The Senate has voted to acquit Donald Trump of the charges of instigating the deadly January 6 riot in the U.S. Capitol.
Fifty-seven senators voted Saturday to find Trump guilty, but a two-thirds majority is required for impeachment conviction. The margin fell by 10 votes, and only seven Republicans joined all Democrats and both Independents in the election of the condemnation.
If he had been convicted, the Senate could have cast a second vote to exclude him from ever holding federal office again, and that would only have required a simple majority.
Sens. Richard Burr from North Carolina, Susan Collins from Maine, Bill Cassidy from Louisiana, Lisa Murkowski from Alaska, Mitt Romney from Utah, Ben Sasse from Nebraska, and Pat Toomey from Pennsylvania were the Republicans voting for the conviction. Although the two-thirds majority was not achieved, this was the most bipartisan conviction in an impeachment trial.
On Jan. 6, a pro-Trump mob marched from a then-President’s rally in the National Mall to invade and destroy the capital, and suspended the vote in Congress to confirm Joe Biden’s victory on the electoral college. Trump had encouraged his supporters to go to the capital and “fight like hell” to stop “stealing” the elections that he continued to claim had won. The uprising resulted in the direct death of five people.
LGBTQ + and other civil rights groups are furious at acquittal. “The verdict does not reflect the truth, understood by the majority of Americans, that Donald Trump ruthlessly and maliciously directed his supporters to attack the Capitol and our democracy,” GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate said in a statement Ellis. “The Trump administration will forever be marked by misinformation and violence, tactics the former president used against LGBTQ people and other vulnerable communities before abandoning them against our administration on Jan. 6. Senators who vote for the acquittal are being recorded, now and for all of history, for their cowardice not to hold the former president accountable for his lawless, destructive behavior. This is a turning point for our country where we demand a return to common core values such as truth, security and integrity to protect the least of us, especially from those chosen to guide us. “
Adding this statement to People for the American Way President Ben Jealous: “Today Senate Republicans have their constitutional duty to hold Donald Trump accountable for inciting insurrection against our government, despite overwhelming evidence of his role in the deadly attack on it Capitol completely abandoned. No president or elected official should ever be allowed to rebel against his own government in order to undermine the will of the electorate and tear the fabric of our democracy apart. For too long, the privileged and powerful in our society have got away with misconduct on all levels. For this reason, Trump’s acquittal in the Senate makes it all the more important that we double up on democracy reforms like those in HR 1, the For the People Act, which would break the stranglehold of our government’s wealthy special interests. Now is the time to strengthen the vote so that our elected officials are elected by the whole people, not a minority who are suppressing the votes of American citizens in a desperate attempt to overthrow free and fair elections. “
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer criticized the result, saying January 6th was a “day of shame” and that Saturday’s vote was a “vote of shame”. However, Republican Mitch McConnell, the minority leader who voted for the acquittal, condemned Trump’s actions, but said he believes the Senate has no jurisdiction over the case because Trump is already out of office.
Trump meanwhile drove a winning lap and issued a statement that his “Make America Great Again” movement “has only just begun”. He called the impeachment his second part of an ongoing “witch hunt” against him.
Some other reactions from LGBTQ + officials and commentators:
Develop story. Check for updates again.
Comments are closed.