Senate votes to acquit President Trump on both articles of impeachment
The months-long impeachment and Senate trial of President Donald Trump came down to an anticlimactic end Wednesday afternoon with acquittal on both articles.
But there was drama on the Senate floor when each senator’s name was called, and standing at their desks, they pronounced Trump “guilty” or “not guilty” as required by Senate rules on each of the two articles alleging “abuse of power” and “obstruction of Congress.”
The Constitution requires “[N]o Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two-thirds of the Members present.”
Trump is only the third president in U.S. history to face an impeachment trial, but largely because Republicans have a 53-47 advantage in the Senate, his fate has been mostly a foregone conclusion since even before the proceedings began.
Earlier Wednesday, in a dramatic moment on the Senate floor, Utah Republican Mitt Romney announced he would vote to convict Trump, the first to break ranks with his party and the first senator ever to say he would find a president of his own party guilty.
Here is how developments are unfolding.
4:32 Senate acquits Trump on second article of impeachment
The Senate votes to acquit Trump on the second article of impeachment — obstruction of Congress — by a vote of 53-47.
Chief Justice Roberts announces the vote from the dais and prepares to gavel the Senate, sitting as a court of impeachment, to a historic close.
4:18 p.m. Senate votes to acquit Trump on first article of impeachment
Chief Justice John Roberts announces that the Senate has voted to acquit President Trump on the first article of impeachment — abuse of power — by a vote of 52-48.
What a joke