Impeachment prosecutors to wrap up case against Trump

WASHINGTON: Impeachment prosecutors are expected to wrap up their case against ex-president Donald Trump in the US Senate Thursday, backed by chilling footage that showed senior politicians fleeing for their lives during last month's assault on Congress.

The Democratic impeachment managers will argue for a second day that the riot was deliberately incited by the former president, with an aim of reminding senators, and watching Americans, just how bad things got on January 6.

On Wednesday they walked senators -- many of them clearly shaken -- through hours of graphic presentations and video, some of which came from security cameras and police bodycams and was being aired for the first time.

The ensuing mayhem left five people dead, including one woman shot after she invaded the Capitol and one policeman killed by the crowd.

The episode occurred after Trump told a rally near the White House that his failure to win reelection was due to vote rigging, but Trump's defense lawyers, who will present their arguments later this week, say Trump cannot be personally blamed for the riot and that the entire trial is unconstitutional because he has already left office.

Video played on the Senate floor Wednesday showed then vice president Mike Pence -- who was in the Capitol to preside over certification of Joe Biden's defeat of Trump -- being hurried down back stairs to safety by security officers, along with his family.

Top Democratic senator Chuck Schumer is seen narrowly dodging a rampaging throng of pro-Trump rioters. And Senator Mitt Romney, a Republican who often opposed Trump and was turned into a hate figure by the president, is seen being steered away by an officer at the last moment as an angry crowd approaches.

In another segment, the mob can be seen smashing into the offices of Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the House of Representatives and another frequent target of Trump's most violent rhetoric.

"Nancy, where are you Nancy?" protesters call out as they search, not knowing that eight of her staff were barricaded behind a door in the same corridor. Pelosi herself had already been urgently whisked away.

"We know from the rioters themselves that if they had found Speaker Pelosi, they would have killed her," said impeachment manager Stacey Plaskett, a House delegate from the US Virgin Islands.

The impeachment managers laid out their case over several hours arguing that the links are clear between Trump, his lies about election fraud, the violence, and the then president's inaction as the riot unfolded.

Lead impeachment manager Jamie Raskin said Trump "completely abdicated" his duty.

"Donald Trump surrendered his role as commander-in-chief and became the inciter-in-chief of a dangerous insurrection," Raskin said.