The Senate is after the second indictment over Donald Trump, which is expected to begin on February 8, and which will provide a vivid reminder of the violent takeover of the Capitol that resulted in five deaths. But Republicans – some of whom initially showed willingness to pursue the consequences for Trump – quickly closed the ranks around a new message: Let it go.
“I just think we need to move forward,” Florida Senator Marco Rubio said before moving on to talk about the dangerous new COVID-19 mutations. “And I hope we will do that and that history will hold those responsible accountable.”
And that may be exactly what happens, as neither Rubio nor members of his party are willing to hold Trump accountable, emphasizing the former president’s continued hold on the party, even after losing his job and social media megaphone.
The House quickly accused Trump of his role in inciting a violent mob that temporarily halted the counting of January 6 ballots. Republicans and Democrats condemned the attack, which included his supporters building a gallows and “Hang Mike Pence!” when they stormed the building.
But now that Trump does not have his office, some lawyers have suggested that an indictment could be unconstitutional – an argument many Republicans quickly adopted as they sought a way out of the politically distasteful prospect of condemning a figure who remains popular. is below the base. If Trump is convicted, the Senate could prevent him from running for president again.
Some GOP senators suggested this week that losing the election is punitive enough for Trump; others pointed out that the accusation of a former president would set a bad precedent that could cause a waterfall of political retaliation for election losses. On Tuesday, all but five Republicans supported a motion declaring the trial unconstitutional and anticipating how few people could even consider a vote to convict Trump.
Among those who voted for the unsuccessful motion were minority leader Mitch McConnell, who did not speak to Trump for weeks and had earlier indicated an openness to conviction, and Senator Lindsey Graham, who declared hours after the Trump uprising that “enough is enough,” but has since cost him again.
“We will need Trump and Trump needs us,” Graham said this week.
The collective move to hold Trump accountable is a measure of his continued appeal to the Republican base, although federal authorities are arresting dozens of supporters for their actions on January 6 and the Department of Homeland Security has issued a warning about possible terrorist attacks of right-wing militants. Some of the ten Republicans in the House who voted with the Democrats to accuse Trump have conceded that they could very well lose their seats.
“The silent hope is that he will just walk away without having to reprimand him in public and anger the base,” Ryan Williams, a Republican strategist and former spokesman for Senator Mitt Romney, said when he ran for office. “Even at this stage, you can vote to convict the president, but you guarantee a primary issue that could end your career in the Senate.”
That was clear Thursday when hundreds of Trump supporters attended a rally in Cheyenne, Wyo, hosted by Florida Representative Matt Gaetz, an ardent Trump ally, to protest the vote of Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney to accuse the former president. And Representative Kevin McCarthy, the minority leader in the House, who said during the House indictment that Trump “bears responsibility” for the January 6 attack, traveled to Palm Beach, Florida, this week to pay the court to him.
After the McCarthy meeting, Trump’s political organization boasted in a statement: “His endorsement may mean more than any endorsement at any given time.”
A conviction would require 17 Republicans to join all 50 Democrats in the Senate. Senators Romney, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Pat Toomey and Ben Sasse are the only Republicans who, along with their 45 colleagues, did not support the motion to call the trial unconstitutional.
Since the votes to convict on the Republican side are clearly not there, some Democrats are pushing for a quick trial of just one week, compared to the three weeks they spent in early 2020 on Trump’s first indictment. The short timeline means lawmakers would not have had time to gather evidence with the summons to find out what Trump knew before the protest about the crowd’s intentions.
Instead, they would likely rely on mountain public videos and other evidence showing that insurgents cite Trump’s words to justify their violent violation of the Capitol. This is only good with many Democrats wanting to continue with the policy issues on their agenda.
“I would hope we deal with this as soon as possible to address the needs of working families,” Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an independent who spoke to Democrats, said Wednesday about the trial.
Others, however, stress the seriousness of the situation and insist that if the Senate does not plead guilty, criminal proceedings should be instituted against Trump.
“It’s much, much more serious than anything we’ve ever seen in our lifetime, and it’s really the purpose of having articles of accusation in the Constitution,” said Sen. Joe Manchin, a moderate Democrat from West Virginia. . “We want to make sure no one does it again, never think about doing it again – rioting and rebellion.”
President Biden stayed out of the debate, saying he would leave it to the senators to decide what to do at the trial.
If Republicans do stay together and vote to acquit Trump, it could leave a major political question unresolved at a time when the country is struggling to get past the former president’s lies about election fraud and attempts to hang on to power after he lost.
“What’s going to happen is that Trump will say, ‘I’m the victim of a biased vendetta in indictment,’ and he will be able to make the news pig and then be acquitted at the end, ‘” Bruce Ackerman predicted. , a constitutional scholar at Yale Law School. “Then he will run around and say, ‘I’m not guilty! I was right all along. ‘”
Ackerman urged lawmakers to put together a two-party compromise that avoids the scenario – a vote of no confidence based on a provision in the 14th Amendment that bans people from holding office if they take part in an uprising or uprising against the United State. In this scenario, the Supreme Court will eventually hear the evidence for and against the charge and make a decision and remove the judgment from the political arena of Congress.
Collins and Senator Tim Kaine, a Democrat, tried to boost support for the route this week, but apparently did not get much attention.
“I have heard some driven, but not serious discussions,” said Senator John Thune of South Dakota, a Republican.
No matter what the outcome, the indictment will be a reminder – and a revival – of January 6, which may hinder the efforts of some lawmakers in the hope that voters will forget that it ever happened.
“They can watch it all day long, but it does not change facts on the ground,” said Michael Steele, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee that endorsed Biden in 2020. ‘The damage and the slaughter created by their incitement to rebellion – you do not have to walk away from it. ”
Liz Goodwin can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @lizcgoodwin.