SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) delivers opening arguments in the Senate impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump on February 9, 2021.
(Photo: Washington Post/YouTube screen grab)
Watch Jamie Raskin Deliver 'Heartbreaking' Personal Account of Insurrection on Day 1 of Trump Trial
"This cannot be the future of America," the Maryland Democrat said. "We cannot have presidents inciting... mob violence against our government and our institutions because they refuse to accept the will of the people."
Feb 08, 2021
As Donald Trump's historic second impeachment commenced in the Senate on Tuesday, lead prosecutor Rep. Jamie Raskin delivered a powerful opening argument combining poignant personal testimony with damning evidence of the former president's incitement of the deadly January 6 mob attack on the U.S. Capitol.
"People died that day. Officers ended up with head damage and brain damage. People's eyes were gouged. An officer had a heart attack. An officer lost three fingers that day. Two officers have taken their own lives."
--Rep. Jamie Raskin
Raskin (D-Md.) began the Senate trial by screening a harrowing 13-minute video showing footage of the January 6 attack interspersed with clips of the former president's lie-filled incitement of the insurrectionists.
"You ask what a high crime and misdemeanor is under our Constitution? That's a high crime and misdemeanor," said Raskin. "If that's not an impeachable offense, then there is no such thing."
Raskin then recounted how his daughter and son-in-law had accompanied him to the Capitol on January 6 so that their family could remain close as they grieved the loss the congressman's 25-year-old son Tommy, who took his own life on New Year's Eve and was buried the previous day.
As the pro-Trump mob closed on the Congress floor and lawmakers heard "the sound of pounding on the door like a battering ram"--which Raskin called the "most haunting sound I ever heard"--the Maryland Democrat said he was unable to reach his relatives, who were barricaded in a nearby office "hiding under the desk, placing what they thought were their final texts and whispered phone calls to say their goodbyes."
"They thought they were going to die," he said.
After being reunited with his relatives, Raskin said he apologized. "I hugged them and I told my daughter Tabitha, who's 24... how sorry I was... and I promised her that it would not be like this again the next time she came back to the Capitol with me." He choked up as he recalled her heartbreaking reply.
"Dad," she said, "I don't want to come back to the Capitol."
"Of all the terrible things I saw and heard on that day and since then, that one hit me the hardest," a tearful Raskin said. "That, and watching someone use an American flag pole, the flag still on it, to spear and pummel one of our police officers, ruthlessly, mercilessly, tortured by a pole with a flag on it that he was defending with his very life."
"People died that day," Raskin continued. "Officers ended up with head damage and brain damage. People's eyes were gouged. An officer had a heart attack. An officer lost three fingers that day. Two officers have taken their own lives."
"Senators, this cannot be our future," he asserted. "This cannot be the future of America. We cannot have presidents inciting and mobilizing mob violence against our government and our institutions because they refuse to accept the will of the people under the Constitution of the United States."
Raskin's remarks moved many observers--including Trump defense attorney Bruce Castor.
"I'll be quite frank with you," Castor said in his opening argument, "we changed what we were going to do on account that we thought that the House managers' presentation was well done."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
As Donald Trump's historic second impeachment commenced in the Senate on Tuesday, lead prosecutor Rep. Jamie Raskin delivered a powerful opening argument combining poignant personal testimony with damning evidence of the former president's incitement of the deadly January 6 mob attack on the U.S. Capitol.
"People died that day. Officers ended up with head damage and brain damage. People's eyes were gouged. An officer had a heart attack. An officer lost three fingers that day. Two officers have taken their own lives."
--Rep. Jamie Raskin
Raskin (D-Md.) began the Senate trial by screening a harrowing 13-minute video showing footage of the January 6 attack interspersed with clips of the former president's lie-filled incitement of the insurrectionists.
"You ask what a high crime and misdemeanor is under our Constitution? That's a high crime and misdemeanor," said Raskin. "If that's not an impeachable offense, then there is no such thing."
Raskin then recounted how his daughter and son-in-law had accompanied him to the Capitol on January 6 so that their family could remain close as they grieved the loss the congressman's 25-year-old son Tommy, who took his own life on New Year's Eve and was buried the previous day.
