Several Republican Senators Oppose Convicting Trump For Violence
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
(Worthy News) – Chances that former U.S. President Donald J. Trump would be convicted in an impeachment trial diminished Sunday as a growing number of Republican Senators rallied behind him.
House Democrats seek Trump’s conviction on a charge of “incitement of insurrection” for the January 6 deadly assault on the U.S. Capitol.
A conviction and a separate vote could bar Trump from holding office again, but Republican passions appeared to have cooled since the insurrection. Now that Trump’s presidency is over, Republican senators who will serve as jurors in the trial are rallying to his legal defense.
An early vote to dismiss the trial probably would not succeed, given that Democrats now control the Senate, commentators noted.
Still, the Republican opposition indicates that many senators would eventually vote to acquit Trump. Democrats would need the support of 17 Republicans — a high bar — to convict him.
“I think the trial is stupid; I think it’s counterproductive,” said Republican Senator Marco Rubio. He stresses that “the first chance I get to vote to end this trial, I’ll do it” because he believes it would be bad for the country and further inflame partisan divisions.
It comes amid mounting debates about Trump’s words at a Washington D.C. rally to supporters protesting the presidential election results that showed Joe Biden had won the ballot.
Democrats point to Trump’s explicit call to the protestors to “walk down to the Capitol,” where Congress certified the results. Trump claimed massive voter fraud saying: “Now it is up to Congress to confront this egregious assault on our democracy. After this, we’re going to walk down, and I’ll be there with you.”
Trump also said: “We’re going to walk down. We’re going to walk down, anyone you want, but I think right here. We’re going walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women. We’re probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them because you’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength, and you have to be strong.”
But Republicans claim Democrats conveniently overlook the next sentence that explicitly called for supporters to march to the Capitol building to “peacefully and patriotically” make their voices heard: “We have come to demand that Congress do the right thing and only count the electors who have been lawfully slated, lawfully slated,” Trump said.
He added: “I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”
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