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On Saturday, the Senate acquitted former President Donald Trump on impeachment charges of inciting a riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, when demonstrators stormed the building.
The Senate voted 57-43 to convict Trump. The vote fell short of the 67 vote threshold needed to convict in a Senate impeachment case.
All Democrats and seven Republicans voted to convict Trump. Those Republicans were Sens. Richard Burr (R-NC), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Ben Sasse (R-NE), Pat Toomey (R-PA).
The final trial vote came after Senators reversed an earlier vote to call witnesses, in a move that would have likely extended the trial by months.
The Senate instead allowed House lead impeachment managers to read into the record an account from Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA) who said she witnessed a phone call between Trump and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) in which she said Trump “repeated the falsehood that it was antifa that had breached the Capitol,” Beutler wrote. “McCarthy refuted that and told the president that these were Trump supporters. That’s when, according to McCarthy, the president said ‘Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are.’”
After Raskin announced his plans to call Beutler to testify and present documents, Trump defense team lawyer Michael van der Veen said he would call numerous witnesses of his own, saying, “I’m gonna slap subpoenas on a good number of people.”
Rather than hear from additional witnesses, the Senate took a second vote instead have Beutler’s account read into the record and then proceed to closing arguments.
With Saturday’s vote, Trump is the first president in U.S. history to have been impeached twice by the House of Representatives and acquitted twice by the Senate.
Trump was acquitted in an impeachment trial last year for charges he abused his power as president to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate indications former Vice President Joe Biden pressured past Ukrainian officials to fire the prosecutor investigating his son Hunter Biden’s Ukrainian oil company, Burisma.
In December, Hunter Biden disclosed the FBI is investigating him for possible tax fraud involving overseas business dealings connected to China and Ukraine.
In remarks following the final vote, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said, “This trial wasn’t about choosing country over party, even not that. This was about choosing country over Donald Trump. And 43 Republican members chose Trump.”
Following his acquittal, Trump thanked his defense team and the members of Congress who voted in his defense and said, “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.”
Though voting to acquit Trump, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said, “There is no question, none, that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day.”
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