海角大神

After the prosecution laid out a case rooted in聽emotive, violent images聽from聽the United States Capitol siege, former President Donald Trump鈥檚 impeachment trial shifts on Friday to the defense lawyers, who are prepared to make a fundamental concession: The violence was every bit as traumatic, unacceptable, and illegal as Democrats say.

But, they will say, Mr. Trump had nothing to do with it.

Stipulating to the horrors of the day is meant to blunt the visceral impact of the House Democrats鈥� case and quickly pivot to what the defense sees as the core 鈥� and more winnable 鈥� issue of the trial: whether Mr. Trump can be held responsible for聽inciting the deadly Jan. 6 riot.

The argument is likely to appeal to Republican senators who themselves want to be seen as condemning the violence without convicting the president.

鈥淭hey haven鈥檛 in any way tied it to Trump,鈥� David Schoen, one of the president鈥檚 lawyers, told reporters near the end of two full days of Democrats鈥� arguments aimed at doing just that.

He previewed the essence of his argument Tuesday, telling the Senate jurors: 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 need to show you movies to show you that the riot happened here. We will stipulate that it happened, and you know all about it.鈥�

In both legal filings and in arguments earlier in the week, Mr. Trump鈥檚 lawyers have made clear their position that the people responsible for the riot are the ones who actually stormed the building and who are now being prosecuted by the Justice Department.

Anticipating defense efforts to disentangle Mr. Trump鈥檚 rhetoric from the rioters鈥� actions, the impeachment managers spent days trying to fuse them together through a reconstruction of never-been-seen video footage alongside clips of the president鈥檚 months-long urging of his supporters to undo the election results.

Democrats, who wrapped their case Thursday, used the rioters鈥� own videos and words from Jan. 6 to pin responsibility on Mr. Trump. 鈥淲e were invited here,鈥� said one. 鈥淭rump sent us,鈥� said another. 鈥淗e鈥檒l be happy. We鈥檙e fighting for Trump.鈥�

The prosecutors鈥� goal was to cast Mr. Trump not as a bystander but rather as the 鈥渋nciter in chief鈥� who spent months spreading falsehoods and revving up supporters to challenge the election.

In addition to seeking conviction, they also are demanding that he be barred from holding future federal office.

Mr. Trump, they said, laid the predicate for the attack by stoking聽false claims of fraud, encouraging supporters to come to Washington, and then fanning the discontent with his rhetoric about fighting and taking back the country.

鈥淭his attack never would have happened but for Donald Trump,鈥� Rep. Madeleine Dean, one of the impeachment managers, said as she choked back emotion. 鈥淎nd so they came, draped in Trump鈥檚 flag, and used our flag, the American flag, to batter and to bludgeon.鈥�

For all the weight and moment that the impeachment of a president is meant to convey, this historic second trial of Mr. Trump could wrap up with a vote by this weekend, particularly since Mr. Trump鈥檚 lawyers focused on legal rather than emotional or historic questions and are hoping to get it all behind him as quickly as possible.

With little hope of conviction by the required two-thirds of the Senate, Democrats delivered a graphic case to the American public, describing in stark, personal terms the terror faced that day 鈥� some of it in the very Senate chamber where senators are now sitting as jurors. They used security video of rioters searching menacingly for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence, smashing into the building and engaging in bloody, hand-to-hand combat with police.

They displayed the many public and explicit instructions Mr. Trump gave his supporters 鈥� long before the White House rally that unleashed the deadly Capitol attack as Congress was certifying challenger Joe Biden鈥檚 victory. Five people died in the chaos and its aftermath.

Videos of rioters, some they posted to social medial themselves, talked about how they were doing it all for Mr. Trump.

鈥淲hat makes you think the nightmare with Donald Trump and his law-breaking and violent mobs is over?鈥� asked聽Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the lead prosecutor. He said earlier, 鈥淲hen Donald Trump tells the crowd, as he did on Jan. 6, 鈥楩ight like hell, or you won鈥檛 have a country anymore,鈥� he meant for them to 鈥榝ight like hell.鈥欌��

At the White House, Mr. Biden said he believed 鈥渟ome minds may be changed鈥� after senators saw the security video, though he has previously said that conviction was unlikely.

Though most senators sat riveted as the jarring video played Wednesday in the chamber, some shaking their heads or folding their arms as screams from the video and audio filled the Senate chamber, most of the jurors seemed to have made up their minds. And by Thursday, as the House case wrapped up, many seem to be prepared to move on.

鈥淚 thought today was very repetitive, actually. I mean, not much new. I was really disappointed that they didn鈥檛 engage much with the legal standards,鈥� said Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri.

The presentation by Mr. Trump鈥檚 lawyers is low-risk in one sense given the likelihood of acquittal. But it is also being closely watched because of an uneven performance on Tuesday when one defense lawyer,聽Bruce Castor, gave such meandering arguments that Mr. Trump himself raged from his home in Florida.

They are expected to highlight different parts of the same speech focused on by prosecutors, when he told supporters assembled at the Ellipse outside the White House to 鈥渇ight like hell.鈥�

They will contend that Mr. Trump in the very same remarks encouraged the crowd to behave 鈥減eacefully鈥� and that his remarks 鈥� and his general distrust of the election results 鈥� are all protected under the First Amendment. Democrats strenuously resist that assertion, saying his words weren鈥檛 political speech but rather amounted to direct incitement of violence.

The defense lawyers also may return to arguments made Tuesday that the trial itself is unconstitutional because Mr. Trump is now a former president. The Senate rejected that contention Tuesday as it voted to proceed with the trial, but Republican senators have nonetheless signaled that they remain interested in that argument.

By Thursday, senators sitting through a second full day of arguments appeared somewhat fatigued, slouching in their chairs, crossing their arms and walking around to stretch.

One Republican, Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, said during a break: 鈥淭o me, they鈥檙e losing credibility the longer they talk.鈥�

Republican Sen. Marco Rubio said the facts of Jan. 6, though 鈥渦npatriotic鈥� and even 鈥渢reasonous,鈥� were not his chief concern. Rather, he said Thursday, 鈥淭he fundamental question for me, and I don鈥檛 know about for everybody else, is whether an impeachment trial is appropriate for someone who is no longer in office. I don鈥檛 believe that it is. I believe it sets a very dangerous precedent.鈥�

This story was reported by The Associated Press.