House Democrats make case for conviction,Trump denies charges

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump endangered the lives of all members of Congress when he aimed a mob of supporters “like a loaded cannon” at the US Capitol, House Democrats said Tuesday in making their most detailed case yet for why the former president should be convicted and permanently barred from office.

Trump denied the allegations through his lawyers and called the trial unconstitutional.

The Democratic legal brief forcefully linked Trump’s baseless efforts to overturn the results of the presidential election to the deadly January 6 riot at the Capitol, saying he bears “unmistakable” blame for actions that threatened the foundation of American democracy.

It argued that he must be found guilty when his impeachment trial opens before the Senate next week on a charge of inciting the siege.

And it used evocative language to conjure the day’s chaos, when “terrified members were trapped in the chamber” and called loved ones “for fear they would not survive.”

“His conduct endangered the life of every single member of Congress, jeopardised the peaceful transition of power and line of succession, and compromised our national security,” the Democratic managers of the impeachment case wrote.

“This is precisely the sort of constitutional offence that warrants disqualification from federal office.”

Trump’s lawyers responded with their own filing that denied that he had incited the riot by disputing the election results or by exhorting his followers to “fight like hell.” In any event, they said, the trial was unconstitutional now that Trump has left the White House.

The duelling filings offer the first public glimpse of the arguments that both sides intend to present at the impeachment trial, Trump’s second. 

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