Thread by @StevenTDennis

Thread of Republican senator statements on why they voted Guilty/Not Guilty on Trump's impeachment on incitement of insurrection 1/

Mitch McConnell's floor speech explaining his vote to acquit on procedural grounds while declaring Trump "practically and morally responsible" for the riot

Susan Collins explains her vote to convict Trump.

Ben Sasse:
"If Congress cannot forcefully respond to an intimidation attack on Article I instigated by the head of Article II, our constitutional balance will be permanently tilted." https://t.co/LuWx3xk99ssasse.senate.gov/public/index.c…

Toomey: "A lawless attempt to retain power by a president was one of the founders’ greatest fears motivating the inclusion of the impeachment authorities in the U.S. Constitution...His betrayal of the Constitution & his oath of office required conviction”
https://t.co/ggZfglXOSQtoomey.senate.gov/newsroom/press…

Todd Young: "I remain troubled and saddened by the events leading up to and on the day of the Capitol riots. *However*, it is improper under the present circumstances for the former president of the United States to be subject to an impeachment trial..."

Ernst: "...my concern is with the constitutionality of these proceedings..." + worry about frequent partisan impeachments. No mention of Jan. 6 or Trump's actions.

Grassley said he doesn't think trials of former presidents are unconstitutional, doesn't think the House proved incitement but left open possibility they could have proven Trump guilty of other charges and sharply criticized Trump https://t.co/MCWJIIFzhpgrassley.senate.gov/news/news-rele…

Sullivan wrote that Trump's disregard for Pence infuriated him & dinged Trump for bad judgment, actions before the riot & inaction after it began.

But he attacked House for snap "partisan" impeachment, lack of due process and said trial unconstitutional

One thing you won't find in statements' like Sullivan's is any acknowledgement that Mitch McConnell refused to convene the Senate to try Trump while he was still in office; McConnell contended 1 week was not enough time for a fair, serious trial, etc.

Rob Portman said he thinks convicting an ex-president would have been unconstitutional, but said the criminal justice system "is where the issues raised by the president's inexcusable actions and words must be addressed."

Cornyn warns of a "dangerous" precedent of impeaching former presidents (the House impeached Trump while he was president), and says offenses can be prosecuted after presidents leave office.

"I believe that is the Constitutional method of accountability" cornyn.senate.gov/content/news/c…

Cornyn has also called Trump's speech "reckless and incendiary" but said too many public officials have used such language. "We all need to be more careful with our words and how they may be perceived by others..."

Backs 9/11 commission-style investigation

Blunt, who is up in 2022, said nothing about Trump or Jan. 6, calls the trial unconstitutional.

I can't find a Josh Hawley formal statement (?), but he had called the trial unconstitutional, illegitimate and a waste of time. Notably, he was the first senator to agree to join House R efforts to object to Biden's electors

Cruz said he didn't think Senate should have held trial because of lack of due process/evidence in the House, "a rushed act of partisan retribution" (? 10 House Rs supported)

Says incitement was not proved

"He did not urge anyone to commit acts of violence."

Lummis calls the trial "an unconstitutional distraction" and "a political sideshow" and says they should have been working on COVID relief, etc. instead

"The people of Wyoming deserve better." (Note: Liz Cheney's state)

Marco Rubio: "I will not allow my anger over the criminal attack of January 6th nor the political intimidation from the left to lead me into supporting a dangerous constitutional precedent. ...

Let history, and if necessary the courts, judge the events of the past."

Jerry Moran: "...President Trump was wrong to continue to spread allegations of widespread fraud and not immediately discourage the reprehensible and unpatriotic behavior."

Says he voted to acquit "because former president Trump is no longer in office."

Rick Scott: trial "a waste of everyone's time and tax dollars"

Doesn't comment on Trump's actions

Risch bypasses the House having impeached Trump while he was still in office.

"...Impeachment was and is impossible."
...
“It’s time we stop the political hate and vitriol and move forward wiser and stronger just as America has countless times before."

