Saturday February 13th 2021
Has violated his duties
Republican McConnell settles accounts with Trump
The US Senate acquits Donald Trump in impeachment proceedings. Still, Senator Mitch McConnell is harshly taking the ex-president to justice. Trump was responsible for storming the Capitol, says the Republican minority leader. There was only one reason why he still voted against a conviction.
Former President Donald Trump is, in the opinion of the Republican minority leader in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, "practically and morally" responsible for the storming of the Capitol by his supporters. Trump incited this for weeks with lies about his allegedly won election, McConnell said on Saturday in the Senate about his party colleague. Trump "orchestrated" the storming and "shamefully" violated his duties as president, McConnell said.
The Senator had nevertheless voted against a conviction of Trump because he considered the process to be unconstitutional after the end of Trump's term in office. McConnell said he would have carefully examined the House of Representatives' indictment of "inciting riot" had Trump been president.
Trump's behavior likely would not have met the criminal law requirements for an incitement to conviction, but under the impeachment requirements, the Senate could have convicted Trump for his "irresponsible acts," he said. But this question is no longer applicable because Trump is no longer in office.
"The Senate's decision does not excuse anything that happened on or before that terrible day," said McConnell, referring to the storming of the Capitol on January 6th. He also sympathized with the seven Republican senators who voted with the Democrats to condemn, McConnell said.
Just six weeks after the Capitol was stormed by angry Trump supporters, the Senate acquitted the ex-president of the charge of "inciting rioting" in the impeachment proceedings. A majority of 57 senators voted for a condemnation, but they missed the two-thirds majority of 67 votes necessary for a conviction. 50 Democrats and seven Republicans voted to condemn Trump.
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