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Posted on 01/26/2021 2:12:58 PM PST by RandFan
The Senate sent a strong signal Tuesday that there are not nearly enough votes to convict President Trump in an impeachment trial when only five GOP senators rejected an effort by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) to declare the looming trial unconstitutional.
The Senate voted 55-45 to set aside Paul's motion, with all but five GOP senators siding with Paul. GOP Sens. Mitt Romney (Utah), Ben Sasse (Neb.), Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Pat Toomey (Pa.) voted with Democrats to table Paul's point of order.
The vote is the clearest sign yet that Trump is heading toward a second acquittal and offers an early insight into which Republicans are lining up behind an argument that his second impeachment trial isn't constitutional.
Trump will be the first president to undergo a trial after leaving office, but the Senate previously held an impeachment trial for a Cabinet official after they left office.
Paul, speaking ahead of the vote, warned that he wanted to force his colleagues to go on the record.
"If we are going to put every politician in jail, are we going to impeach every politician who has used the words 'fight' figuratively in a speech? Shame," he said, accusing Democrats of being "deranged by their hatred" of Trump.
"I want this body on record. Every last person here," Paul added.
Several GOP senators said heading into the vote that they hadn't made a decision on how they would vote, hadn't talked to Paul or, until they saw Tuesday's Senate floor schedule, didn't know he would force the vote.
"I will admit to you I did not think we'd be having a vote on this at this point in time," Murkowski said.
Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) added, "until I read my notice from the leader this morning I didn't know there was a chance it was going to happen.
Though some GOP senators have said they are waiting to hear presentations during the trial, a growing number appear to be latching onto the argument that the trial, which will start next month, is not constitutional.
Legal professor Jonathan Turley attended a closed-door GOP lunch where senators discussed the strategy.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) said in a statement Monday night that while Trump "exhibited poor leadership and holds some responsibility" for the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, that her "concern right now is that the president is no longer in office."
"Congress would be opening itself to a dangerous standard of using impeachment as a tool for political revenge against a private citizen, and the only remedy at this point is to strip the convicted of their ability to run for future office – a move that would undoubtedly strip millions of voters of their ability to choose a candidate in the next election," she added.
Both Romney and Murkowski said on Tuesday before the vote that they believed the trial was constitutional.
"My review of it has led me to conclude that it is constitutional in recognizing that impeachment is not solely about removing a president, it is also a matter of political consequence," Murkowski said.
Romney added that "the preponderance of opinion with regards to the constitutionality of a trial of impeachment of a former president is saying that it is a constitutional process."
Democrats have panned the GOP push to deem Trump's trial unconstitutional, arguing that Republicans are trying to avoid having to make a decision on if Trump's rhetoric met the bar for conviction.
"Some of my Republican colleagues have latched onto a fringe legal theory that the Senate does not have the constitutional power to hold a trial because Donald Trump is no longer in office," said Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.).
"This argument has been roundly debunked by constitutional scholars from the left, right and center. It defies precedent, historic practice, and basic common sense," he added.
Why can’t Romney be dumped, his state will always elect a republican.
Romney. George’s biggest mistake.
This is probably how the trial will settle 55-45 not enough to convict
There goes the Impeachment Sunset under the waves.
67 needed - 55 gotten...
It wont get any better for Schroomer.
Wasn't the same said about Georgia? I recall reading the pre-election discussion about hos if Florida was leaning Trump, the Georgia was in the bag. Very few elections going forward are guaranteed.
Maybe not even 55-45. Didn’t some in the GOP vote to proceed with the Senate trial, only to vote for acquittal?
And so much for the delusion that there are such things as “moderate” Democrat senators.
I can see that but those 5 senators seem set on not even hearing Trumps side of things and have made their mind up
I see that Trump will continue to live rent-free in the minds of those who dislike him for the foreseeable future. And somebody should tell Chuck the Schmuck that Alan Dershowitz is one liberal lawyer who thinks this impeachment is unconstitutional.
Ok d*ckhead,let's impeach Carter,Bush,both Clintons and Obama along with a good portion of the other a-hole cabinet and legislative turds.
Pennsylvania Ping!
Please ping me with articles of interest.
FReepmail me to be added to the list.
Since Trump is no longer President, and the Chief Justice quite properly refuses to preside, what is there about this impeachment trial that follows the constitution? Quite evidently the Democrats have become a scofflaw party, and their senators will vote for almost anything Chuck Schumer asks them to.
"I want this body on record. Every last person here," Paul added.
I'm sympathetic to Paul's point here, but what does that have to do with whether the constitution allows the Senate to try a former President?
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) said in a statement Monday night that while Trump “exhibited poor leadership and holds some responsibility” for the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, that her “concern right now is that the president is no longer in office.”
“Congress would be opening itself to a dangerous standard of using impeachment as a tool for political revenge against a private citizen, and the only remedy at this point is to strip the convicted of their ability to run for future office – a move that would undoubtedly strip millions of voters of their ability to choose a candidate in the next election,” she added.
What a backstabber. Damn pig sticker.
I think that might happen. Honestly, if I was a Senator, I would have voted against Paul’s point of order. I don’t think it is unconstitutional for the Senate to try a former President on articles of impeachment, particularly when he was impeached while still President. But that doesn’t mean I think Trump is guilty.
Don’t get mad. Get even.
Why can’t Romney be dumped, his state will always elect a republican.
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Wasn’t the same said about Georgia? I recall reading the pre-election discussion about hos if Florida was leaning Trump, the Georgia was in the bag. Very few elections going forward are guaranteed.
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Utah doesn’t have an equivalent to Fulton and Dekalb counties to pump in massive numbers of fraudulent votes.
The usual suspects.
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