Trump triumphs in defeat, acquitted in second impeachment trial

 

United States former president, Donald Trump, has been acquitted in an unprecedented second impeachment trial on the charge of inciting an insurrection for the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, making him the first and only president to be impeached and acquitted twice in history.

Even though majority of senators found him guilty on Saturday in a 57-43 vote, but the number fell short of the supermajority needed to convict the former president.

Had Trump been convicted, the Senate would have moved to bar the 45th president from holding federal office ever again, Fox News reports.

Seven Republican senators joined their Democratic counterparts in finding Trump guilty. They were: Senators Richard Burr of North Carolina, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitt Romney of Utah, Ben Sasse of Nebraska and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania.

Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy who presided over the trial announced the vote fell short of the two-thirds majority needed and therefore Trump is “hereby acquitted of the charge.”

READ: US Senate overwhelmingly acquits Trump of impeachment charges

The acquittal means that as of now Trump can leave the door open to another White House bid in 2024, though senators have hinted they may still try to bar him from office in a separate 14th Amendment measure.

Trump praised the victory, thanked his supporters and promised he would soon emerge with a “vision for a bright, radiant, and limitless American future.”

The former president, who has largely stayed silent since his impeachment, took aim at his opponents.

“This has been yet another phase of the greatest witch hunt in the history of our country,” Trump said. “No president has ever gone through anything like it, and it continues because our opponents cannot forget the almost 75 million people, the highest number ever for a sitting president, who voted for us just a few short months ago.”

Trump’s second impeachment trial spanned just five days of arguments, making it the shortest in presidential history. The previous record was held by Trump in 2020 when his trial related to inviting foreign interference into the election spanned 21 days.