The Senate impeachment trial of disgraced former President Donald Trump began on Tuesday with a devastating video of the insurrection at the Capitol and culminated in Trump lawyer David Schoen threatening further violence and civil war if the trial proceeds.

House impeachment manager Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) dropped the hammer on Trump with damning footage of Trump supporters storming the Capitol building interspersed with clips of Trump himself inciting them.

Here’s the video via YouTube:

It’s a preview of what is likely to come that shows Democrats are not messing around, they are out for blood. Trump’s attorneys, meanwhile, acted like the desperation team they are after Trump was forced to replace his other lawyers a few weeks ago after they quit because they would not push his election lies as a defense.

Bruce Castor delivered incoherent rambling remarks that has legal experts facepalming. After him, Schoen stepped up to the plate and swiftly struck out, even digging a bigger hole for his client by attacking Democrats and threatening violence and civil war if the impeachment trial is not abandoned.

“They tell us that they have to have this impeachment trial – such as it is – to bring about unity – but they don’t want unity,” Schoen said. “And they know this so-called trial will tear this country in half, leaving tens of millions of Americans feeling left out of the nation’s agenda, as dictated by one political party that now holds the power in the White House, and , in our national legislature. This trial will tear this country apart, perhaps like we have only seen once before in our history.”

In the end, their arguments were not persuasive as the Senate voted 56-44 that the impeachment trial will proceed and is constitutional, with six Republicans joining all 50 Democrats.

It takes 67 votes to convict in the Senate, which means Democrats are at least 11 votes short. However, if House impeachment managers continue to present a rock solid case, including with evidence that hasn’t been seen yet, it could be enough to force Republicans to do the right thing or have acquittal hanging around their necks for the rest of the lives and the prospect of their legacies being condemned for all time.

And it’s pretty clear that Trump’s lawyers are incompetent enough and have such a bad argument that some Republicans may reconsider their vote base on that as well. Threatening violence and civil war during a trial about inciting insurrection was a seriously outrageous and offensive move, especially since several people died and lawmakers could have been assassinated.

This was a humiliating day for Trump and his legal team. At any other time in our history, this single day of arguments would have been enough to seal a conviction.

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