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Statement: Trump Acquittal Is a Stain on Our Country’s History

WASHINGTON, D.C. – After the U.S. Senate voted to acquit former President Donald Trump on the charge of incitement of insurrection, Lisa Gilbert, executive vice president of Public Citizen, released the following statement:

“Today in a profile in cowardice, 43 Republicans voted to acquit Donald Trump. This does not mean that this was not the most bipartisan impeachment vote in history. It was. This does not mean that Donald Trump is not the first president to be impeached twice in history. He is. And this certainly does not mean that the masterful case of the impeachment managers, where they laid out the direct thru line between Trump’s actions over many months and the abhorrent violence on Jan. 6. is wasted, it is not.

“On Jan. 6, the President of the United States organized and instigated an insurrection against the U.S. – aimed at preventing the Congress from doing its duty, at preventing the peaceful transfer of power and at preventing the core functioning of our democracy. It was an insurrection against We the People, and against our republic. A mob led by white nationalists stormed the Capitol, called for the assassination of the vice president and sought to hunt him down. Five people died because of that insurrection launched by President Donald Trump and more than 100 were injured. It was one of the saddest days in our history.

“While a majority of the U.S. Senate has voted to convict Trump for his constitutional crimes, the Senate has failed to muster the two-thirds vote needed to convict him for crimes to which the senators themselves were eyewitnesses. So, this day, Feb. 13, 2021, will also be remembered for all American history as a stain on our history.

“Impeachment aside, Trump is unfit for future office and committed crimes against the American people. And whether through the courts, a commission or other constitutional remedies, accountability will find him. Public Citizen will work to ensure that this accountability occurs and that legislation moves to protect our democracy so that these kinds of abuses can never happen again.”