Trump Impeachment Trial, Day 2: House Impeachment Managers Set to Unveil Unreleased Footage of Capitol Riot

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BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images
Rep. Jamie Raskin(front) D-MD walks with House impeachment managers to the Senate floor as they arrive for the start of the trial of former US President Donald Trump on Capitol Hill on February 9, 2021, in Washington, DC.
Photo: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images (Getty Images)

House impeachment managers will release never-seen-before footage of rioters storming the Capital that will show elected officials were in far greater danger for their lives than previously known or realized, according to the Washington Post.

An aide to the House managers told the Post that Democrats will outline the events that lead to the attempted coup, which started well before Trump’s speech at a rally that day. House managers will have up to 16 hours over the course of two days to present their case, though it is unlikely they will use all of their time.

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“January 6th was the culmination of his conduct, not the beginning of it,” the aide said.

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Thursday’s presentation will address “the toll” of the Capitol attack.

Though it is unlikely that Democrats will get 17 Republican senators to convict, the aide said House managers are said to be hopeful they can win them more, saying some Republicans “are just now waking up from the grip of the former president.”

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Here is an outline of how the new two days will unfold, according to NPR.

Wednesday’s opening statement from the prosecution is equally divided between all the managers with each presenting a different section. If all of the managers are not 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 and how he attracted people 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 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.

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For today, though, the main event will be the new video.

“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,” an aide to the impeachment manager said in a call with reporters.