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

Donald Trump's lawyer took a break from listening to the House impeachment managers while they laid out their case against the former president to instead appear on Fox News, a move that was reportedly at the request of his client.

Lawyer David Schoen was spotted outside the Senate chamber on Thursday afternoon while Representative Ted Lieu, one of the impeachment managers, explained the case to impeach Mr Trump to senators, reporter Philip Crowther with the Associated Press revealed.

Instead of listening, Mr Schoen decided to speak to Fox News in a live interview about the impeachment trial.

The Independent's Danielle Zoellner has more on this story.

The Independent's Andrew Buncombe has more on the final moments of the Democrats' prosecution of Donald Trump.

Lead House impeachment manager Jamie Raskin closed the prosecution’s argument by asking Senators not to get caught up in “outlandish lawyers’ theories”.

“I’ve talked a lot about common sense in this trial, because I think, I believe, that’s all you need to arrive at the right answer here,” Raskin says.

Quoting Englishman Thomas Paine in the 1776 pamphlet that launched the American revolution, Raskin said that common sense was the understand everyone has without advanced learning, and also the sense everyone has as a community.

“America, we need to exercise our common sense about what happened. Let’s not get caught up in a lot of outlandish lawyers’ theories here. Exercise your common sense about what just took place in our country,” he says.

At the half-way point in Donald Trump’s impeachment, Senate leader Chuck Schumer is leaving his options open should the ex-president be acquitted.

Asked about using the 14th Amendment to bar Trump from holding from office, Schumer said he was still hopeful the House impeachment managers changed some minds among the GOP.

"We're first going to finish the impeachment trial and then Democrats will get together and discuss where we go next," Schumer replied.

Democrats need 17 Republicans to cross the aisle for the supermajority needed to convict Trump on the charge of “incitement of insurrection”.

If they fail, the 14th Amendment says Congress can bar people who “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” from holding office, which was used following the Civil War.

A leader of the Oath Keepers militia says she waited for Donald Trump to “activate” them before going to attack the Capitol last month.

Jessica Watkins was waiting for direction from the ex-president before traveling to Washington DC to try and violently overturn his election loss to Joe Biden, federal prosecutors say.

Watkins, 38, even took part in “two days of war games” to prepare and train for the 6 January attack on the Capitol, where lawmakers were certifying Mr Biden’s win.

Prosecutors say she stated the need to wait for instructions from Mr Trump before taking action, and had talked about being “field-ready before inauguration”.

The Independent's Graeme Massie is covering this angle.

Congressman Ted Lieu shamed Republican Mike Lee during his argument for the conviction of Donald Trump during the Senate impeachment trial.

On Thursday, Mr Lieu argued that Mr Trump's lack of remorse invalidated any claim that the former president should receive a "mulligan" for actions that inspired the US Capitol insurrection.

"Some people have argued that President Trump made a mistake. That he gets a mulligan. But we know President Trump didn't make a mistake. Because, you see, when you or I make a mistake and something very bad happens, we would show remorse," he said.

Reporters pointed out that Mr Lieu looked directly at Republican Sen. Mike Lee while he made the statement, who originally made the remark that Mr Trump should be afforded a second chance.

Graig Graziosi reports.

As Democrats made their case of “incitement to insurrection” Donald Trump made his case of practising golfing perfection.

Ever working on his long game, the ex-president spent day three of his impeachment hearing on the greens.

The Washington Examiner reported Trump teed off just before the House impeachment managers began wrapping up their case on Wednesday afternoon.

That might explain why he reportedly ordered his legal team to wrap up their rebuttal within three hours. They should be finishing up just after he rounds the 18th hole.

After almost three days of Democrats making its case of incitement to insurrection, the legal team of Donald Trump is expected to keep its defence to only three hours.

Quoting a source close to the ex-president, CNN is reporting that the defence team will try to make its testimony “short, tight and direct”.

The defence is reportedly planning to bring video presentations of their own showing Democrats using similar to Trump to make the case all of their speech is protected under the constitution’s first amendment.

As the prosecution begins closing out its case, lead manager Jamie Raskin making their case against the free speech defence to come from Trump’s legal team.

“There’s no first amendment protection for speech directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action, and likely to produce such action,” says Raskin.

“Based on all the evidence you’ve heard, and all the reasons you’ve heard, that definition of prescribable speech fits president Trump’s conduct perfectly. This is a classic case of incitement.”

"They are concerned, not with the facts that actually occurred, the facts could be proven, but with an alternative set of facts, where President Trump did nothing but deliver a controversial speech at a rally,” says impeachment manager Joe Neguse.

He added: “To hear his lawyers tell it, he was just some guy at a rally expressing unpopular opinions. They would have you believe that this whole impeachment is because he said things that one may disagree with.”