Trump acquitted on second indictment for assault on Capitol Hill

After being acquitted, Trump denounced the “greatest witch hunt in our country’s history” and vowed to “continue” to defend “the greatness of the United States”.

“Our magnificent, historic and patriotic Make America Great Again movement has just begun,” Trump said in a statement.

The former president stepped down on January 20, so impeachment could not be used to remove him from power. But Democrats hoped to convict him, hold him responsible for a siege that left five people dead, including a police officer, and set the stage for a vote to prevent him from resuming public office.

The Senate vote took place against a backdrop of great division in a United States exhausted by the pandemic. The trial increased partisan tensions despite the fact that the Democratic president Joe biden he called for unity after the four turbulent years of his predecessor in power.

Trump, 74, continues to control his party with a right-wing populist message and his ‘America First’. The millionaire-turned-politician plans to run for president again in 2024.

Democratic lawmakers who led the impeachment trial against Donald Trump accused the former president of “betraying” the United States and supporting the mob in the attack on Capitol Hill and urged the Senate to condemn him for “incitement. to the insurrection ”.

The chief prosecutor, the democratic deputy Jamie Raskin, closed his allegations by accusing Trump of “abusing his power by siding with the insurgents” and said it was clear that “Trump supported the actions of the mob, so he must be condemned.”

David Cicillin, who also participated in final argument, accused Trump of violating his homework. “At a time when we most needed a president to protect and defend us, President Trump willfully betrayed us,” the Democratic MP said.

This is the second impeachment lawsuit against Trump, who in 2020 was also acquitted in an abuse of power process.