Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial came to an end on Saturday with 57 senators voting for the conviction, falling short of the two-thirds margin needed to find him guilty of the “incitement to insurrection” charge in connection with the January 6 riot in the USA Capitol which resulted in five deaths. Seven Republican senators broke with their party – voting together with all 48 Democrats and both independents in the body.
After the 57-43 vote, Republicans who challenged Trump explained their decision.
Richard Burr, North Carolina
“The facts are clear,” said Burr in a statement after the vote. “The president promoted unfounded conspiracy theories to cast doubt on the integrity of a free and fair election because he did not like the results. While Congress was meeting to certify the results of the election, the president directed his supporters to go to the Capitol to interrupt the legal procedures required by the Constitution. When the crowd became violent, the president used his office to first ignite the situation, instead of immediately calling for an end to the attack. “
Burr originally voted that the trial was unconstitutional, but said in his statement that “the Senate is an institution based on precedent, and given that the majority of the Senate voted to proceed with this trial, the question of constitutionality is now an established precedent.”
He has already announced that he will not run for re-election in 2022.
Bill Cassidy, Louisiana
Cassidy said succinctly video statement on Saturday that he voted to condemn Trump “because he is guilty”.
“Our Constitution and our country are more important than anyone,” he said.
Susan Collins, Maine
Earlier this week, Collins, who was re-elected in November, said she was “perplexed” by the performance of Trump’s lawyer, Bruce Castor.
“He didn’t seem to make any point, which was an unusual approach,” she said.
After she voted to acquit Trump last year in her first impeachment trial, Collins said he believed “the president has learned from this case. The president was impeached. This is a great lesson. “
On Saturday, Collins voted to condemn and made a different assessment of the former president.
“Instead of avoiding a dangerous situation, President Trump created one. And instead of defending the constitutional transfer of power, he incited an insurrection in order to prevent this transfer of power from occurring, “she said.
Lisa Murkowski, Alaska
Murkowski, who is running for re-election in 2022, told Politico after Saturday’s vote that he is not concerned with facing the political consequences of his vote for sentencing.
“If I can’t say what I believe our president should be defending, then why should I ask the Alaskans to support me? This has had consequences on many levels, but I cannot allow the meaning of my vote to be devalued by whether or not I feel it is useful for my political ambitions, ”she said.
On Friday, Murkowski and Collins posed a key question for Trump’s advice: Exactly when Trump learned of the Capitol violation and what specific actions did he take to end the disturbances? Trump’s board seemed to avoid the issue, telling senators that there was “no investigation into it”.
Asked about the answer to his question, Murkowski said “he was not very responsive”.
Lisa Murkowski on how the Trump team answered your question with Collins. “I was like, wait a minute, it wasn’t very responsive.” They asked what Trump did when he learned of the rebellion.
– Manu Raju (@mkraju) February 13, 2021
The senator said on Wednesday that the House’s impeachment managers “made a very strong case” and that the evidence presented was “quite overwhelming,” NBC reported.
Mitt Romney, Utah
Romney was the only Republican to vote to condemn Trump after his first impeachment trial last year. After Saturday’s vote, the senator said in a demonstration that he believed Trump was guilty of inciting insurrection and added that the former president “tried to corrupt the election by pressuring the Georgia Secretary of State to falsify the election results in his state”.
“President Trump also violated his oath of office by failing to protect Capitol, the vice president and others on Capitol. Each of these conclusions obliges me to support the conviction, ”said his statement.
Ben Sasse, Nebraska
Sasse, one of the few Republican Party senators who did not directly oppose the impeachment trial, said in a statement on Saturday that the former president repeated lies about the election, such as the false claim that he won by a landslide, and used those lies to summon his supporters to the Capitol on January 6.
“These lies had consequences,” the demonstration he said, “putting the vice president’s life at risk and dangerously approaching a bloody constitutional crisis.”
Sasse’s support for the former president waned long before the November election, and the Omaha World-Herald reported that he faces censorship from Nebraska Republicans for his lack of support for Trump.
Pat Toomey, Pennsylvania
On a demonstration launched after his vote, Toomey said: “President Trump has summoned thousands of people to Washington, DC and ignited his passion by repeating refuted claims about widespread fraud. He urged the crowd to march on the Capitol with the explicit purpose of preventing Congress and the vice president from formally certifying the results of the presidential election. All this to remain in power, despite having lost legitimately. “
“I was one of the 74 million Americans who voted for President Trump, in part because of the many achievements of his administration,” continued Toomey. “Unfortunately, his behavior after the election has betrayed the trust that millions of us place in him. His betrayal of the Constitution and his oath required condemnation. “
Toomey has already announced that he will not run for re-election in 2022.
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