During the Senate impeachment trial day 12 on February 4, 2020 Senators weighed in for the second day on how they will vote on whether to remove President Donald Trump from office. The speeches come one day before the Senate will decide whether to convict or acquit Trump on two articles of impeachment — abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. After the Senate voted last week to bar new witness testimony and subpoenas for documents, Trump’s acquittal has seemed all but assured. Almost all Democrats and no Republicans in the House of Representatives impeached Trump in December 2019.
All Video Playlist: Trump impeachment Trial | Day 12 | February 4, 2020
Video 3: Senator Mitch McConnell’s full statement on Trump’s impeachment trial
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said the framers of the U.S. Constitution took the impeachment process “very seriously.” McConnell said they wanted the proceedings to be fair and “placed the ultimate judgment, not in the fractious lower chamber, but in the sober and stable Senate.” He then went on to say he will vote to acquit the president.
Video 5: Senator Bill Cassidy ‘s full statement on Trump’s impeachment trial
Senator Bill Cassidy, R-La., argued that a “substantial number” of Americans do not want President Donald Trump removed from office. Cassidy said that an impeachment inquiry ought to be a “thorough” process, even if time-consuming, because “failing to convince the people invites anger towards, disdain for, and abandonment of the Democratic process.”
Video 6: Senator Joni Ernst’s full statement on Trump’s impeachment trial
Senator Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said she’ll vote against the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump. “The arguments of the House managers simply did not demonstrate that the president’s actions rise to an impeachable offense,” she said.
Video 7: Senator Roger Wicker’s full statement on Trump’s impeachment trial
Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said he’ll vote against the removal of President Donald Trump, saying that he didn’t think House managers had a convincing enough case. Instead, Wicker said he found the president’s defense lawyers “to be persuasive” in their argument that the president’s actions were not grounds for removal.
Video 13: Senator Deb Fischer’s full statement on Trump’s impeachment trial
Senator Deb Fischer, R-Neb., said the House of Representatives “didn’t do its job” in pursuing the impeachment proceedings, saying that it was “deeply partisan” and that it lacked due process.
Video 14: Senator Shelley Moore Capito full statement on Trump’s impeachment trial
Senator Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said she will be voting to acquit President Donald Trump, saying that only a “grave act” will justify an impeachment inquiry.
Video 15: Senator Rand Paul’s statement on Trump’s impeachment trial
Senator Rand Paul, R-Ky., took to the Senate floor on Feb. 4, 2020 to criticize Democrats’ efforts to impeach President Donald Trump and remove him from office. “The great irony is they did exactly what they accused the president of. They used the government and the government’s process to go after their political opponent,” Paul said. He went on to slam the Democrats’ use of a FISA court during the Russia investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller.
Video 16: Senator John Hoeven’s full statement on Trump’s impeachment trial
Senator John Hoeven, R-N.D., said after reviewing the evidence, “it is clear to me that the House should not have impeached President [Donald] Trump,” and that the Senate ought to vote to acquit him.
Video 17: Senator Pat Roberts’ full statement on Trump’s impeachment trial
Senator Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, said he believed that President Donald Trump should be acquitted of both impeachment charges. He added that he was “troubled” by House managers’ “demand that we, in the Senate, fill in the gaps of their investigation and call more witnesses.”
Video 22: Senator John Kennedy’s full statement on Trumps impeachment trial
Senator John Kennedy, R-La., said he will vote to acquit President Donald Trump of the articles of impeachment. Kennedy said Democrats have claimed Trump is out of control. “What they really mean is the president is out of their control, and that is not grounds for impeachment.”
Video 23: Senator Ted Cruz’s full statement on Trump’s impeachment trial
Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said on Feb. 4, 2020 that he would vote, along with other Republicans, to acquit President Donald Trump of the articles of impeachment — a move that he called “the right thing to do.” Cruz said the Senate conducted a fair trial, despite the decision not to hear from witnesses. He also said Trump’s reasons for asking for investigations into the Bidens and for putting a hold on aid to Ukraine were legitimate.
Video 24: Senator David Perdue’s full statement on Trump’s impeachment trial
In explaining his intention to vote to acquit President Donald Trump, Senator David Perdue, R-Ga., said the impeachment process was tainted from the beginning and was used as a “partisan political weapon.” Perdue said what Democrats did “was not fair,” arguing that the president was not allowed due process and the charges against Trump did not meet the bar set by the Constitution’s founders for impeachment.
Video 25: Senator Steve Daines’ full statement on Trump’s impeachment trial
Pledging to vote to acquit President Donald Trump, Senator Steve Daines, R-Mont., said the House managers’ case is “partisan” and “weak,” claiming that the proceedings were an attempt by Democrats to overturn the 2016 election and influence the upcoming one.
Video 26: Senator Mike Rounds’ full statement on Trump’s impeachment trial
Senator Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said that he would vote to acquit President Donald Trump and that impeachment should only be used as a “last resort.” Rounds added that he thought the House managers’ case against Trump was “rushed.”
Video 29: Senator Susan Collins’ full statement on Trump’s impeachment trial
Senator Susan Collins, R-Maine, said on Tuesday that she will vote to acquit President Donald Trump on both articles of impeachment. On the first charge of abuse of power, Collins said that the House managers did not sufficiently show how Trump’s conduct, “however, flawed, warrants the extreme step of immediate removal from office.” For the obstruction of Congress charge, Collins said the House “chose to skip the basic steps of judicial adjudication and instead led straight to impeachment as the first resort.”
Video 34: Senator Rob Portman’s full statement on Trump’s impeachment trial
Senator Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said while he doesn’t condone President Donald Trump’s behavior, he doesn’t think Trump’s actions rise to the level of removing him from office.
Video 38: Senator James Lankford’s full statement on Trump’s impeachment trial
Senator James Lankford, R-Okla., said President Donald Trump’s actions regarding Ukraine do not rise to the level of removal from office. Lankford pointed out that Trump had withheld aid from a number of countries other than Ukrainian and called the hold in question “entirely reasonable.” “This tale that President Trump thinks he’s a king…begs reality,” Lankford said, combatting a line from Democrats who claim Trump thinks he is above the law.
Video 39: Senator John Boozman’s full statement on Trump’s impeachment trial
Senator John Boozman, R-Ark., said the impeachment investigation into President Donald Trump was a partisan and unfair process, and that he would vote to acquit him on Wednesday. “To be clear, the partisan nature of this impeachment process potentially sets the stage for more impeachments among strictly partisan lines,” Boozman said, expressing concern that this set up a dangerous precedent for the future. He noted that his constituents were not concerned with the “games and theater” of the impeachment trial against Trump, and that the American people should judge for themselves on his culpability during the 2020 election.
