Donald Trump acquitted after second impeachment trial
The 45th President of the United States, who left the White House on January 20, was accused of "incitement to insurgency" after several of his supporters stormed Capitol Hill on January 6.
His case is unique in the history of the United States. Donald Trump was acquitted on Saturday February 13 for the second time in as many impeachment proceedings. The former president, who left the White House on January 20, had been on trial since Tuesday by the Senate for "incitement to insurgency" after the assault on Capitol Hill on January 6 by several of his supporters.
Fifty-seven senators voted to find him guilty, and forty-three against. The two-thirds majority needed for sentencing was not reached as Democrats failed to win the support of seventeen elected opposition officials.
"Our magnificent, historic and patriotic movement," Make America Great Again ", has only just begun", reacted Donald Trump, welcoming the end of a "witch hunt", hardly the verdict known. “In the months to come, I will have a lot to share with you and look forward to continuing our incredible journey. "
Thanking all senators "who proudly defended the Constitution", he denounced an impeachment trial which he saw as "a new phase in the greatest witch hunt in history". "No president has ever been treated like this," he said, repeating a phrase used regularly throughout his term.
Acquitted but "responsible"
Democrats hoped the former president would be found guilty, so he could later be rendered ineligible. In their eyes, he is primarily responsible for the events of January 6, when a mob of his angry supporters stormed the Capitol as Congress was about to confirm his defeat in the November 3 election. Five people had lost their lives during the violence.
"There is no doubt, no doubt that President Trump is, in fact and morally, responsible for bringing about the events of this day" of January 6, said Republican senator leader Mitch McConnell. The rioters did so "because the most powerful man on the planet had fed them lies" by refusing his defeat, he asserted. Yet the influential Kentucky senator voted in favor of acquittal, justifying his decision on the grounds that the Senate has no jurisdiction to try a former president.
But the political message is clear. "Mitch McConnell feels that Donald Trump remains a huge problem for the Republican Party", hammered Jamie Raskin, chief of the Democratic prosecutors.
Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives, after a statement pointing to "one of the darkest days and one of the most dishonorable acts" in the history of the country, was furious in front of the press, by treating Republican senators who acquitted the former president as "cowards". “We censor those who use paperwork for a bad purpose. We don't censor those who incite an insurgency that kills people on Capitol Hill. "
Less outspoken, President Joe Biden believes that "while the final vote did not result in a conviction, the substance of the accusation is not in dispute." “This sad chapter in our history reminded us that democracy is fragile. That it must always be defended. That we must always remain vigilant, ”he added in a statement.
"Chief instigator" clothes
For more than two hours, Saturday morning, great confusion reigned in the Senate, after a surprise vote authorizing the summoning of witnesses, a decision which could have greatly delayed the verdict. Democratic chief prosecutor Jamie Raskin had signaled his willingness to hear from Republican elected Jaime Herrera Beutler in the House of Representatives.
The latter, who is among the ten elected members of the Grand Old Party (out of 211) to have voted in favor of the impeachment of Donald Trump on January 13, reported a lively exchange between the latter and the leader of the Republicans at the House, Kevin McCarthy, Jan.6. His testimony was eventually admitted into evidence.
Mixing shocking videos of the violence and selected excerpts from presidential diatribes, the Democrats have, since the start of the trial, accused Donald Trump of having given up his role of "commander-in-chief" to put on the clothes of "chief instigator. ".
“It is now clear, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Trump supported the actions of the surly mob and he must therefore be condemned. It’s that simple, ”Jamie Raskin said during his final indictment before the Senate on Saturday.
On Friday, lawyers for the 45th tenant of the White House had counterattacked in a concise - three hours - and muscular argument. According to them, the attack was "horrible" but the trial is "unfair": it is an act of "political revenge".
In turn, unsheathing carefully edited videos, they ensured that Donald Trump's combative lexical field was part of "ordinary political rhetoric," protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression. According to the defense, it is “absurd” to link the violence to the speech of January 6, Donald Trump having called on his supporters to march “in a peaceful and patriotic manner” on the Capitol.
