Aug 25, 2022:
Aug 24, 2022:
Unredacted Barr memo details DOJ rationale for not charging Trump | The Hill
Feb 8, 2020:
Trump defends Vindman ouster, calls him 'very insubordinate' | The Hill
Politicians won and the public lost in the impeachment of Donald Trump | The Hill
Feb 7, 2020:
Trump warns on impeachment payback: 'You'll see' | NBC News
Trump ousts impeachment witness Gordon Sondland | The Hill
Impeachment witness Alexander Vindman escorted from White House | The Hill
Feb 6, 2020:
At the 68th annual National Prayer Breakfast Trump gave a speech. Here are a few quotes:
As everybody knows, my family, our great country, and your President, have been put through a terrible ordeal by some very dishonest and corrupt people. They have done everything possible to destroy us, and by so doing, very badly hurt our nation. They know what they are doing is wrong, but they put themselves far ahead of our great country.
Weeks ago, and again yesterday, courageous Republican politicians and leaders had the wisdom, the fortitude, and strength to do what everyone knows was right. I don't like people who use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong. Nor do I like people who say, "I pray for you," when they know that that's not so.
So many people have been hurt, and we can’t let that go on. And I'll be discussing that a little bit later at the White House.
Everyone here today is united by a shared conviction. We know that our nation is stronger, our future is brighter, and our joy is greater when we turn to God and ask him to shed his grace on our lives.
As I said on Tuesday in the House Chamber, "In America, we don't punish prayer. We don't tear down crosses. We don't ban symbols of faith. We don't muzzle preachers.”" We don't muzzle pastors. "In America, we celebrate faith, we cherish religion, we lift our voices in prayer, and we raise our sights to the Glory of God."
Except for the people in this room and some others believed we were going to win. I believed we were going to win. But what they did have was have an unwavering belief that God was with them. I believe that too. God is with the people in this room.
When Buzz Aldrin landed on the Moon, he said, "Houston, I would like to request a few moments of silence." Then, he read from the Bible.
We are upholding the sanctity of life — sanctity of life...And we're pursuing medical breakthroughs to save premature babies because every child is a sacred gift from God.
Something which wasn’t done nearly enough — I could almost say wasn’t done at all — we are standing up for persecuted Christians and religious minorities all around the world — (applause) — like nobody has ever done.
Religion in this country and religion all over the world — certain religions in particular — are under siege. We won't let that happen. We are going to protect our religions. We are going to protect Christianity. We are going to protect our great ministers and pastors and rabbis and all of the people that we so cherish and that we so respect.
Source:
Trump, Donald. (Feb 6, 2020). "Remarks by President Trump at the 68th Annual National Prayer Breakfast". whitehouse.gov. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
Trump attacks impeachment foes at National Prayer Breakfast for invoking faith | Politico
Trump hits Pelosi, Romney on impeachment at National Prayer Breakfast | Fox News
Trump strikes a bitterly vindictive tone during National Prayer Breakfast speech | Vox
'Dishonest and corrupt': Trump unloads at National Prayer Breakfast after acquittal | NBC News
House impeachment managers say Trump, Senate permanently stained by trial | Fox News
House managers: Trump won't be vindicated. The Senate won't be, either. | The Washington Post
Feb 5, 2020:
The U.S. Senate voted to acquit President Trump on two articles of impeachment.
On the first article, abuse of power, the vote was 52-48 in favor of acquittal. The vote was along party lines with the exception of Senator Mitt Romney (Republican-Utah) who sided with Democrats.
On the second article, obstruction of Congress, the vote was 53-47 in favor of acquittal and strictly along party lines.
Source:
Mascaro, Lisa; Jalonick, Mary Clare. (Feb 5, 2020). "Not Guilty: Senate acquits Trump of impeachment charges". Associated Press. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
Senate votes to acquit Trump on articles of impeachment | The Hill
Trump to make statement on impeachment 'victory' on Thursday | The Hill
After Senate acquittal, Trump tweets video showing him running for president indefinitely | The Hill
Trump tweets video that claims Romney is a 'Democrat secret asset' | The Hill
Utah's other Republican senator distances himself from Romney | The Hill
Schumer: 'Giant asterisk' next to Trump's acquittal | The Hill
Pelosi rips McConnell as 'rogue leader' after Trump acquittal | The Hill
Pressley blasts acquittal as 'cover up coordinated by Mitch McConnell' | The Hill
Senate GOP drives stake through talk of Trump censure | The Hill
Romney provokes Republican wrath by voting to convict Trump | PBS
Pelosi, Schumer praise Romney after impeachment vote | The Hill
Trump Jr. says Romney 'should be expelled' from the GOP | The Hill
Schiff: Romney displayed 'moral courage' in breaking with GOP on conviction | PBS
Schumer-McConnell clash defines the impeachment trial | Politico
Conservatives blast Pelosi for tearing up a copy of Trump's State of the Union address | NBC News
Before the vote, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Republican-Kentucky) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (Democrat-New York) delivered closing remarks on the Senate floor.
