WYOMING — Senator John Barrasso and Senator Cynthia Lummis are speaking out against the Senate impeachment trial for former President Donald Trump. The trial began yesterday, Feb. 9, with the Senate voting on if the trial is constitutional.
In January, The U.S House of Representatives voted on articles of impeachment for President Donald Trump on charges of “incitement of insurrection,” after a group of radical extremists stormed the capitol on Jan. 6. The House voted 232-197 to impeach the President.
Five people died during the attacks, including one Capitol Police officer, Brian Sicknick. Two other officers who responded to the attacks took their own lives in the days that followed. Trump is being accused of inciting the violence at the Capitol.
Trump held a “Save America” rally in the Ellipse within the National Mall on the morning of Jan. 6. In the hour-long speech, Trump told supporters, “We will never concede” and called out Republican lawmakers for not supporting his unsubstantiated claims of election fraud. During the speech the crowd chanted, “Fight for Trump” and “We love Trump.”
At the end of the hour-long speech, Trump said, “So we’re going to, we’re going to walk down Pennsylvania Avenue, I love Pennsylvania Avenue, and we’re going to the Capitol and we’re going to try and give… The Democrats are hopeless. They’re never voting for anything, not even one vote. But we’re going to try and give our Republicans, the weak ones because the strong ones don’t need any of our help, we’re going to try and give them the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country.”
Sen. John Barrasso released a statement yesterday, after voting to stop the impeachment trial against former President Donald Trump.
Barrasso said, “Consistent with my duty to the Constitution, I voted to certify the electoral votes sent by the states to Congress. And consistent with my duty to the Constitution, I oppose the impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate of a private citizen & former president,” adding, “I’ve sworn an oath to support the U.S. Constitution. It provides for impeachment to remove officials from office. Impeachment was never intended to be used as a weapon for members of Congress to punish political opponents.”
The Senate voted 56-44 on Feb. 9, that the trial is constitutional. Senators Barrasso and Lummis voted against proceeding. The impeachment managers began presenting evidence today, Feb. 10.
In an interview with the Casper Star-Tribune on Tuesday, Lummis said, “This is an unconstitutional impeachment,” adding, “you can’t convict a private citizen, and that’s a constitutional provision.”
On Tuesday at 3:30 p.m., Lummis tweeted, “Well, at least it’s #NationalPizzaDay” with a GIF of a cowboy riding a slice of pepperoni pizza in space.
It is unlikely that the trial will lead to Trump’s conviction. The constitution requires a two-thirds vote of the Senate to convict.
According to the Cowboy State Daily, Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr. said he will campaign against Rep. Liz Cheney in the near future.
Cheney has received criticism from the Republican party including calls on her resignation because she crossed party lines and voted to impeach Trump in the House.
