After emotional start, Democrats to outline case at Trump's impeachment trial

Democrats begin formally making their case on Wednesday that former President Donald Trump should be convicted for inciting the U.S. Capitol siege, a day after a divided Senate concluded his impeachment trial could proceed even though Trump has already left office.

The House of Representatives has charged Trump with inciting an insurrection after he delivered a fiery speech on Jan. 6 exhorting thousands of supporters to march on the U.S. Capitol, where members of Congress were gathered to certify President Joe Biden’s electoral victory.

In an assault that stunned the world, rioters stormed the building in a futile effort to stop Biden’s win, sending lawmakers into hiding and leaving five people dead, including a police officer.

On Tuesday, the Senate voted largely along party lines that the impeachment trial could move ahead even though Trump’s term ended on Jan. 20. Six out of 50 Republican senators broke with their caucus to side with Democrats.

The outcome suggests Democrats face long odds in securing a conviction and barring Trump from ever again seeking public office. A two-thirds majority in the Senate must vote to convict, which means at least 17 Republicans would have to defy Trump’s still-potent popularity among Republican voters.

The trial is unfolding inside the Senate chamber, where senators now serving as jurors were forced to flee for their safety a month ago as a mob broke into the building.

Nine Democratic House members acting as Trump’s prosecutors began the proceedings on Tuesday by airing a graphic video that interspersed excerpts of Trump’s speech with scenes from the attack, including clips of police officers under assault and a rioter fatally shot by authorities.

The Democrats accused Trump of committing an unforgivable offense by encouraging his backers to block the peaceful transfer of power, a hallmark of American democracy.