Trump acquitted of all charges Washington: The Republican- controlled Senate has acquitted Donald Trump in his high- profile impeachment trial, giving the US President a major political victory in an election year but not before bitterly dividing the country and costing millions of dollars to the taxpayers.
The Senate voted on Wednesday 52- 48 to acquit Trump of abuse of power and 53- 47 to absolve him of obstruction of Congress, the two charges he faced. The vote along party lines foiled the Democratic Partyu2019s determined bid to overthrow Trump from the White House ahead of the November 3 presidential election.
The Democratic- led House of Representatives approved the articles of impeachment on December 18 after charging Trump with pressuring Ukraine to smear ex- US vice president Joe Biden, a potential Democratic rival in the 2020 presidential polls, using nearly $ 400 million in military aid as leverage.
Though Trump, 73, has been acquitted, he will become the first impeached president to seek re- election.
A two- thirds majority vote was needed to remove Trump, which was always going to be a long shot in a 100- member Senate controlled by his Republican Party with 53 seats.
u201c For now, the impeachment of Mr Trump appears to have evenly divided the nation,u201d The New York Times reported.
u201c The outcome represented a political triumph for the White House and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell...,u201d The Washington Post noted.
Republican Senator Mitt Romney, a bitter critic of Trump and the partyu2019s presidential nominee in 2012, voted against the president on the first charge but followed the party line on the second article. Rest of the members voted on party lines.
u201c The President is pleased to put this latest chapter of shameful behaviour by the Democrats in the past, and looks forward to continuing his work on behalf of the American people in 2020 and beyond,u201d a much- relieved White House said soon after Trumpu2019s acquittal.
Trump announced on Twitter that he will make a public statement on Thursday from the White House u201c to discuss our Countryu2019s VICTORY on the Impeachment Hoax!u201d White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham slammed the Opposition Democrats.
u201c Today, the sham impeachment attempt concocted by Democrats ended in the full vindication and exoneration of President Donald J. Trump. As we have said all along, he is not guilty,u201d she said.
u201c The Senate voted to reject the baseless articles of impeachment, and only the Presidentu2019s political opponents u2018 all Democrats, and one failed Republican presidential candidateu2019 voted for the manufactured impeachment articles,u201d Grisham said.
Trump 2020 campaign manager Brad Parscale said, u201c The do- nothing Democrats know they canu2019t beat him, so they had to impeach him. This terrible ordeal was always a campaign tactic to invalidate the 2016 votes of 63 million Americans and was a transparent effort to interfere with the 2020 election, only nine months away.u201d Democratic Party accused the Republican- dominated Senate of ignoring the facts, u201c the will of the American people and their duty to the Constitutionu201d. u201c Today, the President and Senate Republicans have normalised lawlessness and rejected the system of checks and balances of our Constitution,u201d said Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the US House of Representatives. Agencies The Senate voted 52- 48 to acquit Trump of abuse of power and 53- 47 to absolve him of obstruction of Congress VOICES Brad Parscale, Trump 2020 campaign manager u2018 The do- nothing Democrats know they canu2019t beat him, so they had to impeach him.
This terrible ordeal was always a campaign tactic to invalidate the 2016 votes of 63 million Americans and was a transparent effort to interfere with the 2020 election, only nine months awayu2019 Stephanie Grisham, White House press secretary u2018 Today, the sham impeachment attempt concocted by Democrats ended in the full vindication and exoneration of President Donald J. Trump. As we have said all along, he is not guilty.u2019 Steny Hoyer, House Majority Leader u2018 The US Senate, acting as a court of impeachment under our Constitution, did not remove a president who abused his power and invited foreign interference in the upcoming polls to benefit himself personallyu2019 Nov 3 Day the Presidential elections will be held in the USA Trump says he suffered u2018 terrible ordealu2019 in impeachment President Donald Trump on Thursday said that he suffered a u2018 terrible ordealu2019 during his impeachment. In his first public comments since being acquitted by the Senate for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, he said he had been u2018 put through a terrible ordeal by some very dishonest and corrupt people.u2019 u201c They have done everything possible to destroy us and by so doing very badly hurt our nation,u201d he said at a televised prayer breakfast with a Whou2019s Who of Washington power brokers. u201c I donu2019t like people who use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong,u201d Trump said in an apparent reference to Senator Mitt Romney u2014 the sole Republican who voted to convict the president.
u2018 By suppressing evidence and rejecting most basic elements of fair judicial process, Senate made themselves willing accomplices to the Presidentu2019s cover- upu2019 Nancy Pelosi, US House of Representatives speaker
