[ad_1]
The second impeachment trial against former President Donald Trump ended in his acquittal. The Senate did not get the two-thirds of the votes needed to convict the Republican: they only got 57 votes in favor.
Donald Trump was saved again. The second political trial against him, which began on Tuesday, February 9, and which sought to convict him of “incitement to violence” for his role in the taking of the Capitol on January 6, ended with his acquittal. They only got 57 votes in favor.
It may interest you: Madonna, Depp and other keys from Trump’s lawyers
Democrats, who now have a simple majority in the Senate, did not get the votes they needed to secure a conviction and, incidentally, a ban so that Trump could hold public office in the future.
The process went through a confusing journey this Saturday. Early in the morning, the Senate agreed to summon witnesses, causing the trial to drag on for days. However, hours later, the same Upper House announced that it was no longer calling witnesses, in exchange for Trump’s defense admitting as evidence a statement by Republican Congresswoman Jamie Herrera Beutler about a phone call between the minority leader of the House, Kevin McCarthy, and Trump on the day of the Capitol takeover.
It may interest you: Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell Announced Absolution Vote
This agreement opened the way for the closing arguments of the trial to begin and the vote to proceed.
It was the second political trial that the former president faced, after a first process at the end of 2019 and in which he was also acquitted by a majority vote of the Senate, controlled at that time by the Republican Party.
To achieve a conviction against Trump, the vote of two-thirds of the senators was needed, that is, 67 of the 100 votes. Democrats and Republicans each have 50 legislators, so 17 Republicans were required to vote in favor of the trial, something unlikely at this time, since the power of the former president is still very great.
What happened?
Late last year, Democrats accused the then president of “inciting insurrection.” The indictment was approved by the House of Representatives, which argued that Trump insisted for months, without any proof, that the results of the presidential elections should not be accepted by the people.
It may interest you: The unreleased videos that show lawmakers narrowly missed
On January 6, Trump received a march of supporters who insisted on the alleged electoral fraud. He told them that they should “fight with all their might” and encouraged them to go to Congress to make their voices heard. The demonstration reached the doors of the Congress building and overcame the security forces and took the building by force, leaving 5 dead.
The trial began this week, after the Senate voted on the constitutionality of the impeachment, as Trump argued that the trial was illegitimate. A majority of experts in the Constitution have opined that the process is legitimate even if it can no longer result in Trump’s impeachment, because it evaluates events that occurred while he was still president.
After that, Democrats presented their arguments for 16 hours, but the former president’s defense only used three hours to answer the accusations. Questions were then asked and after two hours from each party for final arguments, the vote was taken.
The keys to the case (if you are eager)
- This is the fourth impeachment trial in US history and the second against Donald Trump.
- It was the first political trial initiated against a president after leaving power. What the Democrats were looking for was a moral condemnation and their inability to hold public office.
- The charge for which they prosecuted Donald Trump on this occasion was “incitement to violence”, for his role in the violent takeover of the Capitol, on January 6, which left 5 dead.
- Donald Trump’s political power is more than demonstrated: the Democrats required 67 votes to convict him and only 7 Republicans voted in favor of the conviction. 57 votes in favor were obtained.
- Donald Trump will not be able to run for president in the 2024 elections, according to analysts and members of the Republican Party such as Nikki Haley, a former United States ambassador to the UN. This, despite the ruling in his favor in the impeachment that ended today.
The arguments of the democrats
Democratic “prosecutors” on Wednesday profiled the former president as the “chief inciter” of the mob that stormed the Capitol, and accused him of “deliberately encouraging” violence to try to stay in power.
It may interest you: What the Trump defense should answer
Democrats exhibited unpublished images of the attack on the Capitol on January 6, and articulated a strong allegation against the former president, accused of “inciting an insurrection” of his followers that left five dead.
“The evidence will show that Donald Trump abdicated his role as commander-in-chief and became the inciter-in-chief of a dangerous insurrection,” said the chief impeachment “prosecutor,” Democratic lawmaker Jamie Raskin.
“He told (his followers) to fight like hell, and that day they brought us hell” to the Capitol, he added.
Republicans stick with Trump
Republican Senator Bill Cassidy acknowledged that the video images were “powerful”, but argued that it did not change the opinion of many members of the party to follow Trump’s side.
It may interest you: The secret meeting between Republicans and Trump’s lawyers
“The ‘Not Guilty’ vote is growing,” Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said on Twitter. “I think most Republicans found the presentation” of the Democratic impeachment offensive and absurd.
Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri echoed the argument of Trump’s advocates. “They will get nothing but my conviction for what happened to those criminals on Capitol Hill on January 6,” Hawley told Fox News. “But that does not make the trial more legitimate than it is, which is totally illegitimate, with no basis in the Constitution.”
What the lawyers said
Trump’s lawyers demanded that Donald Trump be acquitted, arguing that the true goal of the Democrats is to take “revenge” and “nullify” the right-wing populist movement.
“Let’s be clear: this trial is much more than President Trump,” said attorney Bruce Castor, closing the defense argument.
“It’s about nullifying 75 million Trump voters and penalizing political views. That’s what this trial is really about, ”he said.
The accusation is “an act of unjust and blatantly unconstitutional political revenge,” said another of the lawyers, Michael van der Veen.
“The Senate must vote quickly and decisively to reject it,” he urged.
Trump’s attorneys concluded their arguments after just three hours, even though they had 16 hours to present their case.
Presidency 2024?
Donald Trump is unable to run for president again, and Republicans were wrong to support his campaign to reverse the 2020 election results, Nikki Haley, a former United States ambassador to the UN and a former Trump loyalist, said in an interview published today. Friday.
Republican Haley, who had fervently defended the former president now on trial in the Senate on charges of encouraging an insurrection, told Politico magazine that she is “deeply disturbed” by what has happened to Trump since his electoral defeat to Democrat Joe Biden.
“He’s not going to run for federal office again,” said Haley, Trump’s envoy to the United Nations between 2017 and 2018.
The former South Carolina governor dismissed speculation that, to avenge his defeat and second impeachment, Trump will again seek the presidency in 2024.
