Trump Found Innocent, Releases Statement After Acquittal, Highlights of Day 5 Trump Impeachment

(TJVNEWS.COM)

The Senate voted to acquit former President Donald Trump Saturday of charges that he incited an insurrection on January 6.

The Senate voted 57-43, meaning that the chamber failed to clear the 67-vote threshold necessary to convict Trump of the charge that he incited an insurrection on January 6, when Congress was certifying the 2020 presidential election.

UPDATE: President Trump released a statement after his acquittal, full coverage begins below former President Trump’s statement:

The Senate voted to acquit former President Donald Trump Saturday of charges that he incited an insurrection on January 6.

The Senate voted 57-43, meaning that the chamber failed to clear the 67-vote threshold necessary to convict Trump of the charge that he incited an insurrection on January 6, when Congress was certifying the 2020 presidential election.

Seven Senate Republicans voted to convict Trump of inciting an insurrection, including Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Richard Burr (R-NC), Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Pat Toomey (R-PA), Ben Sasse (R-NE).

Breitbart’s SEAN MORAN  reported

Today’s vote marks the second time that Trump has escaped conviction from the Senate after a House Democrat majority voted to impeach Trump. House Democrats voted to impeach Trump the first time, accusing him of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

The Senate impeachment trial took a dramatic turn Saturday morning as the Senate voted to have additional witnesses testify. Five Senate Republicans, including Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Ben Sasse (R-NE), and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) voted yes.

Senators wanted more information about a reported call between Trump and House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). During the alleged call, which was first mentioned by Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA), Trump said that the rioters cared more about election fraud than McCarthy did.

Trump defense attorney Michael van der Veen said that if Democrats want more witnesses, he needs to depose House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) – not by Zoom but in Philadelphia – and Vice President Kamala Harris. Van der Veen said he would need up to 100 depositions.

The Senate vote enraged many Republicans, such as Sens. Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Ted Cruz (R-TX).

Ernst, the Senate GOP vice chair, called the vote a “total, total shit show.”

She called the approval of additional witnesses a “tool of revenge” against the 45th president.

The Iowa conservative then promised that if Democrats wished to extend the impeachment trial against Trump, they will also drag out the trial. She also promised to block the consideration of potential nominees.

“If they want to drag this out, we’ll drag it out. They won’t get their noms, they won’t get anything,” Ernst said.

“Dems had agreed to know [sic] witnesses, then-House Managers changed their mind this morning. Schumer blindsided. Pandemonium. They’re negotiating now to figure out next steps,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said in a statement on Saturday.

However, the impeachment trial took an even more dramatic turn when the House Democrat impeachment managers and the Trump legal team struck a deal Saturday afternoon that would bypass additional witness testimony.

News Max reported on the drama that unfolded leading to closing arguments :

The U.S. Senate agreed on Saturday to admitting a statement by Republican lawmaker Jaime Herrera Beutler into evidence in former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial.

In the statement, the lawmaker said the top House Republican, Kevin McCarthy, had told her about a call he had with Trump on Jan. 6, during a riot when hundreds of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, in which Trump said, “Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are.”

Under the agreement, the information that a Republican congresswoman has made public about Trump’s actions on the day of the riot will be entered into the record of the trial in exchange for Democrats dropping plans to deposition testimony from the congresswoman, Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington no witnesses would be called to testify.

That allowed the trial to resume Saturday with closing arguments and a vote on the verdict.

Some of the closing argument highlights:

Raskin begins his closing argument and says any reasonable person would conclude that Trump proverbially let the first start and wanted to keep it going.

Raskin says the House Managers have presented irrefutable evidence. Raskin praises Liz Cheney and reads her statement. He says she survived the attempts by Trump supporters to “cancel” her. Raskin accuses of Trump of summoning the mob, but says he did not want to be near the action as he scurried back to the White House. He says the mob “unleashed unparalleled” violence against police officers.

Next, Cicilline said Trump incited violence and many people were ready for violence as the House Managers largely repeat arguments they made this week. Cicilline said an innocent person would jump at the chance to testify, but former President Trump declined. He says that the beginning of Trump’s speech “incited an initial wave” of rioters going to the Capitol. He says a much larger wave came after Trump finished his speech. He says it is just not possible that Trump did not know Pence was in danger and was being evacuated from the Senate floor. He says Trump betrayed everyone, including Officer Eugene Goodman, after inciting a riot only he could stop. He says Trump’s further incitement was a “dereliction of duty.”

Summary of Trump lawyer Michael  Van der Veen closing argument  from Breitbart News:

Van der Veen says the rioting had been “pre-planned” and had been “premeditated.” He says Democrats demanded National Guard forces be withdrawn after left-wing rioting last summer. He says political leaders could have downplayed the need for security because they played into the “false narrative” of what happened last summer. He says Pelosi never called it an insurrection when left-wing activists took over federal courthouses and vandalized the Treasury building. Van der Veen now talking about how Harris encouraged supporters to donate to a bail fund for rioters so they can do it over and over again. He says Democrats incited rioters more than Trump incited the insurrectionists. He says “it’s a hypocrisy that the House Managers have laid at the feed of this chamber.” Van der Veen blames a “bloodthirsty” media that “glorified civil unrest” for ratings for contributing to the Jan. 6 riots. He says House Democrats have created a new legal theory to protect speech based on the party label next to someone’s name. He says House Democrats have trampled every “tradition and norm of due process.” He says Trump was given opportunity to question the propriety of various pieces of evidence or engage in fact-finding because much of what the House Managers introduced were based on anonymous sources. He accuses the House Managers of taking a “kitchen sink approach” because their case is so weak. He says the impeachment trial has been a “charade” and nothing more than a pursuit of a “political vendetta” against Trump. Van der Veen says there is no jurisdiction, each allegation had to be divisible, and there was a lack of due process that was “shocking” and “way over the top.” He also says there were no “words of incitement” after mumbling about the First Amendment. He says Senators do not have to indulge the “impeachment lust” of Democrats.

Van der Veen began by saying,  what took place on January 6 was a “grave tragedy” and the “infiltration of the Capitol” was a “heinous act.” He claims the former president is also “deeply disturbed” by the video. He says the question before the Senators is not whether there was a violent insurrection (He says, on this point, everyone agrees.), but whether Trump willfully incited an insurrection against the United States. He says the act of incitement never happened and Trump did not incite violence with his January 6 speech