'Future of democracy rests in your hands': Castro
Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, answered a question on behalf of House impeachment managers from Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., who noted that since the November election, officials have been under enormous pressure over upholding the election of President Joe Biden, and asked what would've happened if these officials had "bowed to the force" of Trump or the mob that attacked the Capitol.
Castro pointed to pressure put on officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Republican-controlled legislatures across the country, and said if senators don't vote to convict they are giving a "green light" to this behavior.
"As a Congress and as a nation, we cannot be numb to this conduct. If we are, and if we do not set a precedent against it, our presidents will do this in the future. And this will be a green light to them to engage in that kind of pressure and conduct," he said.
"This could've gone a very different way if those election officials had bowed to the intimidation and the pressure of the president of the United States," he said.
"For us to believe otherwise and think that somehow a rabbit came out of the hat and a mob just showed up on their own, all by themselves. This is dangerous, senators," he said.
