US Senate finds Donald Trump not guilty of inciting Capitol Hill saga
- The US Senate acquitted Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial in which he was accused of inciting the Capitol hill violence
- A total of 57 senators voted for his conviction while 43 voted for his acquittal in the charges related to the violence
- The House fell short of 10 votes to reach the required two-thirds majority to convict the former head of state
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The United States Senate has found former president Donald Trump not guilty on charges of inciting an insurrection at Capitol Hill on January 6.
Source: Facebook
Trump's rowdy supporters invaded the US Capitol on Wednesday, January 6, in a bid to quell President Joe Biden's certification process.
According to a report by CNN, the Senate acquitted Trump in his second impeachment trial, with 57 senators voting for his conviction while 43 voted for his acquittal in the charges related to the violence.
The House fell short of 10 votes to reach the required two-thirds majority to convict the former head of state.
Despite the vote showing the grip that the 74-year-old still holds in the Republican party, seven lawmakers voted against Trump, making it the most bipartisan vote in US history.
"Strong evidence shows President Trump is guilty of inciting an insurrection and I, therefore, vote to convict," Republican Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina said in a statement.
Had the Senate voted against Trump with 67 or more votes, the 45th head of state's political future would have been shattered as his conviction would have inhibited him from running for a public office again.
His close associates had earlier disclosed Trump may run for president again in 2024.
Political Witch hunt
Reacting to his acquittal, the former US president, who will go down in history as the only American president to be impeached twice while in office, termed the trial as one of the greatest political witch hunt in US history.
"Our historic, patriotic and beautiful movement to Make America Great Again has only just begun,” he said in a statement.
As earlier reported, Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi on January 13, a week after the insurgency.
The Democrats alongside some of their Republican colleagues voted to impeach the controversial president on allegation of incitement of insurrection.
The resolution passed 232 to 197.
In February 2020, Trump survived yet another impeachment after the Senate acquitted him of his charges.
The members of the US House of Representatives voted 230 in favour of removing Trump against 197 for him not to be impeached on the first article of impeachment, that is, abuse of power in December 2019.
Among other accusations, the president was accused of using his public office to coerce a foreign government into attacking his political rival.
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Source: Briefly News
Samantha Riddle Samantha Riddle is a former Mainstream/ Current Affairs Manager. She covered the breaking stories and SA news from 2018-2021. Currently, she’s working for The South African.
Kelly Lippke (Senior Editor) Kelly Lippke is a copy editor/proofreader who started her career at the Northern-Natal Courier with a BA in Communication Science/Psychology (Unisa, 2007). Kelly has worked for several Caxton publications, including the Highway Mail and Northglen News. Kelly’s unique editing perspective stems from an additional major in Linguistics. Kelly joined Briefly News in 2018 and she has 14 years of experience. Kelly has also passed a set of trainings by Google News Initiative. You can reach her at kelly.lippke@briefly.co.za.
