The second day of the Senate impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump commenced on Wednesday with prosecutors building a compelling case of how he incited violence at the capital in January. House Impeachment manager Jamie Raskin offered a powerful metaphor for what he says Trump did, which was far worse than the proverbial “shouting ‘fire’ in a crowded theater.”  Representative Joaquin Castro of Texas pointed out that for months before the election Trump repeatedly told his supporters that the only way he would lose would be if the election was stolen from him. House impeachment manager Joe Neguse drew the line between Trump and the January 6th rioters in their own words, introducing a new video during the hearing.  Ahead of the second day’s hearing one Congressional aide said, “We’ll be using footage never seen before that shows a view of the Capitol that is quite extraordinary, and a view of the attack that has never been public before, which you will see for the first time, starting today.”

On Tuesday, day 1 of the impeachment trial, 56 senators voted to allow the proceedings to continue saying it was indeed constitutional to try a former president if the “high crimes and misdemeanors” were committed while in office. Six Republicans, including Senator Bill Cassidy joined all 50 Democrats in voting yes. The highlight of the first day, aside from compelling testimony by Congressman Jamie Raskin and a powerful video timeline of the January 6th events, was the ineptness of Mr. Trump’s attorneys, in particular Bruce Castor. The lawyer’s rambling unfocused speech confounded even Republicans and enraged Trump. At one point Castor claimed that if Trump was guilty he would have been arrested by the Justice Department.  Mr. Castor also spoke out loud the words that his client had refused to say – that the former President was no longer in office because he lost the election. Pro-Trump attorney Alan Dershowitz who is not part of Trump’s legal team this time, reflected in an interview how poorly Castor did his job. 

Critics are pointing out that in order to have the most compelling prosecution, impeachment managers must call witnesses. The group Free Speech for People sent a letter to the managers suggesting that victims of the attack should testify as well as Senators themselves who said after the January 6th riot that they had attempted desperately to get Trump on the phone to call for help but were unable to reach him.