The Senate votes for a second time in a trial of Donald Trump. Photo: Screencap/congress.gov via Getty Images At the end of a five-day trial, the shortest of presidential impeachment trials, the Senate acquitted Donald Trump of the single impeachment article passed by the House exactly a month ago. While the outcome was never in doubt, it was a bit surprising that seven Republicans joined all 50 Democrats in voting “guilty.
So the Senate will return to its weighty regular business, and the trial may fade from memory, except insofar as Trump and his allies may seek vengeance against Republican “traitors” who voted for conviction — particularly Murkowski, who has shown every indication she will run for reelection in 2022 .
The solemnity of the final day of the trial was marred by early-Saturday confusion over a move by House impeachment managers to call witnesses, and then by a variety of intemperate and maladroit remarks by chief Trump counsel Michael van der Veen. After the trial ended, Chuck Schumer took the floor and referred to Trump’s senatorial defenders as having “chosen Trump over America.” Then Mitch McConnell somewhat surprisingly charged Trump of “dereliction of duty,” and of being “morally responsible” for the Capitol riot, and spoke heatedly of Trump’s longstanding effort to overturn an election he had clearly lost, showing a willingness to “torch our institutions on the way out.
Any effort by Trump to claim his acquittal as a vindication will have to deal with this remarkable rebuke from the leader of his party in the Senate.
ed_kilgore ed_kilgore you called McConnell's statement a 'remarkable rebuke' but honestly, does it matter? McConnell had the chance to vote his (purported) beliefs. He did not. He had the chance to do this while Trump was POTUS. He did not. His words mean nothing. Only his votes matter.
ed_kilgore This statement has been fact checked by an independent team of fact checkers. President Trump was found NOT GUILTY and acquitted.
ed_kilgore It’s not “defecting”. It’s called following the law and doing the correct thing. Verbiage matters.