UPDATE: The White House has released a response:
Today, the sham impeachment attempt concocted by Democrats ended in the full vindication and exoneration of President Donald J. Trump. As we have said all along, he is not guilty. The Senate voted to reject the baseless articles of impeachment, and only the President’s political opponents – all Democrats, and one failed Republican presidential candidate – voted for the manufactured impeachment articles.
In what has now become a consistent tradition for Democrats, this was yet another witch-hunt that deprived the President of his due process rights and was based on a series of lies. Rep. Adam Schiff lied to Congress and the American people with a totally made up statement about the President’s phone call. Will there be no retribution? Speaker Nancy Pelosi also lied to the American people about the need to swiftly pass impeachment articles they dreamt up, only to sit on them for a month before sending over to the Senate. In the Senate, the Democrats continued to make their political motivations clear – Rep. Schiff proclaimed the issues “cannot be decided at the ballot box” – proving once again they think they know better than the voters of this country. This entire effort by the Democrats was aimed at overturning the results of the 2016 election and interfering with the 2020 election.
Throughout this wholly corrupt process, President Trump successfully advanced the interests of the United States and remained focused on the issues that matter to Americans. He spent his time achieving real victories for the people of this country, and the Democrats – once again – have nothing to show for their fraudulent schemes. The President is pleased to put this latest chapter of shameful behavior by the Democrats in the past, and looks forward to continuing his work on behalf of the American people in 2020 and beyond.
***Original post***
President Donald J. Trump has been acquitted by the Senate on abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Republicans, with the exception of Utah Senator Mitt Romney, voted to acquit President Trump on both charges. Romney voted only to acquit on obstruction of Congress. Democrats voted to convict on all charges.
Article I: 48-52 (not guilty)
Article II: 47-53 (not guilty)
"Two-thirds of the senators present not having pronounced him guilty, the Senate adjudges that the respondent Donald John Trump, President of the United States, is not guilty as charged in the first article of impeachment," Chief Justice John Roberts. "Two-thirds of the senators present not having pronounced him guilty, the Senate adjudges that the respondent Donald John Trump, President of the United States, is not guilty as charged in the second article of impeachment."
"It is therefore ordered and adjudged that the said Donald John Trump be, and he is hereby, acquitted of the charges in said articles," Roberts continued, end the trial.
Chief Justice Roberts: "It is therefore ordered and adjudged that the said Donald John Trump be, and he is hereby, acquitted of the charges in said articles." pic.twitter.com/61M9Ugs72K
— CSPAN (@cspan) February 5, 2020
The Senate has acquitted President @realDonaldTrump on both articles of impeachment. pic.twitter.com/AqdrdGOMAf
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) February 5, 2020
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell: "I know my colleagues join me in thanking Chief Justice Roberts for presiding over the Senate trial with a clear head, steady hand and the forbearance that this rare occasion demands." https://t.co/pZ46hjTyU1 pic.twitter.com/e7lOZaP3sD
— ABC News (@ABC) February 5, 2020
Here's some background on the process:
Senators will rise from their desks as they role is called alphabetically and vote either guilty or not guilty.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) February 5, 2020
67 votes or two thirds needed to convict.
20 impeachments in US history
8 removals/convictions. That will not happen today
In the end so-called "moderate" Democrats, including Senators Joe Manchin (WV), Kyrsten Sinema (AZ) and Doug Jones (AL), voted to convict President Trump on both articles. Leading Republican Senators like Lindsey Graham had predicted President Trump would be acquitted in a bipartisan fashion.
President Trump has weighed in on his acquittal with the following tweet:
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 5, 2020
The Republican National Committee has also released a statement.
"Today’s vote to acquit President Trump ends the latest political witch hunt, a dark moment in our nation’s history, that wasted millions of taxpayer dollars," RNC Chairwoman McDaniel released in a statement. "Once again, Democrats have failed in their quest to erase the votes of 63 million Americans and destroy a duly-elected President. The American people won today, but they will not forget the division that Democrats brought upon our country for three years. This November, voters will hold Democrats accountable at the ballot box and vote to re-elect President Trump and Republicans across the board."
This is a breaking story, stay tuned for updates.
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