Donald Trump cleared in impeachment vote over the Captol Hill riot

The 57-43 vote fell short of the two-thirds majority required for conviction

The impeachment decision was expected on Saturday. AFP

Donald Trump has been cleared of incitement charges in the former US president's historic second trial over his treatment of supporters in the run up to the Capitol Hill riot.
The vote, largely along party lines, means Mr Trump was acquitted of fanning the flames that led to the riot and attempts to overturn the election.
The vote was 57-43, nine votes off the two-thirds majority required in the Senate.

Mr Trump celebrated his win by calling the case a "witch hunt" and said his movement "has only just begun".

Pro-Trump protesters storm into the U.S. Capitol during clashes with police, during a rally to contest the certification of the 2020 U.S. presidential election results by the U.S. Congress, in Washington, U.S. Reuters

A protester yells inside the Senate Chamber. AFP

Pro-Trump protesters clash with police at a rally to contest the certification of the 2020 U.S. presidential election results by the U.S. Congress, at the U.S. Capitol Building. Reuters

Congress staffers hold up their hands while Capitol Police Swat teams check everyone in the room as they secure the floor of Trump supporters. AFP

U.S. Capitol police officers point their guns at a door that was vandalized in the House Chamber during a joint session of Congress. AFP

Congress staffers barricade themselves after Trump supporters stormed inside the US Capitol. AFP

Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., cleans up debris and personal belongings strewn across the floor of the Rotunda in the early morning hours of the morning, after protesters stormed the Capitol in Washington. AP Photo

Demonstrators break TV equipment outside the the U.S. Capitol, in Washington. AP Photo

Pro-Trump protesters attempt to tear down a police barricade during a rally to contest the certification of the 2020 U.S. presidential election results by the U.S. Congress, at the U.S. Capitol Building. Reuters

A protester is seen hanging from the balcony in the Senate Chamber. AFP

An explosion caused by a police munition is seen while supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump gather in front of the U.S. Capitol Building. Reuters

A supporter of US President Donald J. Trump sits on the desk of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, after supporters of US President Donald J. Trump breached the US Capitol security in Washington, DC. EPA

Before the vote, Mitch McConnell, the senior Republican senator, had indicated he would vote in favour of acquittal.

After the vote, he said Mr Trump was "practically and morally responsible" for the protests and he called out the president's "unconscionable behaviour".

He also criticised Mr Trump for not calling on the mob to retreat even when police officers lay bleeding and he "praised the criminals".

"What's important about this trial is that it's really aimed to some extent at Donald Trump, but it's more aimed at some president we don't even know 20 years from now," said Angus King, an independent senator from Maine.

The quick trial, the nation’s first of a former president, showed how perilously close the invaders had come to shattering the nation’s deep tradition of a peaceful transfer of presidential power after Mr Trump had refused to concede the election.

"This has been yet another phase of the greatest witch hunt in the history of our Country," Mr Trump said.

"No president has ever gone through anything like it, and it continues because our opponents cannot forget the almost 75 million people, the highest number ever for a sitting president, who voted for us just a few short months ago."

Ben Sasse, one of the Republican senators who voted for impeachment, attacked Mr Trump, his lies about the election and his efforts to overturn the election.

“Those lies had consequences, endangering the life of the vice president and bringing us dangerously close to a bloody constitutional crisis,” Mr Sasse said. “Each of these actions are violations of a president’s oath of office.”

Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senate Majority leader, condemned the Republicans as voting for Trump, and said the result as a vote for infamy.

"The most despicable act that any president has ever committed and the majority of Republicans cannot summon the courage or the morality to condemn it.
"This trial wasn't about choosing country over party even not that. This was about choosing country over Donald Trump. And 43 Republican members chose Trump. They chose Trump. It should be a weight on their conscience today and it shall be a weight on their conscience in the future."

Rallying outside the White House on January 6, Mr Trump unleashed a mob of supporters to "fight like hell" for him at the Capitol just as Congress was to certify Democrat Joe Biden's election victory.

Michael van der Veen, lawyer for former U.S. President Donald Trump, gestures as he talks to a reporter about his participation in a Black Lives Matter protest, after the Senate voted to acquit former President Trump during his impeachment trial in Washington. Reuters

Defense attorney Michael van der Veen (R), along with other members of Trump's defense team, get on the Senate subway after the conclusion of the second impeachment trial of former US President Donald J. Trump in Washington, DC. The US Senate voted to acquit former US president Trump in his impeachment trial held on the charge of incitement of insurrection for his role in 06 January violent attack on the US Capitol. EPA

Michael van der Veen (R), former President Donald Trump's defense lawyer, fields questions from the media following the conclusion of the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC. The Senate voted 57-43 to acquit Trump. AFP

Michael van der Veen, defense attorney for Donald Trump, speaks during a television interview in the Russell Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington. Donald Trump's second impeachment trial ended in a not guilty verdict on a vote of 57-43, short of the two-thirds majority required. Bloomberg

U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks during a news conference with House impeachment managers on the fifth day of the impeachment trial of former U.S. President Donald Trump, on charges of inciting the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol, in Washington. Reuters

Lead House Impeachment Manager Democratic Representative from Maryland Jamie Raskin, with other house managers, walks off the Senate floor following the impeachment trial of former US President Donald J. Trump in the US Capitol in Washington, DC. The US Senate on voted to acquit former US president Trump in his impeachment trial held on the charge of incitement of insurrection for his role in 06 January violent attack on the US Capitol. EPA

Michael van der Veen, former President Donald Trump's defense lawyer, speaks on the phone following the conclusion of the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC. The Senate voted 57-43 to acquit Trump. AFP

House prosecutors have said Mr Trump's rallying cry to go to the Capitol and "fight like hell" for his presidency just as Congress was convening January 6 to certify Joe Biden's election victory was part of an orchestrated pattern of violent rhetoric and false claims that unleashed the mob. Five people died, including a rioter who was shot and a police officer.

Only by watching the graphic videos – rioters calling out menacingly for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence, who was presiding over the vote tally – did senators say they began to understand how perilously close the country came to chaos. Hundreds of rioters stormed into the building, taking over the Senate. Some engaged in hand-to-hand, bloody combat with police.
The defence from Mr Trump's lawyers countered that his words were not intended to incite the violence and that impeachment was nothing but a "witch hunt" designed to prevent him from serving in office again.

The Republican senators to vote for impeachment were: Lisa Murkowski, Richard Burr, Bill Cassidy, Susan Collins, Mitt Romney, Ben Sasse and Patrick Toomey.

“Our Constitution and our country is more important than any one person. I voted to convict President Trump because he is guilty,” Mr Cassidy said.