Here is the full video montage from the Capitol insurrection that Democrats presented during the impeachment trial, as part of their evidence alleging the former president incited the mob: Analysis: Democrats use Trump trial to show sometimes symbolism is the point Democrats are aware that the trial outcome is a foregone conclusion – another Trump acquittal, barring sensational new evidence – and that the stakes are lower because he has already left office. But sometimes symbolism is the point. The impeachment trial is a test of accountability, stability and rule of law before a global audience. So in a Capitol building where some windows remain cracked, they observed the solemn rituals and traditions, filing into the Senate chamber beneath the busts of 20 former vice-presidents gazing down from marble plinths in alcoves. This time there were no members of the public in the gallery because of coronavirus precautions. Just before 1pm, Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, walked in a little unsteadily and stood at his desk. He was approached by Susan Collins, who is expected to vote against Trump and spoke to him animatedly. Then came Tom Cotton, who is expected to vote for Trump’s acquittal, for another deep conversation. Like a criminal lawyer, Democrats are seeking to appeal to not only the head but also the heart. They are not only prosecutors but also survivors of the rampage, a point brought home with visceral force by Jamie Raskin in a closing argument that had the chamber silent and spellbound on Wednesday. “And then there was a sound I will never forget,” he recalled. “The sound of pounding on the door like a battering ram. The most haunting sound I ever heard and I will never forget it.” Raskin’s 25-year-old son, Tommy, a Harvard law student who struggled with depression, took his own life on New Year’s Eve. A day after Tommy was buried on 5 January, the congressman had brought his daughter and a son-in-law to the Capitol for the ratification of Biden’s victory. He had assured them it would be safe but, after the mob stormed the building, they were hiding under a desk in a barricaded congressional office sending what they thought were final text messages to loved ones. More than an hour later, they were rescued by Capitol police. Raskin, fighting back tears, said of his 24-year-old daughter: “I told her how sorry I was and I promised her that it would not be like this again the next time she came back to the Capitol with me. And you know what she said? She said, ‘Dad, I don’t want to come back to the Capitol.’” At that Raskin broke down for a moment, putting fingers to his eyes before regaining his composure. “Of all the terrible, brutal things I saw and I heard on that day and since then, that one hit me the hardest. That and watching someone use an American flag pole, the flag still on it, to spear and pummel one of our police officers – ruthlessly, mercilessly tortured by a pole with a flag on it that he was defending with his very life.” Democrats were expected on Wednesday to prosecute the case like a criminal trial with more compelling videos and graphic descriptions of that day. Donald Trump is reportedly unhappy with his lawyers’ performance today... Cassidy isn’t the only Republican who was displeased with Donald Trump’s defense team. “The president’s lawyer just rambled on and on,” said senator John Cornyn, a Republican of Texas. “I’ve seen a lot of lawyers and a lot of arguments, and that was not one of the finest I’ve seen.” Senator Ted Cruz, a Trump loyalist told the Washington Post: “I don’t think the lawyers did the most effective job.” Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana was none too impressed with Donald Trump’s defense team. Cassidy told HuffPost’s Igor Bobic: “They talked about many things but they didn’t talk about the issue at hand” Cassidy voted with 54 other Republicans on 27 Jan in a procedural vote dismiss the impeachment charge as unconstitutional, but today defected voted with Democrats on the question of constitutionality. It still looks unlikely that the requisite 17 Republicans would vote at the end of this to convict Trump, but it’s significant that in what both parties are seeing as a trial with foregone conclusion, one Republican has already waffled. Here are some impeachment trial FAQs, answered: What is Donald Trump claiming in his defense? Trump has had trouble assembling a legal team. His usual personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, had to recuse himself because he also gave a speech at the event where the former president is accused of fomenting insurrection. Trump then appears to have fallen out with his first legal team, which was led by Butch Bowers. Now led by lawyers David Schoen and Bruce L Castor, Trump’s team issued a thinly argued 14-page document last week that said his speech did not amount to a call to storm the Capitol and that his trial was unconstitutional anyway, because he has left office. Trump will not testify personally. How long will the trial last? How long the trial will take is not known, but most people believe it will be much shorter than the three-week trial the last time Trump was impeached over his actions over Ukraine, when he was accused of abusing his power and obstructing Congress. It is unclear yet whether the Senate will vote to allow the legal teams to call witnesses in person, although the trial is highly unusual in that the jury are witnesses, as senators were present in the Capitol and were forced into hiding as the mob invaded the very chamber where the trial will be held. The prosecution team are expected to include video footage and eyewitness testimony from members of Congress while building their case. Will Trump be found guilty? On the face of it, it seems unlikely. An impeachment trial requires a two-thirds