Read a transcript of McConnell's remarks here.
Read a transcript of Schumer's remarks here.
Speaking on the Senate floor prior to the impeachment vote, Senator Romney delivered a speech explaining why he was going to vote for impeachment.
Romney described the three defenses argued by Trump's lawyers. To the first defense, "that there can be no impeachment without a statutory crime", Romney said:
To maintain that the lack of a codified and comprehensive list of all the outrageous acts that a president might conceivably commit renders Congress powerless to remove a president defies reason.
To the second defense, "that the Bidens' conduct justified the President's actions", Romney said:
Given that in neither the case of the father [Joe Biden] nor the son [Hunter Biden] was any evidence presented by the President's counsel that a crime had been committed, the President's insistence that they be investigated by the Ukrainians is hard to explain other than as a political pursuit. There is no question in my mind that were their names not Biden, the President would never have done what he did.
To the third defense, "that the judgement of the President's actions should be left to the voters", Romney said:
While that logic is appealing to our democratic instincts, it is inconsistent with the Constitution's requirement that the Senate, not the voters, try the president. Hamilton explained that the Founders' decision to invest senators with this obligation rather than leave it to voters was intended to minimize—to the extent possible—the partisan sentiments of the public.
Romney went on to say:
The grave question the Constitution tasks senators to answer is whether the President committed an act so extreme and egregious that it rises to the level of a "high crime and misdemeanor."
Yes, he did.
The President asked a foreign government to investigate his political rival.
The President withheld vital military funds from that government to press it to do so.
The President delayed funds for an American ally at war with Russian invaders.
The President's purpose was personal and political.
Accordingly, the President is guilty of an appalling abuse of the public trust.
What he did was not "perfect"— No, it was a flagrant assault on our electoral rights, our national security interests, and our fundamental values. Corrupting an election to keep oneself in office is perhaps the most abusive and destructive violation of one's oath of office that I can imagine.
Source:
CBS News. (Feb 5, 2020). "Read: Mitt Romney's speech announcing he'll vote to convict Trump". CBS News. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
Shortly after the Senate vote, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham issued the following statement:
Today, the sham impeachment attempt concocted by Democrats ended in the full vindication and exoneration of President Donald J. Trump. As we have said all along, he is not guilty. The Senate voted to reject the baseless articles of impeachment, and only the President's political opponents – all Democrats, and one failed Republican presidential candidate – voted for the manufactured impeachment articles.
In what has now become a consistent tradition for Democrats, this was yet another witch-hunt that deprived the President of his due process rights and was based on a series of lies. Rep. Adam Schiff lied to Congress and the American people with a totally made up statement about the President's phone call. Will there be no retribution? Speaker Nancy Pelosi also lied to the American people about the need to swiftly pass impeachment articles they dreamt up, only to sit on them for a month before sending over to the Senate. In the Senate, the Democrats continued to make their political motivations clear – Rep. Schiff proclaimed the issues "cannot be decided at the ballot box" – proving once again they think they know better than the voters of this country. This entire effort by the Democrats was aimed at overturning the results of the 2016 election and interfering with the 2020 election.
Throughout this wholly corrupt process, President Trump successfully advanced the interests of the United States and remained focused on the issues that matter to Americans. He spent his time achieving real victories for the people of this country, and the Democrats – once again – have nothing to show for their fraudulent schemes. The President is pleased to put this latest chapter of shameful behavior by the Democrats in the past, and looks forward to continuing his work on behalf of the American people.
Source:
USA Today. (Feb 5, 2020). "Read the White House's response to Trump's acquittal in the Senate impeachment trial". USA Today. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called the impeachment a "political loser" and a "colossal political mistake" for Democrats. McConnell also said the following:
The president has his highest approval rating since he's been in office. I can tell you as a poll watcher... every one of our people in tough races is in better shape today than they were before the impeachment trial started...I think this was a thoroughly political exercise from the beginning to the end.
Source:
Carney, Jordain. (Feb 5, 2020). "McConnell declares victory after impeachment: 'Colossal political mistake' for Democrats". The Hill. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
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Commentary:
There is WAY too much information to unpack regarding the impeachment of Trump, so I will keep my comments "short and sweet".