WASHINGTON — House Representative Jamie Raskin, lead impeachment manager, said it was a moment of “special pride” to introduce his fellow impeachment manager Stacey Plaskett to speak on the Senate floor as she is the first delegate to ever serve on a team of impeachment managers in American history. Raskin also noted that Plaskett was his former law student at American University.
“She was an A student then and an A-plus student now,” Raskin said.
Plaskett represents the United States Virgin Islands’ at-large congressional district. During her Senate remarks, she shared a bit of her personal story ahead of detailing the Democrats’ arguments against former President Trump.
“I’ve learned throughout my life that preparation and truth can carry you far. Can allow you to speak truth to power. I’ve learned that as a young black girl growing up in the projects in Brooklyn, housing community on St. Croix, sent to the most unlikeliest of settings and now as an adult woman representing an island territory speaking to the U.S. Senate,” Plaskett said.
“And because of truth, I am confident today speaking before you, because truth and facts are overwhelming, that our president, the President of the United States incited a mob to storm the capitol, to attempt to stop the certification of a presidential election,” she continued.
Because Plaskett is considered a delegate because she represents our territory, she is not able cast votes on the House floor and was unable to vote to impeach Trump. Now she is be able to make the case to convict Trump as an impeachment manager for the second trial.
During her speech, she accused Trump of knowing that the deadly riot on January 6 was foreseeable, arguing it was part of a months-long campaign to rile up violent supporters and send them “straight at our door.”
“When the violence erupted as a response to his calls to fight against the stolen election, he did not walk it back. He did not tell them no. He did the opposite. The opposite. He praised and encouraged the violence so it would continue. He fanned the flame of violence and it worked,” Plaskett said.
Plaskett’s presentation also showed a fresh angle of the scene as Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman led a group of rioters away from the Senate chambers and toward a group of officers. Lawmakers have since introduced legislation seeking to award him with the Congressional Gold Medal “for his bravery and quick thinking” in that moment.
But Democratic managers introduced another previously unseen security video, this one showing Goodman redirecting Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, down a hallway after he unknowingly headed toward the mob.
Swalwell said he later measured that the mob was within 58 steps of reaching lawmakers at one point in the afternoon.
Plaskett highlighted videos and tweets showing Trump’s apparent support of a group of trucks displaying Trump campaign flags appearing to intimidate and run a bus of Joe Biden‘s campaign off the road in Austin, Texas.
Plaskett said Trump’s tweet praising his supporters’ actions in Texas was evidence that he encouraged violence on his behalf.
“For anyone who says Donald Trump didn’t know the violence he was inciting, I ask you to consider: His supporters tried to drive a bus off the highway…to intimidate his opponents’ campaign workers and his response was to…call those individuals…patriots,” she said.
Plaskett pointed to Trump’s call for the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by” when asked to condemn white supremacists as evidence that Trump incited the Proud Boys, showing video of Trump’s quote from a presidential debate. Several members of the Proud Boys have been charged in connection with the insurrection.
Before her election to Congress, Plaskett served as assistant district attorney for the Bronx District Attorney’s Office and as senior counsel at the Department of Justice. She was also general counsel for the Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority (EDA).
