Donald Trump was acquitted of inciting an insurrection in last month’s deadly assault on the US Capitol, as Republican senators closed ranks at the former president’s second impeachment trial.
The Senate voted 57-43 on the question of whether Trump was guilty of inciting an insurrection. Seven Republicans — Richard Burr, Bill Cassidy, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Mitt Romney, Ben Sasse and Pat Toomey — joined Democrats in voting to convict the president.
Trump was cleared because two-thirds of the Senate would have needed to find the former president guilty for him to have been convicted under the US constitution. Democrats had hoped to convict Trump and then hold a simple majority vote to bar him from holding public office in future. Trump has not ruled out running for president in 2024.
The acquittal caps a dark period in US political history that began with Trump’s rejection of the November 3 election results and culminated in the worst episode of…