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Trump impeachment trial live updates: Biden makes 1st comments on acquittal

Biden remembered those who were killed and called for unity going forward.

Last Updated: February 12, 2021, 2:36 PM EST

Former President Donald Trump's historic second impeachment trial ended with a 57-43 vote to acquit in the Senate. He faced a single charge of incitement of insurrection over his actions leading up to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Feb 12, 2021, 2:36 PM EST

Senate trial resumes

The Senate has returned from a roughly 40-minute break to resume arguments from Trump's defense team.

Feb 12, 2021, 2:33 PM EST

Psaki cites House managers' performance as a takeaway from trial

As Trump's lawyers get their defense presentation underway, ABC News White House Correspondent MaryAlice Parks asked White House press secretary Jen Psaki what message she thinks Americans should have learned from the Senate trial this week. 

Del. Stacey Plaskett returns from a break as House impeachment managers present their third day of arguments in the Senate trial of former President Donald Trump, at the Capitol in Washington, Feb. 11, 2021.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Psaki said that Americans "learned about the power of some individuals in the House they might not have known before," perhaps referring to Del. Stacey Plaskett, D-Virgin Islands, who had a strong presentation that prompted chatter that she is a rising Democratic star. 

"They certainly saw some -- some powerful footage that was a reminder of the shocking events that happened on January 6th. And you know, I think they saw, as the president has said, that that day was an assault on our democracy and it was a reminder of why it can never happen again," Psaki continued.

-ABC News' Sarah Kolinovsky

Feb 12, 2021, 2:30 PM EST

Van der Veen focuses on text of Trump's Jan. 6 speech without context

Trump defense attorney Michael van der Veen broke down Brandenburg v. Ohio, a case House managers raised Thursday. Van der Veen cited the "landmark case on the issue of incitement speech" to argue that Trump didn't intend for supporters to attack the Capitol.

A displayed slide read that the Brandenburg test "precludes speech from being sanctioned as incitement to riot unless: 1) the speech explicitly or implicity encouraged use of violence or lawless action, 2) the speaker intends that his speech will result in use of violence of lawless action and 3) the imminent use of violence or lawless action is likely to result from the speech."

He called Trump's uses of the words "fight" in the speech "metaphorical." However, he did not address the impeachment managers' assertions that Trump had primed his supporters with a "big lie" of a stolen election.

"Spare us the hypocrisy and false indignation. It's a term used over and over and over again by politicians on both sides of the aisle," van der Veen said, honing in on arguments of "whataboutisms" of Democrats.

"The reality is Mr. Trump was not in any way shape or form instructing these people to fight or to use physical violence. What he was instructing them to do was to challenge their opponents in primary elections to push for sweeping election reforms, to hold big tech responsible," he said.

However, at least 15 individuals who stormed the building have since said that they acted based on Trump's encouragement, including some of those accused of the most violent and serious crimes. House managers also argued in their time that Trump's oath of office to protect the country supersedes his First Amendment rights.

Trump's defense team has also played extended video of Trump's speech at the Jan. 6 rally, in which the former president repeated false claims that the election was stolen and encouraged Republican lawmakers to vote to overturn the Electoral College results.

Feb 12, 2021, 2:07 PM EST

Trump's legal team argues for 'unity,' while attacking Democrats

"It is the time for unity and healing and focusing on the interests of the nation as a whole," Trump attorney David Schoen said. "We should all be seeking to cool temperatures, calm passions, rise above partisan lines."

Michael van der Veen, an attorney for former President Donald Trump, speaks during the second impeachment trial of Trump in the Senate at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Feb. 12, 2021.
Senate Television via AP

It's worth noting that Trump's attorneys have repeatedly singled out Democrats, both in the Senate, and the House managers themselves, and made increasingly personal criticisms in their effort to pugnaciously defend Trump, after Democrats went out of their way not to impugn GOP senators who supported Trump's efforts to overturn the election. Democrats in the House and Senate were featured in edited videos used by Trump's legal team.

"If it is not about the words but about the big lie of a stolen election, then why isn't House manager Raskin guilty since he tried to overturn the 2016 election?" Trump attorney Michael van der Veen asked.

-ABC News' Benjamin Siegel

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