By Noah Lynch
Originally published on February 12, 2020 on Lancaster Bible College's Focus Newspaper
President Trump celebrates that the Senate has acquitted him of charges of “abuse of power” and “obstruction of justice.” The impeachment trials have ended as expected, with Trump’s acquittal.
On Feb. 5, the Senate voted to acquit Trump of charges regarding his phone call with Ukrainian prime minister, Volodymyr Zelensky. According to The Hill, senators voted 48-52 concerning abuse of power and 47-53 on obstruction. This vote failed to reach the two-thirds vote necessary to convict and subsequently remove the president from office.
After the votes came in and did not meet the amount required to impeach, Chief Justice Roberts pronounced Trump acquitted of charges.
“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 said after the second article of impeachment was voted down.
According to ABC8News, Trump was glad the impeachment trial was over. During his speech at a prayer breakfast on Feb. 6, Trump held up copies of two newspapers with the headlines “ACQUITTED” written on them.
The vote was nearly bipartisan to acquit the president, yet there was one Republican vote to convict Trump. The Hill reported that Senator Mitt Romney of Utah voted for Trump’s conviction. Romney explained that he believed Trump guilty of abusing public trust.
“The grave question the Constitution tasks senators to answer is whether the president committed an act so extreme and egregious that it rises to the level of a high crime and misdemeanor,” Romney said. “Yes, he did.”
Mitch McConnell, Kentucky’s senator and majority leader, said after the trial, “We will reject this incoherent case that comes nowhere near justifying the first presidential removal in history.”
Before the vote, there was a debate as to whether more witnesses needed to be called for the Senate trial. The debate began after former national security advisor John Bolton said he had evidence that Trump tied Ukraine aid with helping to lead investigations into Joe and Hunter Biden.
Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee said that he would not vote for more witnesses. According to The Hill, Alexander said he believed Trump’s behavior was “inappropriate” but not impeachable.
According to The New York Times, most argued that Trump’s conduct over the phone call was wrong but not dangerous enough to warrant his removal from office. Others claimed that the democratic case for impeachment was an attempt to stir up trouble for Trump.
Trump is now the third president to have been impeached in American history, yet the first to run for reelection after impeachment. Impeachment has rarely been used except in extreme cases where an officeholder is too corrupt or out of control.
For more information on President Trump’s Acquittal, see: https://www.dailywire.com/shows
Image source: https://unsplash.com/@historyhd
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