So we're at the end of day two of Donald Trump's impeachment trial, the sequel. Are we any closer to justice? Let's talk about that, because justice matters.

Hey, Glenn Kershner here, so we just finished up day two of Donald Trump's second impeachment trial, and let's just run through a few of the highlights.

I love that Congressman Raskin opened with you know, this is not a contest between lawyers or between political parties.

This is a moment of truth for America.

I love that they frequently referred to Donald Trump as the insider in chief because that's what he was and that's all he'll ever be.

He was never, not for one moment a commander in chief. He was always an insider in chief. Everything he did, everything he said, everything he tweeted was designed to incite I.

I found it shocking when we learned that Donald Trump spent fifty million dollars.

From where? From his legal defense fund to publicize to encourage his supporters to come to DC on January 6th, promising them it will be wild.

Do we think for a minute, folks that had Donald Trump not spent all that time and that money in that effort and that energy ginning things up?

Stop the steel, come to D.C., come to DC January 6th, it will be wild. We'll take back.

What do we think? Without all that, Donald Trump supporters would have spontaneously assembled in the District of Columbia on January 6th and marched on the US Capitol to try to stop the vote certification come off.

This was a Donald Trump production from start to finish. And even more importantly, and I don't know that I've heard anybody say this, this is a murder trial. Yes.

This is a trial on one article of impeachment, inciting an insurrection. But this, when you get right down to it, is a murder trial.

It's the murder of police officer Brian sic Nick, because Donald Trump took his weapon of choice, an angry mob, his angry mob.

He organized it. He encouraged it. He incited it. And they came for battle with helmets, with body armor, with makeshift weapons. And he took his weapon and he pointed it in the direction of the US Capitol and he fired and Brian Cesnik was killed.

This is a murder trial in a very real sense.

And can I tell you, folks, after being a homicide prosecutor for twenty two of my thirty years trying more than 50 murder cases, including murder driven RICO cases, there's a marquee moment in every single murder trial. And it is when the decedent, the person who was killed, the decedent's next of kin testifies, whether it's the mother of the person who was killed, the spouse, the child, if someone someone's parent is killed and when that next of kin testifies, it is a powerful moment.

It's so powerful that defense attorneys regularly object to us calling the spouse of the decedent to testify. And there's precedent on it.

The courts say no, the defendant is not charged with killing a statistic. The defendant is charged with killing a living, breathing human being, somebody who meant something to their family, to their community. And the prosecution gets some leeway to call a surviving family member to talk a little bit, not too much.

We can't just appeal to the emotion of the jurors, but to talk about who this person is that the defendant is accused and charged with killing Donald Trump is criminally responsible for killing Officer Brian Cesnik.

And I only wish the House managers, the prosecutors did a remarkable job start to finish. The only thing I wish they would have included with some live testimony from victims or the family members, the surviving family members of some of the people who were killed or who died as a result in the aftermath, because that would put a human face on the horror and the tragedy and the holes that Donald Trump blew wide open in in in the lives of those who loved Brian Cesnik and the others who lost their lives.

That is on the hands of Donald. And this is a murder trial. It also broke my heart when I heard about how Russia has seized upon this incident to announce to the world that democracy is dead. The democratic experiment has failed courtesy of Donald Trump's insurrection.

And, you know, the despots, the despots of the world are laughing at us and celebrating and what Donald Trump did to America's reputation and standing in the world.

And let me finish up with this sort of where Congressman Raschein finished up, he said, if we don't ban Donald Trump from holding public office in the future, if we don't convict him and prohibit him from ever again serving in office and he makes his way back to the Oval Office, do we think for one minute that he won't again use violence to get what he wants?

Would you bet the life of other police officers on the claim that he won't use violence in the future to get what he wants, would you bet your family's security on it? Would you bet our democracy on it? We have a long way to go before we see whether these Republicans are willing to stand up for democracy, for their constituents, for America, for the injured, for the dead, like Brian Technik, because Donald Trump may not have killed somebody on Fifth Avenue, but Donald Trump killed somebody at the U.S. Capitol.

And the only question is, will the Republican senators let him get away with it? Folks, as always, please stay safe, please stay tuned. And I look forward to talking with you all again tomorrow.