As the pro-Trump mob closed on the Congress floor and lawmakers heard "the sound of pounding on the door like a battering ram"--which Raskin called the "most haunting sound I ever heard"--the Maryland Democrat said he was unable to reach his relatives, who were barricaded in a nearby office "hiding under the desk, placing what they thought were their final texts and whispered phone calls to say their goodbyes."
"They thought they were going to die," he said.
After being reunited with his relatives, Raskin said he apologized. "I hugged them and I told my daughter Tabitha, who's 24... how sorry I was... and I promised her that it would not be like this again the next time she came back to the Capitol with me." He choked up as he recalled her heartbreaking reply.
"Dad," she said, "I don't want to come back to the Capitol."
"Of all the terrible things I saw and heard on that day and since then, that one hit me the hardest," a tearful Raskin said. "That, and watching someone use an American flag pole, the flag still on it, to spear and pummel one of our police officers, ruthlessly, mercilessly, tortured by a pole with a flag on it that he was defending with his very life."
"People died that day," Raskin continued. "Officers ended up with head damage and brain damage. People's eyes were gouged. An officer had a heart attack. An officer lost three fingers that day. Two officers have taken their own lives."
"Senators, this cannot be our future," he asserted. "This cannot be the future of America. We cannot have presidents inciting and mobilizing mob violence against our government and our institutions because they refuse to accept the will of the people under the Constitution of the United States."
Raskin's remarks moved many observers--including Trump defense attorney Bruce Castor.
"I'll be quite frank with you," Castor said in his opening argument, "we changed what we were going to do on account that we thought that the House managers' presentation was well done."
As Donald Trump's historic second impeachment commenced in the Senate on Tuesday, lead prosecutor Rep. Jamie Raskin delivered a powerful opening argument combining poignant personal testimony with damning evidence of the former president's incitement of the deadly January 6 mob attack on the U.S. Capitol.
"People died that day. Officers ended up with head damage and brain damage. People's eyes were gouged. An officer had a heart attack. An officer lost three fingers that day. Two officers have taken their own lives."
--Rep. Jamie Raskin
Raskin (D-Md.) began the Senate trial by screening a harrowing 13-minute video showing footage of the January 6 attack interspersed with clips of the former president's lie-filled incitement of the insurrectionists.
"You ask what a high crime and misdemeanor is under our Constitution? That's a high crime and misdemeanor," said Raskin. "If that's not an impeachable offense, then there is no such thing."
Raskin then recounted how his daughter and son-in-law had accompanied him to the Capitol on January 6 so that their family could remain close as they grieved the loss the congressman's 25-year-old son Tommy, who took his own life on New Year's Eve and was buried the previous day.
As the pro-Trump mob closed on the Congress floor and lawmakers heard "the sound of pounding on the door like a battering ram"--which Raskin called the "most haunting sound I ever heard"--the Maryland Democrat said he was unable to reach his relatives, who were barricaded in a nearby office "hiding under the desk, placing what they thought were their final texts and whispered phone calls to say their goodbyes."
"They thought they were going to die," he said.
After being reunited with his relatives, Raskin said he apologized. "I hugged them and I told my daughter Tabitha, who's 24... how sorry I was... and I promised her that it would not be like this again the next time she came back to the Capitol with me." He choked up as he recalled her heartbreaking reply.
"Dad," she said, "I don't want to come back to the Capitol."
"Of all the terrible things I saw and heard on that day and since then, that one hit me the hardest," a tearful Raskin said. "That, and watching someone use an American flag pole, the flag still on it, to spear and pummel one of our police officers, ruthlessly, mercilessly, tortured by a pole with a flag on it that he was defending with his very life."
"People died that day," Raskin continued. "Officers ended up with head damage and brain damage. People's eyes were gouged. An officer had a heart attack. An officer lost three fingers that day. Two officers have taken their own lives."
"Senators, this cannot be our future," he asserted. "This cannot be the future of America. We cannot have presidents inciting and mobilizing mob violence against our government and our institutions because they refuse to accept the will of the people under the Constitution of the United States."
Raskin's remarks moved many observers--including Trump defense attorney Bruce Castor.
"I'll be quite frank with you," Castor said in his opening argument, "we changed what we were going to do on account that we thought that the House managers' presentation was well done."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.