SENATE ACQUITS TRUMP TEFLON DON
President cleared of abuse of power and obstruction; Romney the lone Republican to cast vote for conviction
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump won impeachment acquittal Wednesday in the U.S. Senate, bringing to a close only the third presidential trial in American history with votes that split the country, tested civic norms and fed the tumultuous 2020 race for the White House.
With Chief Justice John Roberts presiding, senators sworn to do “impartial justice” stood at their desks to state their votes for the roll call — “guilty” or “not guilty” — in a swift tally almost exclusively along party lines. Visitors, including the president’s allies, watched from the crowded gallery. Roberts read the declaration that Trump “be, and is hereby, acquitted of the charges.” The outcome followed months of remarkable impeachment proceedings, from Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s House to Mitch McConnell’s Senate, reflecting the nation’s unrelenting partisan divide three years into the Trump presidency.
What started as Trump’s request for Ukraine to “do us a favor” spun into a far-reaching, 28,000-page report compiled by House investigators accusing an American president of engaging in shadow diplomacy that threatened U.S. foreign relations for personal, political gain as he pressured the ally to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden ahead of the next election.
No president has ever been removed by the Senate.
Trump’s political campaign tweeted videos, statements and a cartoon dance celebrating that he was “vindicated.” Trump himself tweeted that he would speak from the White House on Thursday about “our Country’s VICTORY on the Impeachment Hoax.”
“Guilty” votes were needed from twothirds of the Senate to reach the Constitution’s bar of high crimes and misdemeanors to convict and remove Trump.
On the first article of impeachment, abuse of power, the vote was 52-48 favoring acquittal. The second, obstruction of Congress, also produced a not guilty verdict, 53-47.
Only one Republican, Mitt Romney of
Utah, broke with the GOP.
Romney choked up on the Senate floor as he said he drew on his faith and “oath before God” to vote guilty on the first charge, abuse of power. He voted to acquit on the second.
Romney cited the pressure Trump put on Ukraine. “The president’s purpose was personal and political,” he said. “Accordingly, the president is guilty of an appalling abuse of public trust.”
White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham released a statement saying “only the president’s political opponents — all Democrats, and one failed Republican presidential candidate — voted for the manufactured impeachment articles.”
Republicans siding with Trump said it was time to end what McConnell called the “circus.” Trump ally Lindsey Graham said it was a “sham” designed to destroy a presidency.
Two centrist Democrats voted to convict. “I’ve always said, if I can go home and explain it, I can vote for it,” said Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.
“I can explain my vote based on the evidence.”
Also voting to convict was Alabama Democratic Sen. Doug Jones. “Senators are elected to make tough choices,” Jones said.
Trump’s approval rating hit a new high of 49% in the latest Gallup polling, which was conducted as the Senate trial was drawing to a close. The poll found that 51% of the public views the Republican Party favorably, the first time the GOP’s number has exceeded 50% since 2005.
GOP fires back at speech rip
Pelosi’s shredding of Trump’s State of the Union speech Tuesday night reinforced Washington’s partisan divide, which Trump’s reelection campaign quickly sought to monetize.
“Wow. Nancy ripped my speech. She truly hates America,” said a text Wednesday as part of an effort to raise $2 million in 24 hours.
Vice President Mike Pence called Pelosi’s tearing of the speech “a new low” and said it was an effort to make the address “about her.”
“I felt very liberated last night,” Pelosi told House Democrats in their private meeting Wednesday, according to a Democratic aide in the room. She said she viewed Trump’s remarks as “a pack of lies.”
“We saw the president of the United States shred the truth right in front of us,” she said. “My friends, we just have to declare it.”
Biden criticizes Limbaugh honor
Joe Biden was asked Wednesday during a CNN town hall in New Hampshire about Rush Limbaugh receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom during the State of the Union address. The former vice president made the sign of the cross and looked at the ground for several seconds before responding.
Biden said he does feel bad that Limbaugh has a terminal illness. But he added that Trump’s bestowing the honor was, “quite frankly, trying to maintain your right-wing political credentials, rather than anything else.”
SOMERSWORTH, N.H. — Facing questions about his campaign’s viability, Joe Biden escalated his criticism of his top Democratic rivals on Wednesday, suggesting both Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg were risky choices for a party desperate for a return to the White House.
Biden conceded that he was disappointed by his sagging performance in the leadoff Iowa caucuses, calling it a “gut punch” for his campaign. As he turned his attention to New Hampshire, he sought to reenergize his campaign by drawing sharper contrasts with those who led in Iowa, including casting Sanders — a self-described democratic socialist — as a drag on others in the party.
“If Sen. Sanders is the nominee for the party, every Democrat in America up and down the ballot, in blue states, red states, purple states and easy districts and competitive ones, every Democrat will have to carry the label Sen. Sanders has chose for himself,” Biden said.
Biden was equally blunt about his assessment of Buttigieg, saying he didn’t think the Democrats’ standardbearer against President Donald Trump should be someone whose highest office is mayor of South Bend, Indiana, a city of about 100,000.
“It’s a risk, to be just straight up with you,” he said.
The tough talk comes as Biden’s third presidential bid enters a critical stretch. He needs to bounce back from what partial results suggest could be a fourth place finish in Monday’s Iowa caucuses.