Donald Trump.Photo: Erin Schaff - Pool/Getty Images
The Senate has spoken.
With a vote of 57-43 on Saturday, they acquitted former PresidentDonald Trumpin his unprecedented second impeachment trial in the wake of theU.S. Capitol attackon Jan. 6.
A total of 57 senators voted to convict Trump.
The House of Representatives had charged Trump on Jan. 13 with inciting an insurrection in the Capitol riots that saw a mob of his supporters storm the building during a joint session of Congress, overwhelming law enforcement and sending lawmakers into hiding.
Five people died.
“I want to first thank my team of dedicated lawyers and others for their tireless work upholding justice and defending truth. My deepest thanks as well to all of the United States Senators and Members of Congress who stood proudly for the Constitution we all revere and for the sacred legal principles at the heart of our country. Our cherished Constitutional Republic was founded on the impartial rule of law, the indispensable safeguard for our liberties, our rights and our freedoms,” Trump said in a statement following the results of the trial.
His second impeachment trial opened on Feb. 9 and saw the House impeachment managers (analogous to prosecutors)recreate a timelineof Trump’s behavior before, during and after the Capitol attacks and of the mayhem unfolding inside the building.
He told rally attendees to be peaceful and patriotic but, when large groups of his supporters descended into mob violence at the Capitol, Trump praised them as “very special” even as he told them to leave.
Later, Trump tweeted, “These are the things and events that happen. … Remember this day forever!”
Trump’s somewhat contradictory messaging — urging his supporters on along with periodic, if faint, calls for peace — was also the core of his defense team’s presentation, who said his speech did not constitute incitement.
“That’s the real reason we’re here,” attorney Bruce Castor Jr. said.
source: people.com
