Amid acquittal vote on Trump’s impeachment, McConnell says he’s ‘practically and morally responsible’ [Video]

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY.) said that former President Donald Trump was ‘practically and morally responsible’ for inciting the January 6 Capitol riot.
• McConnell voted to acquit the ex-president as the Senate vote tallied 57-43 votes in favor of Trump’s conviction. At least 67 votes were needed to officially convict Trump.
• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticized the GOPs who voted to acquit Trump, describing them as “a cowardly bunch of Republicans.”

Moments after his acquittal vote on former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY.) said that Trump was “practically and morally responsible” for the January 6 US Capitol siege initiated by his supporters.

“There is no question that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day,” McConnell said on the Senate floor. Vice President Mike Pence, Congress, and Senate members, as well as their staff, rushed to seek immediate shelter after the pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol last January 6.

“The people who stormed this building believed they were acting on the wishes and instructions of their president,” he added.

McConnell also noted that the former Republican leader could still face other criminal charges because of his actions.

“President Trump is still liable for everything he did while he was in office as an ordinary citizen. He didn’t get away with anything. Yet.”

McConnell’s statements followed after the Senate, in a 100-seating chamber, voted 57-43 to convict Trump on a charge of inciting insurrection. To convict the former president, the Senate needs at least 67 votes (two-thirds of the total vote). All 50 Democrat senators voted to convict Trump and were joined by seven GOP senators.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi condemned the GOP senators who pushed for Trump’s acquittal, calling them a “cowardly group of Republicans.” She also blamed McConnell for blocking the House’s submission of Trump’s impeachment case to the Senate last year.

According to Rep. Jamie Raskin (MD.), the leader of the House Democratic prosecution team in the Senate, McConnell “just went to the floor essentially to say that we made our case on the facts.”

Other GOP senators also denounced Trump’s actions that led to the Capitol riot, in spite of voting to acquit the then-president.

In a statement, Republican Sen. Rob Portman (OH.) said: “The question I must answer is not whether President Trump said and did things that were reckless and encouraged the mob. I believe that happened,” but adding that his decision was based on his “reading of the Constitution.”

“I believe the Framers understood that convicting a former president and disqualifying him or her from running again pulls people further apart,” he continued.

The oldest GOP Senator, Chuck Grassley (IA.), said that Trump’s rally speech on January 6 before the Capitol riot was “extreme, aggressive and irresponsible.”

He said, however, that the Senate was not the right institution to host the trial as he sided with Trump’s legal counsel that the former president’s case needed more “due process.”

Earlier this week, the Senate voted to proceed with the trial with 56-44 vote.

Source: Reuters