Statements arriving three days before Trump’s likely acquittal
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Dhe republican senators justified themselves Sunday, three days before the probable acquittal of Donald Trump in his trial for removal from the Senate, by arguing that he had done wrong but not to the point of becoming the first American president in history to be removed from office.
Trump is accused of asking Ukraine to investigate his rival Democrat Joe Biden and to withhold military aid to Kiev to pressure him. The Republicans agree.
“He shouldn’t have done it, it was wrong, I would say inappropriate, improper, he crossed a line. The only question is what to do, “said Republican Senator Lamar Alexander on NBC Sunday. He conceded that there were “mountains of evidence” against Trump. But “the people” will have to decide, he said, having concluded.
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“What he did is far from an act of treason, corruption, or a major crime or misdemeanor,” added the senator, citing the criteria established by the Constitution. His colleague Joni Ernst is more forgiving but still dropped on CNN on Sunday: “I probably would not have done the same.”
End of trial
This marks the end of the third impeachment trial in the history of the United States, after Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1999 (none have been removed, which requires a two-thirds majority in the Senate). The Republican majority should unite around its president and vote “no” in the verdict, but several senators, faced with the overwhelming elements, take care not to completely absolve him on the moral front.
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