WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump has once again been acquitted by the Senate in an impeachment trial.
The Senate voted 57-43 on Saturday, February 13 to acquit Trump of the charge of “incitement of insurrection.” While this represents a majority of senators, this number is ten votes short of the two-thirds majority of votes required to convict.
The trial came to an abrupt end on Saturday afternoon after the Senate decided to not call forth any witnesses.
Seven Republican senators—Sens. Richard Burr, R-NC, Bill Cassidy, R-LA, Susan Collins, R-ME, Lisa Murkowski, R-AK, Mitt Romney, R-UT, Ben Sasse, R-NE, and Pat Toomey, R-Pa., joined all Democratic senators in voting to convict the former president.
Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives on January 13 for high crimes and misdemeanors related to the January 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol, and for a phone call with the Georgia Secretary of State where he attempted to change vote totals.
The House vote to impeach Trump was also mostly along party lines, although 10 Republican representatives did vote to impeach the then-president.
Trump’s presidential term ended one week later, with the swearing in of President Joe Biden. He is the only president to have been impeached twice, and the only president to face a Senate trial after his presidency.