CLOSE CALL
Mitch McConnell acquits Trump in impeachment trial before slamming former president in fiery speech over Capitol riots
MITCH McConnell slammed Trump as he blamed him for inciting the Capitol riots on January 6 – but voted to acquit him.
The Kentucky Senator, 78, said there's "no question" that "is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events on that day.
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In a final vote of 57 to 43, on charges alleging he incited an insurrection as just seven joined in a vote to have him convicted.
This did not meet the minimum two-thirds threshold required to convict in the Senate.
Trump is now the only president to be – and acquitted – twice.
Following Trump's acquittal, Senate Minority Leader gave a scathing speech, in which he blamed the former president for the riots on January 6 that left five dead.
"There's no question, none that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events on the day. No question about it," he said.
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He continued: "The people who stormed this building believed they were acting on the wishes and instructions of their president.
"Having that belief was a foreseeable consequence of the growing crescendo of the false statements, conspiracy theories, and reckless hyperbole which the defeated president kept shouting into the largest megaphone on planet earth."
McConnell said Trump "fed wild falsehoods" and said his "actions preceding the riot were a disgraceful dereliction of duty."
He said, however, that Trump "is constitutionally not eligible for conviction" as he's no longer president.
Despite his scathing speech, McConnell voted not guilty, in favor of Trump's being acquitted.
He did not join seven other Republican Senators and 50 Democrats who voted to convict Trump.
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He said impeachment is a “narrow tool for a narrow purpose" and that the Senate voted the right way in not convicting the former president.
McConnell suggested in his speech that Trump could still be held legally responsible for the events on the day of the riots, even if he was not convicted on the Articles of Impeachment.
"He didn't get away with anything yet," McConnell said.
"We have criminal justice system in this country; we have civil litigation. And former presidents are not immune from being accountable by either one," McConnell said.
A total of 17 Republicans would have needed to join Democrats in voting to convict Trump.
On Saturday, the final tally came to 57 to 43.
A total of seven Republicans sided with Democrats and voted to convict the former 45th President.
Those who voted to convict him include: Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitt Romney of Utah, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, Richard Burr of North Carolina, and Susan Collins of Maine.
Despite McConnell's comments, House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats have expressed outrage that Trump was not convicted.
"Our House Managers laid out a case of overwhelming and irrefutable evidence of this searing truth: that Donald Trump incited a violent mob to attack the Capitol and then refused to intervene to stop the attack, even as his mob threatened to ‘hang Mike Pence,'" Pelosi said in a statement on Saturday.
She continued: "Today an overwhelming bipartisan vote to convict Donald Trump speaks to the courage of the United States Senate.
"I salute the Republican Senators who voted their conscience and for our Country.
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Other Senate Republicans’ refusal to hold Trump accountable for igniting a violent insurrection to cling to power will go down as one of the darkest days and most dishonorable acts in our nation’s history," she added.
In the days after the House voted to impeach Trump on January 13, many Senators had pushed for the proceedings to move forward in the house before he was out of office on January 20.
Mitch McConnell, however, said in a statement he would not move to expedite the impeachment process, citing the amount of time he said fair proceedings would take.
"Given the rules, procedures, and Senate precedents that govern presidential impeachment trials, there is simply no chance that a fair or serious trial could conclude before President-elect Biden is sworn in next week," McConnell said.
He added: "Even if the Senate process were to begin this week and move promptly, no final verdict would be reached until after President Trump had left office."
McConnell said lawmakers should instead focus on a peaceful transition of powers as Biden was set to take Trump's place.
Trump released a statement shortly after he was acquitted, thanking his legal team and making allegations of a "witch hunt" against his presidency.
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"It is a sad commentary on our times that one political party in America is given a free pass to denigrate the rule of law, defame law enforcement, cheer mobs, excuse rioters, and transform justice into a tool of political vengeance, and persecute, blacklist, cancel and suppress all people and viewpoints with whom or which they disagree," Trump said.
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Trump alleged: "This has been yet another phase of the greatest witch hunt in the history of our Country.
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He claimed "No president has ever gone through anything like it..."
He continued, saying that the "movement to Make America has only just begun," as he made promises of a "journey" to "American greatness.
Donald Trump ACQUITTED in impeachment trial vote for second time as Democrats fall short of number needed to convict
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