The Senate’s decision to acquit former President Donald J Trump appears during the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump in the Senate on Feb 13, 2021./Handout, Senate Television via USA TODAY NETWORK
By Yvonne Wingett Sanchez | Arizona Republic
The Senate on Saturday acquitted former President Donald Trump of the charge he incited a Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, offering a partisan coda to his tumultuous single term and no formal consequences for him in connection with the deadly riot.
Most senators — all 50 Democrats and seven Republicans — voted to convict Trump and bar him from seeking federal office again. But the 57-43 vote fell well short of the two-thirds super-majority needed to convict in the 100-member chamber.
Democratic Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly of Arizona had made plain even before the trial they held Trump responsible for the mob attack that killed five people, including a police officer, and left 140 other police injured. They posed no questions to either side.
Sinema and Kelly each stood during the conclusion of the trial, saying the words “guilty” to the charge.
After the vote, Sinema noted that elected officials swear an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution.
“What is at stake today is the future of our democracy and whether we will be a country that fiercely protects democracy, or let it slip away to claims of party loyalty.
Sen.Kyrsten sinema
“May we all be loyal to our Constitution, rather than a political party or a person – because we must rebuild Americans’ faith in our democracy and our trust in each other.”
In a written statement, Kelly said Trump needed to be held accountable for the attack to make clear it could not happen again.
“I listened to the testimony during this trial closely and considered the case put forward by the House Managers and the defense,” Kelly said.
“The evidence demonstrated that former President Donald Trump incited the violence at the Capitol on January 6th, 2021, with the intention of overturning the decision of the voters of Arizona and other states, and then did nothing to stop it because he hoped it would be successful.
Sen. Mark Kelly
“That makes him guilty of the charge laid out in the article of impeachment, and it also makes him guilty of violating his oath of office.”
