House impeachment managers will present new evidence during Wednesday’s session of the Senate impeachment trial, including video footage from Capitol security cameras, senior aides to the team said ahead of the proceedings.
The aides said the new video footage hasn’t been seen publicly before, and will will provide new insight into the extreme violence seen at the Capitol the day of the insurrection.
“You’ll see footage you have never seen before that shows a view of the Capitol that is quite extraordinary, the view of the attack that has never been public before, which you will see for the first time starting today,” one of the aides said in a call with reporters.
The Senate impeachment trial began Tuesday with arguments on the constitutionality of the proceedings against former President Donald Trump. The Senate voted to go forward with the trial, on a largely partisan vote of 56-44, with six Republicans breaking with their colleagues to join Democrats.
The Senate trial now moves onto the next phase, as impeachment managers will have up to 16 hours over two days to make their case, followed by the defense team. The proceedings will begin again at noon on Wednesday (watch the arguments live here).
Aides said they expect to put on a case that will be devastating to Trump and his defense team.
“You should expect a compelling presentation from manager after manger, like a trial, the case will build. It will build, each piece building on the other, the beginning, a middle and an end and today will be the beginning,” an aide said.
Trump’s defense team argued on Tuesday that the impeachment trial is unconstitutional now that Trump is no longer in office (though a majority of senators voted it was). It also maintains his speech to supporters ahead of the riot is protected free speech and that he did not directly encourage violence, as the prosecution argues. The defense lawyers’ opening statements are expected to begin on Friday.
Wednesday’s opening statement from the prosecution is equally divided between all the managers, with each presenting a different section. If not all the managers are heard from on the first day, they will be by the end of the second, an aide said.
They’ll aim to show how Trump filled his words with meaning, how he attracted folks with violent backgrounds to the Capitol ahead of the insurrection.
Thursday’s presentations will be largely focused on the toll the insurrection took and presenting more details on Trump’s support of his alleged role in “assembling, inflaming the insurrections.”
The aides declined to say whether they will call for witnesses, and if so, who. However, they argued that they will have an impact on the Senate’s jurors in the coming days.
“We weren’t kidding when we said that you were going see a devastating case against President Trump just in this opening presentation,” another aide said.
