Graphic riot videos not sufficient to convict Trump – Republican Senators
Several Republican senators found graphic videos of the deadly 6th January attack on the United States Capitol upsetting. However, they suggested that they wouldn’t sufficient to convict U.S. President Donald Trump of provoking insurrection. Democrats in the House of Representatives impeaching Trump in his second trial on Wednesday leaned mainly on the threat posed to the Republican party, including then-Vice President Mike Pence, by many Trump supporters trying to stop Congress from confirming his defeat in the 2020 general election.
Ted Cruz, the Republican Senator, says that the presentation was emotional and successful, recalling a terrorist attack on the capital of the nation. Convicting the former president would require the votes of two-thirds of the hundred members of the Senate, meaning that at least seventeen Republicans would need to join all forty-eight Democrats and the two independents who caucus with them.
Senate rejected an attempt to declare the impeachment trial unconstitutional
On Tuesday, the Senate rejected an attempt with a 56-44 vote to declare the trial unconstitutional because Trump left office when his term ended on 20th January. That margin suggested Democratic leaders would face an uphill climb in an effort to convict the person who still remains popular with Republican voters.
On Wednesday, James Lankford, the Senator of Oklahoma, appeared emotional at his seat after Eric Swalwell (one of the House impeachment managers) finished his presentation. Steve Daines, another senator, put his hand on the arm of Lankford in what seemed like a gesture of comfort.
Later Lankford struggled to connect the instinctive images to any guilt for the former president, who, in a sizzling speech before the attack on the Capitol, urged his political supporters to fight against his election defeat. Moreover, Lankford said that Trump had had hundred political rallies. So, that isn’t easy to link them together. In another statement, Florida Senator Rick Scott stated that he felt disgusted due to the behavior of the rioters.
Graphic riot videos not sufficient to convict Trump – Republican Senators Source: Web
However, asked whether the former president bore responsibility, he said he watched what he said. He never said that someone should break-in. Actually, he said that people should do all this peacefully, and this is a complete waste of time. Jerry Moran, the Kansas Senator, called those videos heart-wrenching. However, asked if he finds any link between Trump’s words and the video footage, he said that he would wait until the outcome of the trial. Mike Braun, the Indiana Senator, called the video footage riveting.
