Trump Acquitted In Senate; Booker, Menendez Of NJ Vote To Convict

Newark NJ

14 February, 2021

12:17 PM

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NEWARK, NJ — New Jersey's two U.S. senators voted to convict former President Donald Trump of inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection in the U.S. Capitol. But despite Saturday's votes from Sen. Robert Menendez and Cory Booker, Trump was acquitted following a 57-43 vote. Trump is the only president to be impeached twice and the first to face trial charges after leaving office. He was acquitted on a single charge, incitement of insurrection. Only seven Republicans crossed party lines by joining Democrats in favor of conviction. Read More: Senate Votes To Acquit Trump In Second Impeachment Trial Menendez and Booker issued statements about their decisions, with Booker calling the acquittal a "dangerous precedent," and Menendez labeling it "pure political cowardice." BOOKER: 'DEEP DISAPPOINTMENT AND DISGUST' "It is with deep disappointment and disgust that I come to you and share the news that the U.S. Senate just voted to again acquit former President Donald J. Trump in his second impeachment trial," Booker wrote. The senator said he voted "based on the evidence and in line with my conscience" to convict Trump. Booker offered the following explanation about his decision: "The evidence of Trump's incitement of insurrection was overwhelming. Video after video, tweet after tweet. This president sowed doubt in our democratic elections, stoked the flames of hatred and violence, threatened elected officials — including his own vice president — to throw out and disqualify legally cast votes, and implored his followers to 'keep on fighting.' "He declared, 'We will never surrender, we will only win.' "And we all know what happened next. "Over the past week, I again witnessed and relived deeply disturbing audio and video footage of the violent insurrectionists smashing windows of the Capitol, chanting death threats, desecrating this sacred building and rifling through our desks, brutally attacking Capitol police officers bravely doing their jobs to defend us, and spilling blood. "All the while, Trump cheered them on and tweeted more attacks on his own vice president that was in the Capitol with his family while it was under siege. "The angry mob was mere seconds — and just 58 steps — away from reaching me and my colleagues. The courageous Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman saved lives by directing the crowd away and up a flight of stairs, and urging Senator Romney to run away from the oncoming mob. "The events on January 6 were horrific and truly traumatic. Video footage further showed how close we came to it being much, much worse. "This week, I said that history will judge whether we show courage and hold accountable the person who is responsible. Because we all know that if not for Donald Trump — his actions over the weeks leading up to the assault on our Capitol and again during the actual siege — this would not have happened. "What happened in our country will be talked about for generations to come. This trial was a moral moment in which we needed profiles in courage, from both sides of the aisle. Sadly, there wasn't enough. "The majority of Republican senators voted to acquit Donald Trump for his dangerous, deadly actions, and by doing so, they ignored them, they excused them, and they invited this horror back on our country again. They set a dangerous precedent. "Even with this discouraging turn of events, I still have hope. "I have hope because we came together last November to reject Trump's hatred and remove him from office. I have hope that under the Biden presidency, we can build back our country better and undo the damage Trump has caused. And I have hope that we will work hard to hold those who lacked the courage to stand on the right side of history today accountable at the ballot box in the near future. "We will not let Trump or his conspirators get the chance to hurt our country like this ever again. "Stay hopeful. Together, we will rise from this." The death, carnage & destruction at our Capitol was a despicable assault on our democracy, our values & our common humanity. Donald Trump incited this mob and watched it with delight. Today 43 Senate Republicans refused to hold Trump accountable. They chose to do nothing.— Sen. Cory Booker (@SenBooker) February 13, 2021 MENENDEZ: 'INCITING AN INSURRECTION' Sen. Menendez also released a statement after his vote, blasting his Republican colleagues who voted to acquit the former president and calling their decisions "pure political cowardice." Menendez wrote: "Today, I voted to convict President Donald J. Trump for inciting an insurrection against the United States. The proceedings of this trial made clear that President Trump spurred a violent attack on Congress and then betrayed his duty as Commander-in-Chief by failing to deploy the National Guard to aid the Capitol Police and save American lives. "President Trump's clear and stated motive was to overthrow a free and fair election in a desperate attempt to cling to power. For weeks, he used malicious lies and conspiracy theories to foment anger and mobilized his supporters to descend on Washington in a last-ditch effort to 'stop the steal.' Then, on January 6, as Congress gathered to carry out our constitutional duty, he rallied his angry mob to fight on his behalf and stop the certification of the election results. "Our nation paid a heavy price for the lies President Trump spread so freely. Seven people lost their lives, including a Capitol police officer from New Jersey; scores suffered serious injuries and many will carry unseen scars with them for years. We also learned that the president's mob came perilously close to harming Vice President Pence and his family and members of the House and Senate, and that extraordinary heroism by law enforcement prevented more tragedy. "The House impeachment managers also made abundantly clear that President Trump could have quickly acted to save lives and defend the Capitol, but instead spent hours basking in the chaos unfolding in his name. I cannot think of any higher betrayal of our Constitution and dereliction of duty by a commander-in-chief than refusing to act to save American lives. "President Trump's behavior was unforgivable, and his own lawyers failed to mount any compelling defense. All we heard from his team were dangerous arguments that, if indulged by the Senate, would give every future outgoing president permission to use their final weeks in office to commit gross abuses of power without accountability. "To vote for conviction and disqualification from serving should not have been a difficult decision for any member of the Senate, of any party. "I am dismayed that so many Senate Republicans chose to put the fleeting politics of the moment ahead of their sworn oath to protect the Constitution of the United States. In private, they complain about feeling trapped by President Trump's poisonous grip on the Republican Party and yet refused to free themselves by voting to bar him from running for future office. This is pure political cowardice and I fear their refusal to hold Donald Trump accountable will have lasting negative and even dangerous consequences for the future of our country." 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