In news that shocks absolutely no one, former President Donald Trump was acquitted by the Senate at the conclusion of his historic second impeachment. Mainstream outlets are bemoaning “Trump’s hold” on the GOP while conservative outlets are embracing it.
Summary
After a weeklong trial, former President Trump escaped conviction over his alleged role in inciting the Jan. 6th attack on Capitol Hill, falling ten votes short of the 2/3 necessary for impeachment.
- The final day of the trail was not without some confusion, as Democrat House managers (acting as prosecutors) attempted to call witnesses for questioning despite an agreement set by Senate leaders earlier in the week.
- Ultimately, witnesses were not called, as Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri said “It would not change the end result. It would be to everybody’s disadvantage to stretch this out another four to six weeks.”
- With seven Republicans breaking ranks and voting to convict Trump, political analysts are saying the GOP is stuck between a rock and a hard place, with Republican strategist Alex Conant saying the situation is a “Catch 22: it can’t win with Trump but it’s obvious it can’t win without him either.”
- In a statement released after the vote, Trump declared victory and pronounced his political career far from over, saying he will have more news to share “in the months ahead.”
- Huffington Post bemoaned the vote to acquit, calling out multiple Republican officials as “complicit” in Trump’s refusal to concede.
- CNN reported on Trump’s “concern” about criminal liability stemming from the Jan. 6th riot, using multiple unnamed sources, a standard that has become acceptable when reporting on stories damaging to Trump.
- Vox’s trademark post-impeachment explainer analysis concluded everyone from House Democrats to democracy itself is the “loser” in the impeachment, while only one “winner”, Donald Trump, emerged.
- Conservative blog RedState reveled in Trump attorney Michael van der Veen taking the media and House Democrats for “doctoring evidence” and letting Democrats get away with it.
- Townhall noted Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy, who voted to convict Trump, was censured by the Louisiana GOP shortly after the vote, and reporting on dissatisfaction among constituents other Republicans “who aligned themselves with Democrats” are facing.
- Newsmax, did little original reporting, publishing the former president’s statement unedited and without any further reporting while also running a wire report from AFP.
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© Dallas Gerber, 2021
