Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell has told Republican colleagues he plans to acquit former President Donald Trump for the second time of an indictment, according to a Politico report.
McConnell’s remarks, conveyed in a letter to other members of the IDP conference, make clear his position on accusation: The minority leader cites the rule of law as an important reason for his acquittal and describes accusation as a tool that mainly uses be to remove a president. from office. He writes that because Trump is no longer president, the Senate does not have one.
Earlier, McConnell had indicated that he would consider whether he would be acquitted or convicted, and that he would not put pressure on members of his conference. Ultimately, it appears that McConnell brought the jurisdiction to the conclusion.
“Today’s vote is a vote of conscience and I know we will all treat it that way,” McConnell wrote in the letter, first obtained by Burgess Everett of Politico. “While I was on a close call, I am convinced that accusations are primarily a tool for removal, and therefore we have no jurisdiction.”
McConnell says it was a ‘close call’, but says accusation is ‘primarily a tool for removal’ and the Senate has no jurisdiction. He says criminal proceedings by a president in office can be prosecuted when the president does not have his office pic.twitter.com/JGMTjCp2OL
– Burgess Everett (@burgessev) 13 February 2021
McConnell also argues that conviction is unnecessary because Trump could experience consequences for his actions through criminal prosecution.
“The Constitution makes it clear that criminal presidential misconduct during office can be prosecuted after the president leaves office, which in my view alleviates the otherwise worrying argument of ‘January exception’ raised by the House,” he writes.
As far as Senate jurisdiction is concerned, it is noteworthy that McConnell played a key role in determining the timing of the indictment, and that it could have started before Trump left the presidency. Democrats wanted to hold the trial just after the House indicted Trump on Jan. 13, but McConnell insisted on sticking to an earlier schedule, meaning the Senate could not pick up the articles before Jan. 19.
McConnell’s decision to speak out is important, given his position as leader of the Republican Senate – and his influence over the conference. If he voted guilty, he could open the door for other GOP senators to do the same. Now, many Republicans are likely to follow acquittal, a scenario that seems all the more likely since 44 GOP lawmakers voted earlier this week to dismiss the trial.
Eventually, the indictment is expected to strike below the threshold of 67 people needed to secure Trump’s conviction. Given McConnell’s position – and the earlier vote to end the trial itself – it would appear that the Republican Party is not quite ready to distance itself from the former president.