Donald Trump's defenders in the Senate on Sunday rallied around the former president before his impeachment trial, dismissing it as a waste of time and arguing that the former president's fiery speech before the US Capitol insurrection does not make him responsible for the violence of January 6.
바카라If being held accountable means being impeached by the House and being convicted by the Senate, the answer to that is no,바카라 said Republican Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi, making clear his belief that Trump should and will be acquitted.
Asked if Congress could consider other punishment, such as censure, Wicker said the Democratic-led House had that option earlier but rejected it in favour of impeaching him.
바카라That ship has sailed,바카라 he said.
The Senate is set to launch the impeachment trial on Tuesday to consider the charge that Trump's fighting words to protesters at a Capitol rally as well as weeks of falsehoods about a stolen and rigged presidential election provoked a mob to storm the Capitol. Five people as a result of the melee, including a police officer.
Many senators including Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell immediately denounced the violence and pointed a finger of blame at Trump.
Following the riot, Wicker said Americans 바카라will not stand for this kind of attack on the rule of law바카라 and without naming names, said 바카라we must prosecute바카라 those who undermine democracy.
But with Trump now gone from the presidency, Republicans have shown little political appetite to take further action, such as an impeachment conviction that could lead to barring him from running for future office.
Those partisan divisions appear to be hardening ahead of Trump's trial, a sign of his continuing grip on the GOP.
On Sunday, Wicker described Trump's impeachment trial as a 바카라meaningless messaging partisan exercise."
When asked if Trump's conduct should be more deserving of impeachment than President Bill Clinton's, whom Wicker voted to impeach, he said: 바카라I'm not conceding that the President Trump incited an insurrection.바카라
Clinton's impeachment, in 1998, was sparked by his false denial in a deposition of a sexual relationship with a White House intern.
Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky dismissed Trump's trial as a farce with 바카라zero chance of conviction,바카라 describing Trump's words to protesters to 바카라fight like hell바카라 as Congress was voting to ratify Joe Biden's presidential victory as 바카라figurative바카라 speech.
바카라If we're going to criminalise speech, and somehow impeach everybody who says, Go fight to hear your voices heard,' I mean really we ought to impeach Chuck Schumer then,바카라 Paul said, referring to the now Democratic Senate majority leader and his criticisms of Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.
바카라He went to the Supreme Court, stood in front of the Supreme Court and said specifically, Hey Gorsuch, Hey Kavanaugh, you've unleashed a whirlwind. And you're going to pay the price.'바카라
Paul noted that Chief Justice John Roberts had declined to preside over this week's impeachment proceeding because Trump was no longer president.
Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy will preside over the trial as Senate president pro tempore.
바카라It is a farce, it is unconstitutional. But more than anything it's unwise, and going to divide the country,바카라 Paul said.
Last month, Paul forced a vote to set aside the trial as unconstitutional because Trump is no longer in office, which legal experts say is disputable. But the vote suggested the near impossibility in reaching a conviction in a Senate where Democrats hold 50 seats but a two-thirds vote 바카라 or 67 senators 바카라 would be needed to convict Trump.
Forty-four Republican senators sided with Paul and voted to oppose holding an impeachment trial at all.
Five Republican senators joined with Democrats to reject Paul's motion: Mitt Romney of Utah, Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania.
Some Republicans have said the vote doesn't 바카라bind바카라 them into voting a particular way on conviction, with Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy on Louisiana saying Sunday he would listen carefully to the evidence. But even Trump's sharper GOP critics on Sunday acknowledged the widely expected outcome.
바카라You did have 45 Republican senators vote to suggest that they didn't think it was appropriate to conduct a trial, so you can infer how likely it is that those folks will vote to convict,바카라 said Toomey, who has made clear he believes Trump committed 바카라impeachable offenses.바카라
바카라I still think the best outcome would have been for the president to resign바카라 before he left office, he said. 바카라Obviously he chose not to do that.바카라
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, one of Trump's ardent defenders, said he believes Trump's actions were wrong and 바카라he's going to have a place in history for all of this,바카라 but insisted it's not the Senate's job to judge.
바카라It's not a question of how the trial ends, it's a question of when it ends,바카라 Graham said.
바카라Republicans are going to view this as an unconstitutional exercise, and the only question is, will they call witnesses, how long does the trial take? But the outcome is really not in doubt.바카라
