WASHINGTON – After a “heartbreaking” verdict, House prosecutors who defended Donald Trump’s conviction to incite the US Capitol riot said on Sunday that they had proven their case and criticized the Republican Senate leader and the majority of his colleagues “for trying both” By absolving the former president.
A day after Trump won his second Senate impeachment trial in two years, bipartisan support seemed to be growing for an independent, 9/11-style commission to make sure that such a horrific attack would never happen again.
The end of the swift trial hardly ended the debate over Trump’s guilt for the January 6 uprising, as the political, legal and emotional consequences unfolded.
Further investigations into the riot have already been planned, with Senate hearings scheduled later this month on the Senate Rules Committee. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Also asked retired Army Lieutenant General Russel Honoré to lead an immediate review of the Capitol security process.
Lawmakers on both sides signaled on Sunday that further investigations are likely.
“There must be a thorough investigation into what happened,” said Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, one of seven Republicans who voted to condemn Trump. “What was known, who knew and when they knew, all of this, because it builds the foundation for it to never happen again. “
Cassidy said he was “trying to hold President Trump accountable” and added that, as Americans hear all the facts, “more people will move to where I was.” He was censored by his state party after the vote, which was 57-43 to condemn, but 10 votes less than the required two-thirds.
A close ally of Trump, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, said he hoped to campaign with Trump in the 2022 elections, when Republicans hope to regain a majority in Congress. But Graham acknowledged that Trump had some blame for the Capitol siege that killed five people, including a policeman, and interrupted lawmakers’ certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the White House.
“His behavior after the election was overblown,” said Graham. “We need a 9/11 commission to find out what happened and make sure it never happens again.”
The Senate acquitted Trump of an “incitement to insurrection” charge after House prosecutors laid out a case that he was a “chief instigator” who sparked a crowd for stoking a months-long campaign to spread unmasked conspiracy theories and rhetoric. false violence that 2020 the election was stolen from him.
Trump’s lawyers responded that Trump’s words were not intended to incite violence and that impeachment was nothing more than a “witch hunt” designed to prevent him from serving in office again.
The conviction count was the most bipartisan in American history, but it let Trump declare victory and signal a political renaissance while a bitterly divided Republican Party argued about its direction and its place in the party.
The Republicans who joined Cassidy in the vote to condemn were Sens. Richard Burr of North Carolina, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitt Romney of Utah, Ben Sasse of Nebraska and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania.
On Sunday, several House impeachment managers harshly criticized McConnell, who told Republican senators, just before the vote, that he would absolve Trump. In a forceful speech after the vote, McConnell said the president was “practically and morally responsible for causing the events of that day”, but that the Senate’s hands were tied to do anything about it because Trump was out of office. But the Senate, in a previous vote, considered the constitutional judgment.
“It was powerful to hear the 57 culprits and then it was intriguing to hear and see Mitch McConnell plead not guilty and, minutes later, get up again and say he was guilty of everything,” said Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa. “History will remember that statement of speaking from both sides of the mouth,” she said.
Dean supported the idea of an impartial investigation commission “not guided by politics, but full of people who would face the courage of their conviction”.
An independent 9/11 type commission, which would likely require legislation, would take the investigation a step further, offering a definitive account of events supported by the government. Pelosi expressed support for such a commission, emphasizing that the members participating in it would be key. Still, such a panel would pose risks of sharpening party divisions or overshadowing Biden’s legislative agenda.
“There is even more evidence that the American people need and deserve to hear, and a 9/11 commission is a way to ensure that the Capitol continues,” said Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., And a Biden ally. “And that we have exposed the record of how responsible and abject a violator of his constitutional oath President Trump really was.”
The House’s chief impeachment manager, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., Called the trial a “dramatic success in historical terms” by gaining unprecedented support from Republican senators. He said the verdict does not match the reality of the strength of the evidence.
“We successfully sued him and sentenced him to the court of public opinion and the court of history,” he said.
Raskin and Deputy Stacey Plaskett, the district attorney representing the Virgin Islands, also defended the decision by the House staff not to call a witness, Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Wash. They acknowledged that they were aware that they could lose some Republican Party votes for condemnation if they extended the trial much longer.
Beutler’s statement on Friday that Trump rejected an appeal by Republican House leader Kevin McCarthy to cancel the protesters was finally included in the trial record.
“I think what we did was get what we wanted, which was her testimony, what she said, and we recorded it,” said Plaskett.
“It’s frustrating, but the founders knew what they were doing, so we live with the system we have,” she said of the verdict, describing it as “painful”. “But, listen, we didn’t need any more witnesses. We needed more senators with thorns. “
Cassidy and Dean spoke on ABC’s “This Week”, Graham appeared on Fox News Sunday, Raskin on NBC’s “Meet the Press” and Plaskett appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union”.
Associated Press writers Alexandra Jaffe, Lisa Mascaro, Eric Tucker, Mary Clare Jalonick and Alan Fram contributed to this report.