said. Some senators are working together on questions.

The expectation is that question period won’t take four hours. But importantly, senators can ask questions on the floor without prior leadership approval and can do so on the fly.

House Democrats still aren’t saying whether they will call witnesses in former President Trump’s second impeachment trial, but senior aides on the team said the managers are prepared to move to the question-and-answer period with senators as soon as tonight. 

If that happens, the final vote on Trump’s conviction could happen on Saturday.

But the one thing that could put a halt to the speedy conclusion of Trump’s trial is if the Democrats ask for witnesses – which would prompt a debate and vote on the Senate floor. 

While Senate Democrats have been signaling that they don’t think witnesses are necessary for the trial, the House aides repeatedly declined to tell reporters whether they plan to seek witnesses or allow the trial to move into closing arguments after the question-and-answer session.

The aides would not explicitly say whether they were coordinating with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office on the questions they would get from senators. They said they didn’t know specific questions they would face but had a good sense of the sorts of questions that were likely. 

The aides also declined to say whether they were going to submit any additional evidence for the record.

Ahead of the defense team’s arguments today, the aides said they expected Trump’s lawyers to put forward a “false equivalency” by playing clips of Democratic speeches using fiery language. And the aides argued that Trump’s team would try to play to legal arguments instead of actually addressing the evidence that the managers presented.

CNN briefly spoke with President Biden this morning as he joined the first lady for a walk to view Valentine’s Day candy hearts on the North Lawn.

Biden told CNN he’s “anxious” to see how Republicans will vote in the impeachment trial. 

Jason Miller arrives at the Capitol on Thursday, February 11.

Trump adviser Jason Miller said the former President’s defense team will present for around four hours today. He clarified that attorney Bruce Castor, whose opening argument was widely criticized, will have a speaking role in the presentation. 

Miller called today “redemption day” for Castor and said his arguments will be “tighter and crisper” than they were Tuesday, when Trump was urged by multiple people to fire Castor from his team.

Trump has repeatedly complained about Castor in the days since, but Miller said the legal team reviewed their strategy with Trump last night. 

Miller also said he believed they could get to the question-and-answer session today and even floated potentially having closing arguments by tonight. Of course, that decision is up to Senate leaders, not Miller. 

CNN’s Manu Raju notes that senators’ questions are very likely tonight after the Trump team argues, but that closing arguments are less likely unless there are very few senator questions. 

Miller said Castor and attorney David Schoen will both speak, in addition to Michael van der Veen.

Read more about Trump’s defense team here.

Former President Trump’s defense team expects to finish their arguments in the Senate’s impeachment trial tonight, two sources told CNN.

His lawyers will take the Senate floor today, but they are not currently expected to use all of their allotted time. Each side gets 16 hours for presentations.

Attorneys David Schoen, Bruce Castor, Michael van der Veen and William Brennan are all expected to speak during Friday’s arguments, according to a person familiar with the latest plan. Using videos of Democratic lawmakers, they plan to argue that Democrats glorified violence by recreating the Jan. 6 riot, will claim the trial is unconstitutional and stress Trump’s First Amendment rights.

Because the legal team is so disorganized, Trump’s allies are apprehensive about how the defense will go. Trump erupted Tuesday as Castor made a meandering opening argument during which he praised the prosecutors. 

Several of Trump’s allies lobbied him to get rid of Castor that day, which Trump briefly considered, according to two people. Trump was upset as he watched multiple people, including his usual allies on Fox News, trash Castor’s performance. But Castor has remained on the team and is expected to present, at least in part, on Friday. He has told people he wasn’t planning on speaking Tuesday, which led to the muddled speech. Castor also admitted on the Senate floor that he swapped speaking roles with Schoen because Democrats presented such a strong opening argument. 

Though Castor was supposed to lead the defense, as CNN reported, that’s now expected to be Schoen, who has said he will not participate in the proceedings during the Sabbath. Trump’s team believes they will likely wrap up their arguments by then.