Last week we covered what was going to happen at the impeachment trial, so let’s talk about what actually happened. Was Former-President Donald Trump found guilty by the Senate? Was he not? Spoiler alert: he was found not guilty. Let’s break this down. 

According to a BBC article by Anthony Zurcher, the final tally of the senate was 57-43 but in order for him to have been found guilty, he would have needed at least 67 votes. This means that Trump is able to run for President again in 2024. Although he has said that his political movement is just beginning, videos of his supporters wearing MAGA hats and waving Trump flags while ransacking the capitol has surfaced, a not-so-good image for his campaign (Zurcher). 

The tally has caused mass criticism within the Republican party as six Senate Republicans voted that Trump was guilty. Ironically, those voters were either just re-elected or are retiring. The response to the six voters showcases the challenges Republican senators face in the chamber as voting for his conviction would have created mass anger in primary voters. Specifically in Republican states, an issue with a Conservative is more of a concern for Republican senators trying to be re-elected in comparison to issues with their Democrat opponent (Zurcher). 

Nine members of the House Democrats made a presentation showing the videos of the riot with maps of the capitol to prove how close the mob was to US politicians. Jamie Raskin, the lead manager, showed his conversation with his daughter before the evacuation out of the building. Joe Neguse, second-term Congressmen, also spoke and proved his advocacy to Democratic politics, but the shocking monologues of the trial came from Stacey Planet of the US Virgin Island. and her speeches may cause Democrats to begin rallying for the Virgin Islands. Although Biden’s timeline is not majorly being affected by the Senate losing three days of business, the risk of the Democratic party second-guessing Biden after the impeachment due to Trump not being held accountable is one that will infringe on Biden’s need for unity in the party (Zurcher).

NPR has explained many logistics of the trail, starting with how the Senate first allowed witnesses after Washington Republicna Rep. Jamie Herrera Beutler was called to be a witness, and Trump’s lawyers threatened to call dozens of them. Both sides decided to use Beutler’s statement but not use any more witnesses (Montanaro). Del. Stacy Plaskett, one of the house impeachment managers, defended the agreement stating in an interview, “We had no need to call any witnesses at the end of the trial because, as all Americans believed at that moment, the evidence was overwhelming”(Garcia-Navarro). She also stated, “I know that people have a lot of angst and they can’t believe that the Senate did what they did. But what we needed were senators, more senators with spines, not more witnesses” (Garcia-Navarro).

Overall, the 2nd impeachment relied up a lot of tensions between and within the political parties, and concluded that Trump was not found guilty by the Senate for inciting an insurrection.

Works Cited 

Garcia-Navarro, Lulu. “Stacey Plaskett: Trump Trial Needed ‘More Senators With Spines, Not More Witnesses.’” NPR, 14 Feb. 2021, choice.npr.org/index.html?origin=https://www.npr.org/sections/trump-impeachment-trial-live-updates/2021/02/14/967827857/stacey-plaskett-trump-trial-needed-more-senators-with-spines-not-more-witnesses.

Montanaro, Domenico. “Senate Acquits Trump In Impeachment Trial — Again.” NPR, 13 Feb. 2021, choice.npr.org/index.html?origin=https://www.npr.org/sections/trump-impeachment-trial-live-updates/2021/02/13/967098840/senate-acquits-trump-in-impeachment-trial-again.

Zurcher, Anthony. “Trump Impeachment Trial: What Verdict Means for Trump, Biden and America.” BBC News, 13 Feb. 2021, www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56057849.