Democrats claim Trump ‘singularly responsible’ for Capitol riot

Former US president Donald Trump is "singularly responsible" for the violence that unfolded in the US Capitol last month, Democrats in the House of Representatives said on Tuesday as they presented their arguments ahead of next week's impeachment trial.

In a detailed 80-page document filed with the Senate, the nine House impeachment managers who will oversee the trial said there was "overwhelming evidence" that Mr Trump incited the riot on Capitol Hill on January 6th, accusing him of a "grievous betrayal of his oath of office".

"If provoking an insurrectionary riot against a joint session of Congress after losing an election is not an impeachable offence," they wrote, "it is hard to imagine what would be."

Mr Trump became the first president in US history to be impeached twice after the Democratic-controlled House voted to try him for inciting the Capitol Hill insurrection. His impeachment trial – the first of a president who is no longer in office – begins on February 9th.

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Mr Trump’s legal team also filed a 14-page brief on Tuesday, setting out the former president’s defence. It follows a last-minute shake-up of Mr Trump’s defence team, after a South-Carolina led group of lawyers parted ways with him over the weekend.

The former president, who has maintained a low profile since leaving Washington for Florida on inauguration day, retained two lawyers earlier this week to represent him – criminal defence attorney David Schoen and former Pennsylvania district attorney Bruce Castor.

Mr Trump’s legal team deny in the brief that their client incited the events at the Capitol, arguing that his words during an incendiary speech on the National Mall before the riot were protected by the right to free speech enshrined in the first amendment to the US constitution. They also argue that his comments “if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore” referred to election security in general.

Mr Trump's legal team also take issue with the legitimacy of the trial itself given he is no longer in office – an argument made by several Republican senators last week when they voted in favour of a motion brought to the floor by Senator Rand Paul questioning the legality of the trial.

However, the House impeachment managers addressed that issue in their own brief.

Executive orders

“There is no ‘January exception’ to impeachment or any other provision of the Constitution,” the managers wrote. “A president must answer comprehensively for his conduct in office from his first day in office through his last.”

Mr Biden hosted a group of moderate Republicans in the White House on Monday night to discuss his planned $1.9 trillion (€1.6 trillion) coronavirus relief package.

Speaking after the meeting, Maine senator Susan Collins said the meeting had been "excellent" and "very useful," though it was unclear if the White House was prepared to compromise with Republicans, who have put forward a $600 billion package.

On Tuesday, the Senate voted on a resolution brought forward by Bernie Sanders to proceed with the package through the budget reconciliation process – a procedural tool that allows legislation to be passed with only a simple majority, rather than 60 votes. The senate voted to open debate on the matter; if passed, it is likely to give Democrats the option of passing a version of the bill without Republican support.

In a bid to engage with his own party, Mr Biden participated in a virtual meeting with Senate Democrats on Tuesday on his proposed package.

Meanwhile, former Indiana mayor and presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg was confirmed by the Senate on Tuesday as the US's next transportation secretary. He will become the first openly gay cabinet member in US history.

The Senate also confirmed Alejandro Mayorkas as the new head of the department of homeland security, the first Latino and immigrant to hold the role.