Speier Statement on Conclusion of Trump Impeachment Trial

Statement

Congresswoman Jackie Speier (CA-14) issued the following statement in response to the acquittal of the former president during his second impeachment trial. The U.S. Senate voted 57 to 43 in favor of conviction, failing to reach the two-thirds threshold required for conviction.

"The results of today's vote were predictable. They were also tragic and sad. There were seven Republicans who relied on the U.S. Constitution and voted to convict the ex-president of inciting an insurrection. The 43 other Republicans relied on political calculations about their future and voted to acquit. But as I noted at the start of this trial, justice isn't only about conviction -- it's about holding those responsible to account, doing the right thing when everyone is looking, and bringing the United States back to reality. It's about entering the evidence into the historic record and showing Americans today, as well as future generations, who in the U.S. Senate had the courage, conviction, and common sense to finally put country before party."

"The overwhelming evidence presented by the House managers, each of whom did a phenomenal job and deserve our ever-lasting appreciation and respect, was backed by real-time audio and video recordings taken from police officers' body cameras and directly from the ex-president's social media posts and speeches. They did not stoop to adding sinister music or heavily editing and chopping his remarks and posts, though the ex-president's lawyers did. The constitutional defense, based on a laughable theory of a January exemption for presidents, distortions, and lies, was rejected by a bipartisan majority of the Senate earlier this week."

"There is no defense for the ex-president. There is also complicity in the ex-president's crimes--complicity that each and every Republican who voted to acquit will carry as their legacy long after they leave office."

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