Commentary
By Venkatesh Raghavan
The predictable happened with Donald Trump receiving an acquittal from the Senate owing to the numbers game that required 67 votes, meaning two-thirds majority for implementing the impeachment motion falling short of the mark by 10 votes. While the initial proceedings secured 56 votes in favour of impeachment in the house of 100, the numbers rose by just 1 vote when it came to the final crunch.
The earlier estimate that the impeachment proceedings will play out full length by Monday turned out to be a conservative estimate as the acquittal took place in the early evening hours of Saturday. The Democrats were on a buoyed note due to the substantial evidence provided by the riots that shook the Capitol on January 6.
Also read: Impeachment case: Numbers seem to favour Trump
The impeachment trial took place post Trump’s exiting office and lasted for far less than a week, five days to be precise. Trump had been accused of delivering an inflammatory speech that incited insurrection that was captured by video footage at the Capitol. The Democrats described it as a last-ditch attempt by former President Trump to cling on to power by using force and intimidation.
The 74-year-old ex-President doubtlessly continues to hold good sway over his party men. Trump who received the glad tidings in his self-imposed seclusion site at Florida club sounded a welcome note to the verdict. Describing the impeachment trial as an event which will go down as a witch hunt in US history. He also sounded optimistic of possible resurgence stating to media persons, “Our historic, patriotic and beautiful movement to make America great again has only just begun.” He also predicted that this will lead to a bright radiant and limitless American future.
The for and against remarks that did the back and forth over Trump’s speech was defended by the Republican lawyers who referred to the former President’s remark, “fight like hell” as a mere resort to rhetoric on a public platform and did not serve as a ground for impeachment over inciting violence. This was in response to the Democrats insisting that he had incited his supporters to attack Congress after failing to furnish any evidence on his two-month long allegation spree that the election results were rigged. The defence team also focused on the constitutional jurisdiction of a Senate to try a former President.
