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“There are a lot of angry people. But the legal standard of incitement to insurgency will be quite difficult to prove because his words count. And his words were reckless and his words certainly had an impact on how aroused people were. But his words were also carefully selected, ”said Senator Kevin Cramer (RN.D.). “If you want to believe his word, his words were ‘protest peacefully and patriotically’. I just think it’s a pretty hard standard to prove.
Now, as the McConnell conference prepares to enter minority status and faces another grueling impeachment trial, senators are largely left without guidance from leaders on how to speak out against Trump. The conference, so divided now over the incumbent president, is being given room to breathe, according to three senators who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“It just lets the kind of conference subside after certification,” said a GOP senator from McConnell. With so much uncertainty about the start of the trial and the handing over of power to the Democrats, “all we would do is have circular talks, what if.
Another senator said there had been little member-to-member contact among the base, as everyone dealt with the past two weeks, including the remote possibility of 17 GOP senators joining the Democrats in condemning the impeachment president and prevent him from holding public office. again.
And after McConnell helped lead the defense, coordinated with the White House, and said there was “no chance” of condemning Trump in the president’s trial barely a year ago, the Majority Leader keep an open mind about whether to convict the president for “inciting insurgency,” associates say. Other than a letter from a dear colleague he wrote on Wednesday, there has been little general instruction from the current majority leader to his members.
It’s a staggering development for McConnell, moving from a stubborn quest for acquittal last January to whether to condemn the president after he leaves. Trump’s approval ratings also rocketed in the wake of the deadly attack on Capitol Hill, with a Pew Research Center survey on Friday showing only a 29% approval rating. Such a number could allow some GOP members to activate Trump before the mid-term of 2022.
“How he acts by Wednesday will affect what Republican senators do,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) Of Trump. Republicans “probably have a strategic decision to make about the future of their party. But I have learned to be disappointed with my fellow Republicans.
Very few Senate Republicans have publicly made statements about the impeachment, and many have declined interviews this week. Many will argue that the trial is unconstitutional or impracticable once Trump steps down.
“I’m skeptical because it’s irrelevant in so many ways. It’s entertaining, it’s divisive, and I just can’t imagine a new administration wanting to keep Donald Trump on the front page as it tries to fulfill his first 100 days of meaningful success, “Cramer said.
It should be noted, however, how few Republicans defend Trump on substance. And the House Democrats handling the trial could create some goodwill with Republicans on the fence by keeping Trump’s second trial concise, easy to follow and bare-bones, an aide to a Republican senator said.
Republicans are split into as many disparate factions as you can imagine. There is Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who found that the House had acted “correctly” in removing the president. And Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) Said Trump “committed uneasy crimes” but did not pledge to convict him. Senator Mitt Romney (R-Utah) is the only Republican in the Senate to vote to condemn Trump the last time.
Meanwhile, some Republicans say it is unconstitutional to hold a trial after Trump leaves, which is now the most likely outcome of the House impeachment trial. Senator Rick Scott (R-Fla.) Said Democrats went beyond “the depths” in impeaching the president a second time.
“Should the president have said something faster to tell people not to do it, after [rioting], do not do it? Of course, ”Scott said on the Hugh Hewitt show Thursday. “But did he tell people to go into the Capitol?” Absolutely not.”
Scott was among Republicans who challenged the election results, and some pointed to their vote amid accusations they added fuel to Trump’s fire. Hawley defended his role in an op-ed from his home state, while Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) did several interviews to expose the violence that took place on Capitol Hill and say it was never his goal.
Then there’s Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), Who initially joined the campaign challenge effort and delivered a speech on Arizona’s results when the Senate went into lockdown. He turned the tide after the attack on Capitol Hill, withdrew his objections and even wrote an op-ed apologizing for appearing to question black voters in American cities.
“My intention to give a voice to Oklahomans who had questions was also never an intention to lower the voice of a black American,” said Lankford. “I should have recognized how what I said and what I did could be interpreted by many of you… I deeply regret my blindness to this perception, and I am sorry for that.
With so many differing views on what happened, Republicans said there would be little point in talking over the phone until a momentous week. In a rare move for calculator McConnell, the two weeks between the attack on Capitol Hill and the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden have become a period of reflection – not internal party strategy.
“There is enough grudge in the general public,” said the Republican senator. “If anyone has them in the conference, they don’t voice them.”
Andrew Desiderio contributed to this report.
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