Impeachment trial – live: Trump poured ‘kerosene on the flames’ as Pence family fled for lives, Democrats say

There is confusion in the Senate after Mike Lee called Democrat evidence of his comments false.

“My point was not about whether it was appropriate for them to make characterisations, my point was to strike them because they were false,” Lee says.

After the Senate appeared to consider a motion, Lee continued:

“That was not my motion, you’ve ruled on a motion, you’ve ruled on something that was not what I moved. What I asked was, statements were attributed to me repeatedly, as to which I have personal knowledge because I am the source, they are not true, I never made those statements, I ask that they be stricken. This has nothing to do with whether or not they’re based on depositions, which they’re not. It’s simply based on the fact that I’m the witness, I’m the only witness, those statements are not true and I ask that you strike them.”

The Utah senator sought to stricken from the record comments attributed to him by the House impeachment managers.

“Statements were attributed to me moments ago by the House impeachment managers, statements relating to the content of conversations between, a phone call between president Trump and senator Tuberville, were not made by me, were not accurate, and they’re contrary to fact,” Lee says.

Donald Trump's refusal to immediately condemn and "call off" the insurrection at the US Capitol on 6 January was a "dereliction" of his duty as commander-in-chief, Democrats argued at the former president's impeachment trial on Wednesday.

"Senators, ask yourselves this: How easy would it have been for the president to give a simple command, a simple instruction just telling them [to] stop [and] leave?" impeachment manager Joaquin Castro said.

Mr Castro and fellow manager David Cicilline lit into Mr Trump on Wednesday evening for his response to the 6 January riot as it was happening, when instead of urging his supporters to vacate the Capitol, quit hunting down lawmakers, and bludgeoning police the ex-president was calling lawn.

Griffin Connolly reports.

“He’s not regretful, he’s not grieving, he’s not sad, he’s not angry about the attack, he’s celebrating it he’s commemorating it,” says Julian Castro.

“This is the entirety of what president Trump said to the public once the attack began; five tweets and a pre-recorded video. On the day of the most bloody insurrection we’ve faced in generations, our commander in chief, who’s known for sending 108 tweets in a normal day, sent five tweets and a pre-recorded video.”

“Not once did he say ‘I condemn this insurrection, I condemn what you did today’, nowhere did he say, ‘I’m sending help immediately, stop this’,” Castro says before highlighting Trump’s message to rioters.

From the ex-president’s video message, Trump said: “We love you, you’re very special. We’ve seen what happens, you see the way others are treated that are so bad and so evil. I know how you feel. But go home, and go home in peace.”

House impeachment managers presenting the case against Donald Trump for his role inciting the deadly insurrection at the US Capitol on 6 January have charted an argument that spans the former president's months-long effort to undermine election results as "stolen" from his supporters, months before ballots were cast.

Impeachment managers acting as prosecutors in the former president's second impeachment trial in the US Senate have chronicled the president's big lie of election fraud that fuelled his supporters' assault on the Capitol building on 6 January.

Earlier that day, then-president Trump told supporters that the election was "pure theft" and to "make no mistake – this election was stolen from you, from me and from the country."

But impeachment managers repeated that the incitement charge against Mr Trump was never about just one speech.

The Independent's Alex Woodward reports.

After Democrats edited out Donald Trump’s calls for supporters to “peacefully and patriotically” march to the Capitol from the first two days of the trial, impeachment manager Julian Castro is now addressing the ex-president’s sporadic calls for supporters to stay peaceful.

While not mentioning the comments in the speech, Castro has focused on Trump’s first tweet in response to the riots.

“Much has been made of the fact that in this tweet, he says, ‘stay peaceful’,” says Julian Castro.

“Senators, stay peaceful? Think about that for a second. These folks were not peaceful, they were breaking windows, pushing through law enforcement officers, waving the flag as they invaded this Capitol building. This was a violent, armed attack. Stay peaceful?”

Castro asked why Trump didn’t tell supporters to stop the attack, stop the violence, and immediately leave.

“He didn’t, because the truth is, he didn’t want it to stop. He wanted them to stay and to stop the certification. And his failure had grave and deadly consequences.”

After Democrats edited out Donald Trump’s calls for supporters to “peacefully and patriotically” march to the Capitol from the first two days of the trial, impeachment manager Julian Castro is now addressing the ex-president’s sporadic calls for supporters to stay peaceful.

While not mentioning the comments in the speech, Castro has focused on Trump’s first tweet in response to the riots.

“Much has been made of the fact that in this tweet, he says, ‘stay peaceful’,” says Julian Castro.

“Senators, stay peaceful? Think about that for a second. These folks were not peaceful, they were breaking windows, pushing through law enforcement officers, waiving the flag as they invaded this Capitol building. This was a violent, armed attack. Stay peaceful?”

Castro asked why Trump didn’t tell supporters to stop the attack, stop the violence, and immediately leave.

“He didn’t, because the truth is, he didn’t want it to stop. He wanted them to stay and to stop the certification. And his failure had grave and deadly consequences.”

“It can’t be that the commander in chief can incite a lawless, bloody insurrection and then utterly fail in his duty as commander in chief to defend us from the attack, to defend law enforcement officers from that attack, and just get away with it,” says David Cicilline.

“Donald Trump abdicated his duty to us all. We have to make this right.”

Trump impeachment defence attorney David Schoen blasted Democrats for their 13-minute video showing the chronological order of events during the Capitol riot, saying that it was an attempt to "trick the American people".

Speaking to fellow Trump booster Sean Hannity on Fox News, Mr Schoen said: "It's very easy to stand up and show spliced and manufactured films. Literally, the Democrats, the House managers, hired a large movie company and a large law firm to put together this thing.

"It's a matter of tricking the American people, to play as if the rioting was going on in real-time with the speech. What's the purpose of that? Why do we want to trick the American people? It's sending a very dangerous and wrong message, and it's a hoax I'm sorry to say," Mr Scheon said.

Gustaf Kilander has more.