Trump's second impeachment trial: Trump "ran out of nonviolent options to maintain power," impeachment manager says

The second day of former President Trump's impeachment trial has begun in the Senate.

The House impeachment managers will be front and center today, as they look to convince skeptical Republican senators that Trump was responsible for the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. 

Live updates of the trial are given below: 

1:50 AM: Trump "ran out of nonviolent options to maintain power," impeachment manager says

Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu, a House impeachment manager, said former President Trump "ran out of nonviolent options to maintain power."

"After his efforts and — of course, threatening officials — failed, he turned to privately and publicly attacking members of his own party in the House and in the Senate. He would publicly bait senators, naming them in social media," Lieu said, citing a Trump tweet from Dec. 18 that falsely claimed he won the election and called on Republican senators to "fight for it," reports CNN.

Lieu also showed a tweet from Dec. 24 in his presentation in which Trump called out senators, including then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, telling them that he would "never forget" if they just "sit back and watch me fight."

"President Trump was telling you that you owe him, that if you don't help him fight to overcome the results, he will never forget and there will be consequences," Lieu said.

"The President wasn't just coming for one or two people, or Democrats like me. He was coming for you — or Democratic and Republican senators. He was coming for all of us, just as the mob did at his direction," Lieu added.

1:27 AM: House manager details Trump's efforts to overturn Michigan results

House Democrats are giving a detailed presentation of President Trump's attempt to overturn the election results in key states, and started by focusing on Michigan. 

Trump personally called GOP officials in Wayne County, home to Detroit, and pressed them to rescind their votes in favor of certifying the results, reports CNN.

Later, he hosted top GOP state lawmakers at the White House in a longshot attempt to convince them that the legislature should overturn the outcome of the election. 

"Think about it. The President of the United States was calling public officials, calling from the White House, inviting them into the Oval Office, telling them to disenfranchise voters of her state, telling them to overturn the will of the American people. All to take the election for himself," Rep. Madeleine Dean, a House impeachment manager, said on the Senate floor on Wednesday.

"The officials held strong, and so Trump moved on to a different state," she added.

All of these efforts failed and President Biden's win in Michigan was certified by the state, reports CNN.

1:11 AM: Senators still hope to finish the impeachment trial as soon as Saturday night

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell walked his conference through the impeachment timeline today during the private GOP lunch.

He laid out that it was still possible to finish this trial by Saturday evening, according to GOP Sen. Kevin Cramer.

Finishing by Saturday would mean they would do senators' questions, closing arguments and the final vote that day – and push back doing senators' final speeches until later, reports CNN.

The ultimate vote has not been decided yet, in part because the question about whether Democrats will seek witnesses is still not fully resolved, but all signs point to the trial ending this weekend.

1:00 AM: The Senate is back in session

After a quick 15-minute break, the Senate is back in session.

House impeachment managers are continuing their arguments and will show evidence in the case against former President Trump.

12:45: Senators take a 15-minute break

The hearing in the second impeachment trial of former President Trump has gone on a short 15-minute break.

After the break, the House impeachment managers will continue their arguments and show evidence in the case against Trump, reports CNN.

12:30 AM: House impeachment managers chronicle Trump's pressure campaign to overturn election results

While chronicling former President Trump's tweets in the run-up to the insurrection, Rep. Eric Swalwell, a Democrat from California, pointed out that Trump even pressured the Justice Department to overturn election results.

The tweet said: "The "Justice" Department and the FBI have done nothing about the 2020 Presidential Election Voter Fraud, the biggest SCAM in our nation's history, despite overwhelming evidence. They should be ashamed. History will remember. Never give up. See everyone in D.C. on January 6th."

Trump posted the tweet on Dec. 26, less than two weeks before the attack, reports CNN.

Some more context: We've learned more about what was going on behind-the-scenes at that time. According to news reports, Trump plotted to have the Justice Department file lawsuits to throw out millions of votes against him, and if the top Justice Department officials weren't willing to do it, they would be replaced by loyalists.

This saga was one of Trump's final efforts during his four-year term to pressure the Justice Department to serve his personal and political interests, reports CNN.

