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Former United States President Donald Trump was acquitted in his second impeachment trial as the United States Senate failed to obtain enough votes to convict him on a charge of incitement to insurrection.
The Senate voted 57 to 43 to acquit him on Saturday night, well short of the 67 votes needed for a conviction. Seven Republicans crossed the aisle and voted with all 50 Democrats against the president.
The Republicans who voted to convict Trump were Richard Burr, Susan Collins, Mitt Romney, Ben Sasse, Lisa Murkowski, Pat Toomey, and Ben Cassidy.
Trump became the first president in history to be indicted twice, after the House of Representatives voted to impeach him last month for his role in the Jan.6 riots on Capitol Hill. However, securing a two-thirds majority in the 100-member Senate to convict him was always an uphill task given the 50-50 split between Democrats and Republicans in the Senate.
Saturday’s vote followed a chaotic morning when House impeachment managers, Democrats who were appointed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to prosecute the case, backtracked their plans to call witnesses. When proceedings began Saturday morning, Rep. Jamie Raskin surprised Republicans and colleagues by announcing that the prosecution wanted to subpoena Republican Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler.
This followed a statement issued by Ms. Herrera Beutler about a phone call that took place between Trump and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy during the riot in which McCarthy urged the former president to call off the attack.
Threat of subpoena
Raskin’s surprise request infuriated Republicans, who threatened to subpoena hundreds of witnesses in response, including Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi.
A screenshot from a live Senate television broadcast showing Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer addressing the Senate following the acquittal of former United States President Donald Trump in the second impeachment of Trump, inside the capital building in Washington, DC, on Saturday. Screenshot: Senate TV / EPA
A vote then took place, and five Republicans joined the 50 Democrats in calling for the subpoena of witnesses and documents.
However, after behind-the-scenes negotiations, Democrats agreed instead to read Ms. Herrera Beutler’s statement in the minutes.
The senators then began an afternoon of closing arguments and a final vote was held.
Even before Saturday’s proceedings began, it was clear that the Republicans would acquit Trump. Shortly before the House convened, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told his colleagues that he would vote to acquit the former president. The Kentucky Republican had distanced himself from Trump just before the Jan.6 attack and had not confirmed which direction he would vote. But this decision to acquit was deemed significant given his position as the de facto leader of the Republicans in the Senate.
As expected, McConnell said his decision was based on an argument about the legality of the trial and not on the merits of the charge itself, and the minority leader said he believed the Senate lacked jurisdiction over the proceedings because Trump already I was not in session. President.
Screenshot from a live broadcast showing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell addressing the Senate, following the acquittal of former US President Donald J. Trump in Trump’s second impeachment trial, in the building from the Capitol in Washington, DC, United States, on Saturday. Screenshot: Senate TV / EPA
Speaking after he voted for the ex-president’s acquittal, McConnell delivered a forceful reprimand against Trump, stating that he was “practically and morally responsible” for provoking the events of January 6.
The rioters, he said, had attacked the Capitol “because the most powerful man in the world had fed them wild falsehoods because he was angry that he had lost an election. Former President Trump’s actions prior to the riots were a disgraceful neglect of duty. “
He defended his vote in favor of acquittal, claiming that Trump “was constitutionally ineligible for impeachment.” It also hinted that Trump could face criminal justice as a private citizen.
“President Trump remains responsible for everything he did while in office as a common citizen. He didn’t get away with it. Still. We have a criminal justice system in this country. “
In a statement after the verdict was announced, Trump thanked his team of “dedicated attorneys and others for their tireless work upholding justice and upholding the truth.”
“This has been one more phase of the greatest witch hunt in the history of our country,” he said. “No president has been through something like this.”
He also hinted at future political plans.
“Our historic, patriotic and beautiful movement to make America great again has just begun. I have so much to share with you in the coming months and I look forward to continuing our incredible journey together to achieve American greatness for all of our people. There has never been anything like it! “
Trump’s second impeachment trial, and the only trial of a former president, was the shortest in history. The five-day trial is compared to the 21-day length of his first impeachment trial, while Bill Clinton’s trial, which also ended in acquittal, lasted 36 days.
The trial began Tuesday, with the prosecution managers of the house, effectively the prosecution, exposing the case of the prosecution for two days.
Unseen material
Using never-before-seen footage of the riots, they urged Republican senators not to let Trump go unpunished for his role in the January 6 attack, arguing that politicians will have “no one to blame but ourselves” if the former president were to be re-elected and incite more violence.
The Senior Manager of the Chamber of Impeachment, Rep. Jamie Raskin, arrives at the US Capitol for the fifth day of the second impeachment trial of former US President Donald Trump. Photograph: Getty
“My dear colleagues, is there any political leader in this room who believes that if the Senate allows him to return to the Oval Office, Donald Trump would stop inciting violence and get his way?” Raskin said Wednesday.
Trump’s legal team, assigned 16 hours over two days to prepare the defense, instead concluded their arguments in less than three hours on Friday.
Trump’s attorney, Michael Van Der Veen, called the prosecution’s case “absurd.”
“No thinking person could seriously believe that the president’s January 6 speech on La Elipse was in some way an incitement to violence or insurrection. The suggestion is obviously absurd, ”he said.
“To claim that the president desired, desired or encouraged anarchy or violent behavior is an absurd and monstrous lie.”
They claimed that Trump had consistently opposed violence in his career, even though Democrats highlighted several instances in which Trump had encouraged violent behavior in his public comments or tweets.
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