majority for a conviction. If every senator votes, then at least 17 Republicans would need to vote against their former president to reach the required 67-vote threshold. Already, 45 senators have supported a motion presented by Kentucky Sen Rand Paul that the process itself is unconstitutional and against holding the trial at all. It would be quite a leap for them in the space of a few weeks to go from saying the trial should not take place, to finding Trump guilty. For many Republican senators the calculation is political. House Representatives who voted to impeach Trump, such as Republican Liz Cheney, have already faced protest and censure from their state Republican parties over their failure to back Trump, who still has strong grassroots support despite losing November’s election. Will a second impeachment bar Trump running from office in 2024? Not necessarily. If he was found guilty, there’s no immediate punishment, since he is no longer in office. The Senate could, with a simple majority vote, bar him from holding federal elective office in the future. With the Senate split 50-50, and the vice-president, Kamala Harris, holding the casting vote, that could pass quite simply. There is a constitutional argument to be had that the Democrat-controlled Senate might try to do this anyway even if Trump is found not guilty, by invoking section three of the post-civil war 14th amendment to the US constitution. That forbids anyone who has “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the US from holding federal office, but that is likely to be the subject of a significant legal dispute should it arise. The trial has now adjourned until noon DC time tomorrow. In the coming days, each side will present their cases for why Trump should or should not be impeached. Senate approves constitutionality of the impeachment proceedings The Senate voted 56-44, affirming that the impeachment trial is constitutional. Republican senators Collins, Cassidy, Murkowski, Romney, Sasse, and Toomey all voted with Democrats. Senate leader Mitch McConnell, however, sided with the Trump defense on the question of constitutionality. “The institution of the presidency is at risk,” David Schoen, Trump’s attorney argued, as concluding arguments. The Senate is now voting on the constitutionality of the proceedings. Today so far That’s it from me today. My west coast colleague, Maanvi Singh, will take over the blog to cover the rest of the first day of the impeachment trial. Here’s where the day stands so far: The Senate started the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump. The trial comes a month after the House charged Trump with incitement of insurrection in connection to the January 6 attack on the Capitol. Trump is the first president in US history to ever be impeached twice. The House impeachment managers started their arguments by playing a video showing the violence and destruction of January 6. The footage included clips of insurrectionists storming the Capitol, as well as quotes from Trump’s speech to his supporters on January 6. “And if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore,” Trump said shortly before the Capitol was stormed. Lead impeachment manager Jamie Raskin provided an emotional account of his experience on January 6. Raskin noted that his daughter and his son-in-law were with him at the Capitol on January 6, which was a day after the congressman buried his son, Tommy. When Raskin was reunited with his family after the insurrection, his daughter told him, “Dad, I don’t want to come back to the Capitol.” The congressman cried as he recalled his daughter’s words. One of Trump’s lawyers offered a rambling opening argument on why the impeachment trial should be dismissed. Lawyer Bruce Castor acknowledged that the defense team had “changed what we were going to do on account that we thought that the House managers’ presentation was well done”. Trump lawyer David Schoen warned that more violence could occur if the impeachment trial moves forward. Schoen appeared to suggest that the impeachment trial could spark another civil war, saying, “This trial will tear this country apart, perhaps like we have only seen once before in American history.” Maanvi will have more updates and analysis on the impeachment trial coming up, so stay tuned. Some viewers of the impeachment trial wondered why David Schoen, one of Donald Trump’s defense lawyers, kept resting his hand on his head as he took a sip of water while making his opening argument. Daniel Goldman, the lead counsel of the House inquiry during Trump’s first impeachment, explained it was because Schoen is an observant Jew and must cover his head and say a blessing when he drinks a sip of water. David Schoen, one of Donald Trump’s lawyers, argued that House Democrats inappropriately delayed the impeachment trial by holding back the article of impeachment. But it was then-Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell who said he would not bring the chamber back early from recess to start the trial, despite Democratic leader Chuck Schumer’s requests for an emergency session to immediately begin the proceedings. So it is not accurate to blame Democrats for the delayed start date of the impeachment trial. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar pushed back against the arguments presented by Donald Trump’s defense team in the impeachment trial. Omar sent a tweet about the proceedings shortly after the defense team played a video showing Democrats, including Omar, calling for the impeachment of Trump as early as 2017. “Let’s be clear, we might have all done and said things we regret, but only Trump and the #seditioncaucus words and actions have let to an insurrection of our nation’s Capital, death and bodily harm,” the Democratic congresswoman said. “Don’t let them confuse you.”