Donald Trump Acquitted, Staying in Office
February 13, 2020
With this trial, Trump becomes the third President in history to face impeachment charges in the House and to be acquitted by the Senate.
This process took nearly two weeks to come to a final conclusion.
The trial was split rather evenly, as every Democrat had voted him guilty, and all but one Republican had voted him not guilty.
The one Republican to vote him guilty was Mitt Romney, a former runner for President, marking it the first time in US history where this has occurred.
When asked why he voted against Trump, Romney stated that what Trump did was “grievously wrong.”
48 senators voted guilty on abuse of power, and 52 had voted not guilty; 47 senators voted guilty on obstruction of Congress, and 53 had voted not guilty, according to NPR’s Philip Ewing’s article.
The Senate would have needed 67 total votes to impeach Trump on either article.
Because of this, Trump will stay in office as President.
Many politicians fear that this trial could damage the workings of the government for a generation.
Republicans state that an impeachment process that was initiated and played out almost completely by party lines was a horrible use of a “grave constitutional duty” as a political weapon in an election year.
Lawmakers said that all three branches of government were weakened by the partisanship on display since Nancy Pelosi had announced the process back in September.
This impeachment trial has been considered since Trump’s election year in 2016 when senators thought that Trump’s election was unlawful, bringing up the Ukraine count yet again.
Despite the win, Trump’s aides have still advised him to stay quiet about the situation.
Trump announced on his Twitter saying that he will speak on Thursday at noon from the White House to discuss his victory over the “Impeachment Hoax.”
Trump was trying his best to host a press conference speaking on his victory, but aides stated that it would put more pressure on senators.
Even though the process is over, it is not truly over.
House Democrats will most likely subpoena John Bolton, the President’s former national security adviser.
The House asked Bolton to testify for the impeachment vote, and he refused.