Day five of the Senate trial
The final day of the Senate impeachment trial:Â https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeQ8W1BikeE
The day began with a request to depose Rep. Herrera Beutler on evidence released the previous night regarding a January 6th phone call between Donald Trump and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. Rep. Beutler alleged that during the riot, Trump sided with the rioters. Five Republicans voted in favor of hearing this testimony, 55 to 45, and calling more witnesses. However, the measure was set aside hours later after an agreement was reached to simply add Rep. Beutler's statement to the record rather than depose. Both sides agreed to this stipulation.Â
Key evidence in Rep. Beutler's statement read as follows:
"When McCarthy finally reached the president on January 6th and asked him to publicly and forcefully call off the riot, the president initially repeated the falsehood that it was Antifa that had breached the Capitol. 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 closing arguments, Trump was acquitted, 57 to 43, ten votes shy of the 2/3rds needed. Seven Republicans voted to convict Donald Trump, in a vote that was both the largest and most bipartisan of any presidential impeachment trial. Â
After the vote, although he voted to acquit, Sen. Mitch McConnell condemned Donald Trump as responsible for the riot: " There's no question, none, that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day."
Sen. Chuck Schumer delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor:
"January 6th will live as a day of infamy in the United States of America. The failure to convict Donald Trump will live as a vote of infamy in the history of the United States Senate. Five years ago, Republicans lamented what would become of their party if Donald Trump became their standard-bearer. Just look at what has happened. Look at what Republicans have been forced to defend. Look at what Republicans have chosen to forgive."
"The most despicable act that any president has ever committed, and the majority of Republicans cannot summon the courage or the morality to condemn it."
"This trial wasn't about choosing country over party—even not that. This was about choosing country over Donald Trump."
"Forty-three Republican members chose Trump. They chose Trump. It should be a weight on their conscience today, and it shall be a weight on their conscience in the future."
"By not recognizing the heinous crime that Donald Trump committed against the Constitution, Republican Senators have not only risked, but potentially invited, the same danger that was just visited upon us."
"Six hours after the attack on January 6th, after the carnage and mayhem was shown on every television screen in America, President Trump told his supporters to, quote, 'Remember this day forever.' I ask the American people to heed his words. Remember that day forever—but not for the reasons the former president intended. Remember the panic in the voices over the radio dispatch, the rhythmic pounding of fists and flags at the chamber doors. Remember the crack of a solitary gunshot. Remember the hateful and racist confederate flags flying through the halls of our Union. Remember the screams of the bloody officer, crushed between an on-rushing mob in a doorway to the Capitol—his body trapped in the breach. Remember the three Capitol Police officers who lost their lives. Remember that those rioters actually succeeded in delaying Congress from certifying the election. Remember how close our democracy came to ruin. My fellow Americans, remember that day, January 6th, forever: the final, terrible legacy of the 45th president of the United States, and undoubtedly our worst. Let it live on in infamy—a stain on Donald John Trump that can never, ever be washed away."
"Washington's farewell address established for all time that no one had the right to the office of the presidency, that it belonged to the people. What an amazing legacy. What an amazing gift to future generations: the knowledge that this country will always be greater than any one person, even our most renowned. That's why members of both parties take turns reading the address in full into the record, to pledge common attachment to the selflessness at the core of our democratic system."Â