‘Sad And Shameful’: Hawaii Senators React To Trump Acquittal
The vote to convict the former president during a historic second impeachment trial was the most bipartisan in U.S. history.
WASHINGTON 鈥 Former President Donald Trump was acquitted in his second impeachment trial on a bipartisan vote of 57 to 43.
Hawaii Sens. Brian Schatz and Mazie Hirono voted with their Democratic colleagues and seven Republicans to convict Trump for incitement of insurrection for his part in riling up his supporters who then stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 in an attempt to stop the certification of President Joe Biden鈥檚 victory in the November election.
Five people, including a Capitol Police officer, were killed as part of the violent attempt to subvert American democracy. Two more officers after responding to the riot.聽聽
Schatz and Hirono鈥檚 vote to convict Trump was not a surprise.
Both have been outspoken critics of the former president even before he and his supporters started arguing that there was聽 widespread election fraud in the November election.聽
“Donald Trump incited a violent insurrection and sent a murderous mob to lay siege to the U.S. Capitol,” Hirono . “We were all there. Everyone saw and heard what happened. Sad and shameful that only 7 GOP Senators had the courage to do the right thing.”
In a written statement, Schatz said the House managers who pressed for impeachment presented a compelling case over the past week, one that included new footage of rioters attacking police and lawmakers narrowly escaping the mob.
鈥淔ormer President Trump lied repeatedly about the results of a free and fair election and attempted to cheat by pressuring election officials,鈥 Schatz said.
鈥淗e incited an insurrection that resulted in a violent attack on the U.S. Capitol designed to stop Congress from exercising its constitutional duties. Trump then withheld protection for the Capitol, Congress, and even his own Vice President, resulting in the deaths of seven Americans and injuries to many more.”
Trump was acquitted last year almost entirely along party lines in his first impeachment trial that revolved around his attempts to get Ukraine to investigate Biden in advance of the November election. Only one Republican, Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, voted to convict.
The seven GOP senators who found Trump guilty on Saturday include Romney, Richard Burr of North Carolina, Susan Collins of Maine, Bill Cassiday of Louisiana, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Ben Sasse of Nebraska and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania.
A two-thirds Senate majority was needed to convict Trump. With Democrats holding 50 seats in the Senate, that meant that at least 17 Republicans would have needed to find the former president guilty.
