WASHINGTON DC: The Senate voted to acquit former President Donald Trump on the charge he incited an insurrection at the Capitol, capping a weeklong impeachment trial fueled by the former president’s efforts to hold on to the White House after losing the election.
One-by-one, senators stood at their desks and stated their vote —with 57 for conviction and 43 for acquittal. All 50 Democrats voted to convict, joined by seven Republicans, among them Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr, Utah Sen. Mitt Romney and Maine Sen. Susan Collins. Sixty-seven votes were required to convict.
The result, while again resulting in the acquittal of Mr. Trump, marked a shift from his impeachment trial last year, when only one Republican, Mr. Romney, voted to convict Mr. Trump, on one count.
Democrats argued that Mr. Trump’s false allegations of voter fraud over several months paired with his exhortations for supporters to “fight” and march to the Capitol on Jan. 6 amounted to incitement, saying he was making a last-ditch attempt to stop Congress from declaring President Joe Biden as the winner of the election. Mr. Trump’s lawyers condemned the attack but said Mr. Trump was using standard political rhetoric and didn’t act to foment a mob. They also said Mr. Trump, as former president, shouldn’t be subject to an impeachment trial.
