Trump acquitted of incitement charge

The U.S. Senate acquitted former U.S. President Donald Trump of incitement of insurrection, as a week-long impeachment trial concluded on Saturday. 

A majority of senators voted 57-43 on the incitement charge, but that fell short of the supermajority needed to convict. Seven Republican senators joined the Democratic majority in voting to convict the former president. They were: Sens. Richard Burr of North Carolina, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitt Romney of Utah, Ben Sasse of Nebraska and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania.

The trial centered around Trump’s role in the events of Jan. 6, when a mob of the president’s supporters invaded the U.S. Capitol, injuring multiple police officers. A total of five people died as a result of the siege, including a Capitol Police officer. Two other officers committed suicide in the weeks since. Lawmakers were evacuated from Congressional chambers as the rioters, enraged by the president’s oft-repeated false claim of a stolen election, delayed the counting of the electoral votes which would eventually confirm now-President Joe Biden’s election victory. Some of the rioters walked through the hallways intent on finding Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and then-Vice President Mike Pence — with some of the mob calling for his hanging. 

The House impeachment managers argued that a speech Trump gave on Jan. 6, combined with his conduct in the weeks prior, incited the rioters to march to the Capitol and attempt to violently overtake it. Managers also used video footage from that day, as well as tweets and statements from the former president, to build their case. Trump’s defense attorneys, however, countered that the speech did not amount to incitement and that the impeachment was a continued political “witch hunt” against Trump. Some Republicans voted to acquit because they assert the Constitution doesn’t provide for the impeachment of a former president — a stance the House Managers opposed, saying there is precedent for former officials to be impeached. 

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who voted to acquit, started his remarks after the vote by saying the president, a fellow Republican, undoubtedly fueled the fearsome events of Jan. 6.

“The people who stormed this building believed they were acting on the wishes and instructions of their president, and having that belief was a foreseeable consequence of the growing crescendo of false statements, conspiracy theories and reckless hyperbole which the defeated president kept shouting into the largest megaphone on planet Earth,” McConnell said. 

However, McConnell also asserted that impeachment does not apply to officials who have left office — one of his main reasons for supporting acquittal. 

But Sen. Collins, of Maine, saw it differently. In her statement after the vote, Collins said Trump encouraged the mob in the hope of preventing a peaceful transfer of power — as demonstrated by his hours-long delay in calling off the riot.

“This impeachment trial is not about any single word uttered by President Trump on Jan. 6, 2021,” Collins said. “It is instead about President Trump’s failure to obey the oath he swore on Jan. 20, 2017. His actions to interfere with the peaceful transfer of power — the hallmark of our Constitution and our American democracy — were an abuse of power and constitute grounds for conviction.” 

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer decried the widely-expected acquittal. He remarked, “Jan. 6 would not have happened, but for the actions of Donald Trump.” 

Saturday marked the culmination of an historic impeachment trial, which stemmed from the first time a president had been impeached twice. 

Also during this week, House committees have reportedly been marking up President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief proposal, in an effort to advance that bill. The House hopes to complete any changes and pass the bill before the end of the month, CNBC reported Friday. It would then move to the Senate.

— Gareth Henderson

Trump impeached for the second time

A view of the ridgeline from Hartland Hill Road in Woodstock, Vermont. (Gareth Henderson Photo)

President Donald Trump became the first U.S. president to be impeached twice on Wednesday, as the House of Representatives voted 232-197 to approve the historic action in the wake of last week’s attack on the U.S. Capitol building. Ten Republicans joined the entire Democratic majority in voting to impeach Trump for "incitement of insurrection."

However, a Senate trial is likely to wait after Jan. 19, as current Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has reportedly declined to reconvene the Senate for an emergency session to take up the matter. Senate control shifts to the Democrats later this month. As of Wednesday afternoon, McConnell was undecided on whether he would vote to convict Trump, saying he wanted to consider all the legal arguments first, according to National Public Radio.

The swift move to impeach came after the Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol by a violent mob of Trump supporters seeking to overturn Joe Biden’s presidential election win. The incident resulted in five deaths.