CNN previously chronicled several examples of this pattern of behavior, of Trump crossing ethical and possibly legal lines by leaning on the Justice Department.

12:15 AM: House managers highlight rioter who wanted to assassinate Pelosi 

House Democrats are pointing out the violent threats that some of the Capitol rioters made, perhaps in an attempt to rekindle the life-or-death emotions that senators faced during the insurrection. 

Rep. Joe Neguse, one of the House impeachment managers, cited one of the most disturbing comments to emerge from the thousands of pages of court filings stemming from the Capitol insurrection, reports CNN.

He specifically mentioned an alleged Capitol rioter who lamented the fact that she wasn't able to assassinate House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

CNN previously reported on the woman, Dawn Bancroft, who was charged with violent entry on Capitol grounds, remaining in a restricted area and disorderly conduct in a restricted building.

In an affidavit, investigators cited a "selfie" video they say was taken by Bancroft. Investigators claim she is heard saying, "We broke into the Capitol... We got inside, we did our part."

12:00 AM: Democrats cite rioters who said they followed Trump's orders

The Democratic House managers are highlighting statements from some of the Capitol rioters who said they descended on the building because they were heeding the call from then-President Trump. 

Rep. Joe Neguse, one of the House impeachment managers, played a video montage Wednesday with footage from one rioter who said he was "invited by the President of the United States," and other rioters who later told investigators that they were motivated by Trump's words, reports CNN.

Neguse also cited a sampling of the 200 criminal cases stemming from the insurrection, specifically quoting people who said they were inspired by Trump. 

CNN previously reported on the "blame Trump defense" that has emerged from some rioters, whose lawyers have argued that they shouldn't be held responsible for listening to the commander-in-chief, reports CNN.

This is more of a public relations strategy than a coherent legal argument, but it dovetails with the narrative that the Democrats are pushing – that Trump incited the deadly assault on the Capitol.

11:50 PM: Trump sent a "save the date" for Jan. 6, impeachment manager says

Democratic Rep. Joe Neguse, a House impeachment manager, argued that former President Trump incited violence over months that culminated in the Capitol attack.

On the campaign trail and after the election, Trump repeatedly told his followers to "fight like hell" and "never surrender," as Neguse showed with video footage, reports CNN.

"As the President made these statements, people listened. Armed supporters surrounded election officials' homes. The secretary of state for Georgia got death threats. Officials warned the President that his rhetoric was dangerous and it was going to result in deadly violence," Neguse said, referring to a Georgia election official pleading with Trump to denounce threats against election workers.

Neguse drew a line directly to Trump's "Stop the Steal" rally in Washington, DC, on Jan. 6, which was scheduled for the exact time of electoral vote certification, reports CNN.

"And that's what makes this so different. Because when he saw firsthand the violence that his conduct was creating, he didn't stop it. He didn't condemn the violence. He incited it further. And he got more specific. He didn't just tell them to 'fight like hell.' He told them how, where and when. He made sure they had advanced notice — 18 days advance notice. He sent his save the date for Jan. 6. He told them to march to the Capitol and 'fight like hell,'" Neguse said. 

11:30 PM: Lead impeachment manager opens second day of trial, says Trump became the "inciter in chief"

Rep. Jamie Raskin, the lead House impeachment manager, opened up the second day of trial proceedings by detailing what the prosecution hopes to lay out for senators.

"The evidence will be for you to see and hear and digest. The evidence will show you that ex-president Trump was no innocent bystander," Raskin said in his opening remarks on the Senate floor, reports CNN.

"It will show that Donald Trump surrendered his role as commander in chief and became the inciter in chief of a dangerous insurrection, and this was as one of our colleagues put it so cogently on January 6 itself, the greatest betrayal of the presidential oath in the history of the United States," he added.

Raskin said the evidence will show that the former President "clearly incited" the insurrection at the Capitol and "he saw it coming and was not remotely surprised by the violence," reports CNN.

The lead impeachment manager pointed to some of Trump's tweets and highlighted parts of his speech moments before the mob moved to the US Capitol,

"He watched it on TV like a reality show. He reveled in it," Raskin said. "He did nothing to help us as commander in chief. Instead, he served as the inciter in chief sending tweets that only further incited the rampaging mob."