Impeachment trial – Trump acquitted of inciting Capitol attack despite 7 Republicans voting to convict
All the news from Congress, the White House and Mar-a-Lago on the final day of the second Trump impeachment
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump has been acquitted of inciting insurrection leading to the violent storming of the US Capitol on 6 January.
Mr Trump was not convicted despite seven Republicans joining 50 Democrats in voting ‘guilty’. A further 10 votes were needed to convict as a two-thirds majority of 67 is required under the Constitution.
The former president released a celebratory statement thanking his supporters and teasing a continuation of his MAGA movement. Meanwhile, he was eviscerated in speeches on the Senate floor by both Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who noted that Mr Trump could still face criminal or civil charges.
In a dramatic morning at the Capitol, the Senate initially voted to allow witnesses in Mr Trump’s impeachment trial in a “game-changing” move that threw proceedings into chaos. Frantic negotiations brought the trial back on track — without witnesses — and it is again expected to wrap up today.
The Trump defence team was seemingly caught off guard by the move by Democrat House managers who specifically requested Republican congresswoman Jamie Herrera Beutler be called to testify. Republicans threatened to call more than 300 witnesses in retaliation for the move.
The motion to have witnesses testify passed 55-45 on Saturday morning, with a handful of Republican lawmakers, including Lindsey Graham, siding with Democrats.
Ms Beutler’s testimony — an account of a chilling conversation between House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy and Mr Trump during the assault on the US Capitol in which the president reportedly refused to call off rioters loyal to him — was instead read into the record.
Key stories:
Should the former president be censured?
Nancy Pelosi was asked about the possibility of censuring Donald Trump.
“We censure people for using stationery for the wrong purpose, we don’t censure people for inciting insurrection that kills people in the Capitol,” she replied.
Pelosi condemns ‘cowardly group of Republicans’
Alex Woodward has more on Nancy Pelosi’s press conference remarks.
Pelosi condemns ‘cowardly group of Republicans’ after Trump acquitted over Capitol riot
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi condemned Republicans who voted to acquit Donald Trump for his role inciting an insurrection at the US Capitol on 6 January, following a months-long campaign to undermine election results that fuelled his supporters to riot.
Don Jr: ‘Let’s impeach RINOs'
Donald Trump Jr wants to rid the Republican Party of RINOs — Republicans In Name Only — in an attack on those lawmakers who voted to impeach and convict his father.
Republican leaders in Congress have been trying to maintain a big tent for the party so that include traditional conservatives and Trump loyalists. That might prove difficult going forward.
‘Beating these clowns twice’ — Don Jr
Rep Beutler would have testified under oath
Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler would have testified if she had been called to do so, according to her spokesperson. Ms Beutler was cited as a potential witness on Saturday morning. A statement was instead read into the record.
“She’s already offered all the information she has, and she would have testified under oath,” CNN’s Ryan Nobles was told.
ICYMI: Impeachment manager closing arguments
Democratic impeachment managers acting as prosecutors in Donald Trump’s trial closed their arguments with a warning that the insurrectionists who attacked the US Capitol are “still listening” and may be the “beginning” of a violent political legacy.
Congressman Joe Neguse said that “the cold, hard truth is that what happened on 6 January can happen again”.
“I fear, like many of you do, that the violence we saw on that terrible day may be just the beginning,” he said on Saturday. “The extremist groups grow more emboldened every day. Senators, this cannot be the beginning. It can’t be the new normal. It has to be the end, and that decision is in your hands.”
Alex Woodward reports.
Impeachment managers close trial with warning that insurrectionists ‘still listening’
Democrats warn ‘extremist groups grow more emboldened every day’ as Trump is acquitted
Poll: Americans think Trump repsonsible for attack
Seventy-one percent of American adults, including nearly half of all Republicans, believe former President Donald Trump was at least partially responsible for starting the deadly Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol, according to an Ipsos poll conducted for Reuters.
But the national online poll, released on Saturday, also showed that a smaller proportion — only about half of the country — thinks Trump should be convicted of inciting insurrection at his Senate impeachment trial or barred from holding public office again.
The survey of 998 adults, which ran after Trump’s lawyers concluded their presentation at the trial on Friday, revealed how many Americans are balancing what they understand to be Trump’s role in the attack with what they think he deserves in response.
When asked what they thought of Trump’s role, 30% of Americans said he was “fully” responsible for sparking the violent confrontation between police and Trump loyalists who broke into Congress in hopes of stopping lawmakers from certifying the November 2020 presidential election results.
Another 25% said he was largely responsible, 16% said he was partially responsible, and the remaining 29% said they thought Trump was not at all responsible for the attack that left five people dead.
Reuters
Senator Susan Collins statement on vote to convict
Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine has released text and video from of her statement explaining her reasons for voting to convict Donald Trump of incitement of insurrection.
“Instead of preventing a dangerous situation, President Trump created one ... President Trump subordinating the interests of the country to his own selfish interests, bears significant responsibility for the invasion of the Capitol.”
Romney on impeachment vote
Republican Senator for Utah Mitt Romney released the following statement regarding his vote on the article of impeachment:
After careful consideration of the respective counsels’ arguments, I have concluded that President Trump is guilty of the charge made by the House of Representatives. President Trump attempted to corrupt the election by pressuring the Secretary of State of Georgia to falsify the election results in his state. President Trump incited the insurrection against Congress by using the power of his office to summon his supporters to Washington on January 6th and urging them to march on the Capitol during the counting of electoral votes. He did this despite the obvious and well known threats of violence that day. President Trump also violated his oath of office by failing to protect the Capitol, the Vice President, and others in the Capitol. Each and every one of these conclusions compels me to support conviction.
Trump ‘loved ‘ defence team calling trial ‘constitutional cancel culture’
Donald Trump reportedly “loved it” when one of his legal team called his impeachment trial “constitutional cancel culture” when presenting their case on Friday.
James Crump reports.
Trump ‘loved it’ when his defense team called impeachment trial ‘constitutional cancel culture’
Former president’s legal team spoke for less than three hours on Friday
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