The House article of impeachment states, in part, that "members of the crowd, incited by President Trump, unlawfully breached and vandalized the Capitol and engaged in other violent, destructive, and seditious acts, including the killing of a law enforcement officer." Trump spoke to the crowd near the White House hours before the invasion, telling them to “fight like hell” and encouraging them to go to the Capitol.

At Wednesday's proceedings in the House, Democrats, including U.S. Rep. Peter Welch, of Vermont, said the impeachment effort was about holding the president accountable for his role in one of the darkest days in U.S. history.

"The mob was assembled by Donald Trump, incited by Donald Trump, and in service of Donald Trump's effort to overturn, through violence, what he lost at the voting booth," Welch said.

The president on Tuesday denied any responsibility for the Capitol breach, saying the impeachment was part of a continued "witch hunt" by Democrats. A number of Trump's fellow Republicans held that line in the House on Wednesday, such as U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, of Ohio.

"It's always been about getting the president, no matter what," Jordan said.

Listening to Wednesday's remarks from the House floor, the deep gulf between the two sides in the chamber was stark, and perhaps even more so after last week's events. It may seem impossible to go on from this point, but even facing so many headwinds and so much fear, the work of democracy must continue.

Even though that continuation looks very different for different people, the goal of cultivation is the most important. We have to cultivate democracy, and that takes all of us. Some days, that might mean just having the system function; other days, lawmakers may attempt grand accomplishments. But whatever the work at hand might be, it's always worth it to strive together to uphold democracy. That's especially true when challenges loom, and hatred and fear seem at their strongest. We know that, as a people, we've triumphed over those forces before, and we're strong enough to do it again.

— Gareth Henderson

House plans historic impeachment vote

The sun peeks through over the winter landscape in Bristol, Vermont. (Gareth Henderson Photo)

The U.S. House of Representatives plans to hold a vote to impeach President Donald Trump (R) for a second time on Wednesday morning — a week after a violent mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol. The Jan. 6 siege left five people dead.

Lawmakers that same night returned to the Capitol to complete the certification of Democrat Joe Biden's presidential election victory, and in the days following, the calls for Trump's removal increased.

The impeachment resolution the House introduced Monday charges Trump with "incitement of insurrection" because of last week's invasion of the Capitol. After weeks of falsely claiming the election was stolen and offering no evidence, Trump spoke to thousands of supporters near the White House on Jan. 6, urging them to "fight like hell". If the vote to impeach succeeds, Trump would become the first president to be impeached twice.

On Monday, House Democrats tried to fast-track a resolution requesting that Vice President Mike Pence activate the 25th Amendment. That option requires a majority vote of the president's Cabinet in order to remove the president. House Republicans blocked the resolution, delaying it a day. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi told CBS' 60 Minutes that she prefers the 25th Amendment but will move ahead with impeachment if Pence doesn't take action.

"This president is guilty of inciting insurrection, and he has to pay a price for that," Pelosi said.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and a number of other Republicans have worried that impeaching Trump now would only deepen divisions in the country. According to CNN, McCarthy, in a letter to GOP colleagues, suggested other possibilities, including "a resolution of censure under the rules of the House."

But if the House impeaches the president, it may wait until after Jan. 20 to send articles of impeachment to the Senate for a trial. At that point, Democrats would hold the majority in that chamber.

"Let's give President-elect Biden the 100 days he needs to get his agenda off and running, and maybe we'll send the articles sometime after that," said U.S. Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC), the House majority whip, told CNN.

Federal investigations are underway, and the FBI has received over 50,000 tips about the rioters. The FBI has warned that "armed protests" are being planned in all 50 state capitols and Washington, D.C., between Jan. 16 and Jan. 20, media reports confirmed. The Department of Homeland Security is beginning heightened security for inauguration day this week.

On Sunday, veteran journalist Dan Rather explained to the PBS NewsHour his recent statement that "we must cultivate hope while we demand justice." He noted that Biden’s first two priorities will be the pandemic and the economic damage done by it.

"I do think we have to keep our hopes alive and realize we are a very resilient people," Rather said. "We can do this."

At the same time, he said accountability is important in a situation like the Capitol breach, whatever legal avenue that takes.

"There can't be hope for moving into the future, unless we adjust ourselves, and address ourselves, to justice," Rather said.

— Gareth Henderson