U.S. Senate Votes to Acquit President Donald Trump

(Updating) The U.S. Senate voted to acquit President Donald Trump on both articles of impeachment submitted by the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Senate took up the first article of impeachment – abuse of power – shortly after 3:00p CT and voted 52 to 48 to acquit. The vote was primarily along party lines with the lone acceptation being U.S. Senator Mitt Romney, R-Utah, who joined the Democrats to vote guilty. Romney is the first U.S. Senator to vote to convict a president in the same party.

On the second article of impeachment – Obstruction of Congress – the Senate voted 53 to 47 to acquit with Romney rejoining the Republicans.

“The Senate, having tried Donald John Trump, president of the United States, upon two articles of impeachment exhibited against him by the House of Representatives, and two-thirds of the senators present not having found him guilty of the charges contained therein, it is therefore ordered and adjudged that the said Donald John Trump be, and he is hereby, acquitted of the charges in said articles,” Chief Justice John Roberts, who presided over the Senate impeachment trial, stated.

Trump became the third president in U.S. history to be impeached. The Senate has never voted to convict a president in an impeachment trial.

Both of Iowa’s U.S. Senators voted to acquit. U.S. Senator Joni Ernst announced her decision late Tuesday. U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley announced his decision on Tuesday morning.

Iowa Republicans responded to the news.

“As the only Member of Iowa’s House delegation to vote against these sham impeachment articles, I was feeling pretty lonely until I was joined today by both of Iowa’s Senators, Senator Grassley and Senator Ernst, who cast ‘Not Guilty’ votes in the Senate to acquit the President,” U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, said. “I commend the United States Senate for voting to acquit President Trump. The House impeachment effort was illegitimate from the outset, and President Trump was correct to describe it as a ‘witch hunt’ brought by bitter partisans who never accepted that Americans preferred him to Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election.

“Americans have watched this sham impeachment unfold, and what the Democrats have done in their zeal to attack this successful President has appalled them. Rep. Schiff, the lead House impeachment manager, faced censure for his misrepresentation of President Trump’s words. In addition to facing censure, Rep. Schiff also held secret impeachment hearings in the House Intelligence Committee that were so one-sided and unfair to the President, I joined many of my Republican colleagues to storm the SCIF in the name of getting transparency into the proceedings. Americans are also deeply suspicious of the coordination that many believe occurred between Rep. Schiff’s staff and the so-called whistleblower,” he said.

“The fact of the matter is that there is something deeply un-American about attempting to overthrow a duly elected President while providing little to no information to the public about the person or persons who may be behind the nefarious effort. The Senate did the right thing by voting to acquit President Trump, and I commend Iowa’s two Senators for their votes. I also congratulate President Trump on this outcome, as he has been fully vindicated by the Senate’s actions,” King concluded.

Congressional candidates also weighed in.

“Today, Republicans stood up for the Constitution and acquitted President Trump on all articles of impeachment that were sent over by House Democrats. From the President’s first day in office, the socialist left has tried to overturn the election of a duly-elected President, but they failed. It is time for House Democrats to put aside their partisan views and dislike for our President and get back to their constitutional obligation of serving the people that elected them,” Jeremy Taylor, a Republican candidate for U.S. House in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District, said in a released statement. He is challenging King in a five-way primary.

“Today, this sham impeachment has come to an end,” said State Senator Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Ottumwa, who is running for U.S. House in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District. “It’s imperative that we as Americans come together and move on from this partisan chapter in our history. Thank you to Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst for standing strong and brining this to an end.”