Category: US Senate

Opinion: If Republican senators acquit Trump, they will own the violence that follows

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House impeachment managers closed their prosecution Thursday with a warning to Republican senators: If they vote to acquit former president Donald Trump, the blood will be on their hands when he unleashes political carnage again.

“When” is the proper word, for, given Trump’s long pattern of inciting violent threats and actions, the next brutal outburst is not a question of “if.”

“If we don’t draw the line here, what’s next?” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the lead impeachment manager, asked the senators. “Is there any political leader in this room who believes that, if he is ever allowed by the Senate to get back into the Oval Office, Donald Trump would stop inciting violence to get his way? … If he gets back into office and it happens again, we will have no one to blame but ourselves.” Continue reading.

Democrats argue Trump will incite violence again

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House Democrats pressing the Senate to convict former President Trump in his impeachment trial argued Thursday that an acquittal would raise the potential for him to incite violence again in the future.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the lead impeachment manager, argued that Trump’s pattern of incitement, which Democrats say led a mob to attack the Capitol on Jan. 6, would resume if he were to become president again.

“My dear colleagues, is there any political leader in this room who believes that if he is ever allowed by the Senate to get back into the Oval Office, Donald Trump would stop inciting violence to get his way?” Raskin asked. “Would you bet the lives of more police officers on that? Would you bet the safety of your family on that? Would you bet the future of your democracy on that?” Continue reading.

Trump’s acquittal is a sign of ‘constitutional rot’ – partisanship overriding principles

The Senate’s decision to acquit former President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial may have been a victory for Trump, but it is a clear sign that democracy in the U.S. is in poor health. 

As a constitutional scholar, I believe the United States – the world’s first constitutional democracy – is in a state of what I call “constitutional rot.”

In a constitutional democracy, the majority’s authority to govern is limited by the rule of law and by a set of legal rules and principles set out in the Constitution. Continue reading.

Trump attorneys falsely claim he was denied ‘due process’

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“Our Constitution and any basic sense of fairness require that every legal process with significant consequences for a person’s life, including impeachment, requires due process under the law, which includes fact-finding and the establishment of a legitimate evidentiary record with an appropriate foundation.”

— David I. Schoen, attorney for former president Donald Trump, in an argument to the Senate about Trump’s second impeachment, Feb. 12, 2021

“The due process clause applies to this impeachment hearing, and it’s been severely and extremely violated.”

— Trump attorney Michael van der Veen, responding to senators’ questions at Trump’s impeachment trial, Feb. 12, 2021

This falsehood is rich with hypocrisy.

The day before these remarks, Trump’s legal team was meeting with Republican senators to strategize on Trump’s defense. Forget about due process. Any lawyer who tried this with jurors in court would be sanctioned or disbarred.

Luckily for Trump, it was not a judicial proceeding. It was political. The House and Senate each set their own rules on impeachment. Each chamber votes. There’s no appeal. The end. Continue reading.

McConnell unloads on Trump: ‘Morally responsible’ for provoking mob

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Saturday unleashed blistering criticism of former President Trump, blaming him for sparking the attack on the Capitol while also explaining why he didn’t vote for a conviction.

McConnell also suggested that Trump could face criminal prosecution for his actions.

“There’s no question, none, that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day. No question about it. The people that stormed this building believed they were acting on the wishes and instructions of their president,” McConnell said. Continue reading.

Senator stunned by GOP’s determination to avoid the truth: ‘How will they ever look Pence in the face again?’

On MSNBC Thursday, Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) tore into his colleagues who were unswayed by the damning testimony at this week’s Senate impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump.

“I don’t know how anyone can call themselves a defender of law and order when you say it’s okay for this mob, this raging mob, to rampage and pillage,” he said.

The House impeachment managers presented new evidence to the Senate on Wednesday, including never-before-seen footage of how the pro-Trump mob came close to harming senators, something which stunned even some Republicans watching. Continue reading.

Will impeachment even be a blip in 2022 battle for Senate control?

NRSC Chairman Rick Scott says midterms will focus on job creation

Former President Donald Trump’s historic second impeachment has dominated recent headlines, but neither party expects the votes cast Saturday by senators from battleground states to be a major factor in the fight for Senate control next year.

Seven Republican senators crossed party lines and joined all 50 Democrats in voting to convict Trump for inciting the rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 to stop Congress from confirming Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential race. But that was 10 short of the two-thirds majority, or 67 votes, required by the Constitution. Forty-three Republicans voted to acquit Trump.

Two GOP senators in competitive races voted to acquit Trump. Just one Senate Republican up for reelection in 2022, Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski, voted to convict the former president. Two other Republicans in states with competitive Senate races who opted not to run for reelection, Pennsylvania’s Patrick J. Toomey and North Carolina’s Richard M. Burr, both also voted to convict.  Continue reading.

Romney on impeachment vote to convict: ‘Trump incited the insurrection’

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Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) on Saturday explained why he voted to convict former President Trump on the charge that he incited the mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. 

Romney issued a statement in the early evening on Saturday in which he explicitly declared that Trump “incited the insurrection” that led to several deaths, including that of a Capitol Police Officer. 

“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,” Romney said. Continue reading.

Trump on acquittal: MAGA ‘has only just begun’

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Former President Trump declared victory on Saturday after Senate Republicans voted to acquit him for a second time, saying that his political movement “has only just begun” and that he would have more to share in the near future.

Trump thanked his legal team for “upholding justice and defending truth.”

“Our historic, patriotic and beautiful movement to Make America Great Again has only just begun. In the months ahead, I have much to share with you, and I look forward to continuing our incredible journey together to achieve American greatness for all of our people,” he said in the statement. Continue reading.

How Democratic and Republican senators voted on Trump’s second impeachment

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The Senate acquitted former president Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial, weeks after the House voted to impeach him for his alleged role in inciting an angry mob to storm the U.S. Capitol.

Two-thirds of senators present and voting were needed to convict the former president, which meant the seven Republicans who joined every Democrat and independent were not enough to reach the 67 votes needed for conviction. But it was the most bipartisan impeachment vote in history.

In addition to Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Mitt Romney (Utah) and Ben Sasse (Neb.), who were expected to join Democrats on the vote, Sens. Richard Burr (N.C.), Bill Cassidy (La.) and Patrick J. Toomey (Pa.) also voted for conviction. Continue reading.