US President Donald Trump was acquitted Wednesday by the US Senate on both articles of impeachment.
The Senate rejected the first charge, Article 1 – abuse of power – in a vote of 52 to 48.
The second charge, obstruction of justice, was also voted down in a vote of 53 to 47.
Sadly, the vote in the Senate, as in the House, was a straight, partisan exercise with all Democratic senators supporting conviction on both counts, including swing-vote moderates.
Three swing-vote Republican Senators – Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee – voted to acquit the president on both counts.
Republican Senator Mitt Romney of Utah, however, defected, and voted to convict the president on the charge of abuse of power. Romney voted “not guilty” on the obstruction charge.
Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said “This partisan impeachment will end today. But, I fear the threat to our institutions may not. Normally, when a party loses an election, it accepts defeat. . . But not this time.”