Thread continues here:

McConnell has penned an op-ed:

Tillis has a lengthy statement touching on wisdom of trying ex-presidents, due process, etc before dinging the House for not charging Trump with his failure to act to stop the riot and dinging "reckless" Trump and noting possibility of criminal prosecution.

Richard Shelby said the reason he voted not guilty was because Trump's an ex-president.

(Would have been an interesting vote if it had happened, say, on Jan. 19!)

Tommy Tuberville called the trial unconstitutional but said he also voted not guilty for "a number" of other, unspecified reasons.

"We need to remember that at the end of the day we’re on the same team: the American team. Both sides can do better at remembering that.”

Hyde-Smith with rare praise for Trump lawyers in these statements. (RonJohn has also had high praise)

"I believe the defense team proved conclusively that President Trump’s speech on January 6 neither implicitly nor explicitly encouraged the use of violence or lawless action"

Kennedy said the House didn't prove the Senate could hold a trial of an ex-president and said pre-planning disproved the case. Also unhappy with lack of due process in the House. He doesn't mention Trump himself other than him being "a guy in Florida."

Inhofe relied on the former president argument and doesn't comment on Trump's actions. Another one that would have been awk on Jan. 19!

Lankford may have the shortest actual quote. You'll remember he was in the middle of objecting to certifying electors as part of Cruz's gang when the mob burst into the Capitol; he, Loeffler and some others had a change of heart after the bloodshed.

Don't see a Tom Cotton statement; he opposed holding an impeachment trial while Trump was in office and I think was the first to say it would be unconstitutional to try him after he left.

Boozman: Trump "bears some responsibility" for what he calls "***one of the darkest days in our nation's history***" but says the trial lacked constitutional "legitimacy."

Says they should have spent the week working on vaccines, etc., instead.

Cramer has one of the more nuanced statements. Says the trial unconstitutional but said he voted to acquit on the merits. Cites free speech & "peacefully," even though Trump's remarks were "reckless."

No mention of what many Rs angry about — lack of action after the riot started

Rounds emphasizes he listened to "every minute" of the trial presentations but says nothing about it other than it was unconstitutional.

Hoeven says Trump should not have encouraged the protest. But hangs his statement on his assertion that the trial is unconstitutional, citing unnamed "constitutional scholars"

Mike Lee's statement, like Cruz's, has more legal nuance than most. He says it's constitutionally dubious whether former officials can be tried and they didn't prove incitement, and called the impeachment article "poorly worded"

Shelley Moore Capito torches Trump, and says her not guilty vote is based "solely" on her belief the trial was unconstitutional.

"The actions and reactions of President Trump were disgraceful, and history will judge him harshly."

Would have been another awk vote on Jan. 19!

Crapo: unconstitutional and House lacked due process.

Notably, the word "Trump" does not appear anywhere.

I don't see a Tim Scott statement but he opposed the impeachment of Trump from the start.

Lindsey Graham did a twitter thread; he's had various thoughts, including musing about a Lara Trump Senate candidacy in NC.

Braun: unconstitutional and worries about free speech

Don't see a formal Rand Paul statement, but I think he summed up his thoughts here before the trial ended:

Fischer: Unconstitutional for Congress to impeach a president, but the House (which impeached him *while he was still president*) "rushed" and denied Trump due process.

Too rushed AND too late.

Daines said he voted to acquit "because" he thinks the trial was unconstitutional.

+Implicit criticism of Trump, explicit attack on Q and a defense of Mike Pence.

And I think that's it. Did I miss anyone?

I forgot about Roger Marshall, freshman from Kansas. He did a YouTube statement excoriating the House managers for hypocrisy, praising Trump's lawyers and talking up aid for farmers.

It has 38 views; he has 6 subscribers. (Not surprising for a brand-new senator.)

Here's that Roger Marshall video

Rick Scott from earlier in the (broken) thread:


That's a wrap!

LENGTHY Susan Collins radio interview today explaining her vote, including why she concluded the trial was constitutional wlobradio.com/index.php/2021…

Susan Collins says she didn't have a conclusion on whether Trump should be barred from holding office in the future, noting that's a whole separate question that would have been debated separately from conviction and she would have been reluctant to "disenfranchise voters."