The United States Senate on Saturday voted to acquit former President Donald J. Trump on a charge of incitement to insurrection over the Capitol riot on 6 January 2021. The Senators voted with 57 to 43, including seven Republicans voted to convict the 45th US President but fell short of the majority vote of 67 required for conviction.
The acquittal means that the door is now wide open for Trump to run for president of the United States of America in 2024. The Senate cannot bar Trump from holding future federal offices.
Trump released a statement after his acquittal. “I want to first thank my team of dedicated lawyers and others for their tireless work upholding justice and defending truth,” Trump said. “My deepest thanks as well to all of the United States Senators and Members of Congress who stood proudly for the Constitution we all revere and for the sacred legal principles at the heart of our country,” Trump said.
He added: “This has been yet another phase of the greatest witch hunt in the history of our Country. 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 was accused of allegedly inciting a mob of pro-Trump supporters that tried to disrupt the electoral vote count formalizing Joe Biden’s election win before a joint session of Congress at the Capitol on January 6.
These are the seven Republican Senators who voted with the Democrats to convict Trump: Richard Burr of North Carolina, Susan Collins of Maine, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitt Romney of Utah, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Ben Sasse of Nebraska.
Trump will turn 78 in 2024 which raises the question about whether he will pursue another election campaign. With two impeachment win, Trump has managed to overcome his adversaries holding on to his influence in the GOP.
