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Second Impeachment: Incitement of Insurrection — Impeached, Then Acquitted on Technicality

The House impeachment was adopted 232-197 with ten Republicans voting to impeach — the most bipartisan presidential impeachment in history. The single article charged Trump with incitement of insurrection for his speech at the Ellipse on January 6 and his conduct leading up to the attack. Senate Majority Leader McConnell voted to acquit on the grounds that the Senate lacked jurisdiction to try a former president, then immediately gave a speech from the Senate floor saying Trump was 'practically and morally responsible' for the attack. The acquittal was on procedural grounds, not on the merits.

Record summary

Grade

Grade 4 of 5: Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern

Systematic actions that undermine fundamental constitutional or international legal protections at the structural level. Scale and definitions

Status
Concluded
Incident date
Record updated
Location
Washington, D.C.
Category
Rule of Law
Legal posture
Reported
War-crime classification
Enabling conduct
Verification
Independently verified
ICC relevance
No
Sources
4 cited
Stable ID
trump-second-impeachment-acquittal-senate
Victims
U.S. Capitol police officers assaulted; democratic processes; constitutional order; Congress members whose safety was threatened
Alleged responsible parties
  • Donald Trump, President; charged with incitement of insurrection; acquitted on procedural grounds— White House

Key points

  • The House impeached Trump on January 13, 2021 — one week after the Capitol attack — on a single article: incitement of insurrection; ten Republicans voted to impeach, making it the most bipartisan presidential impeachment in U.S. history; the vote was 232-197
  • Senate Minority Leader McConnell initially indicated he might vote to convict, giving other Republicans political cover; he ultimately voted to acquit on the grounds that the Senate lacked jurisdiction to try a former president
  • In his floor speech immediately after voting to acquit, McConnell said Trump was 'practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day' and that his conduct had been 'a disgraceful dereliction of duty' — the most direct condemnation of Trump by a Republican Senate leader
  • The 57-43 vote to convict was a majority — and the most bipartisan conviction vote in any presidential impeachment trial — but fell short of the two-thirds supermajority required; seven Republican senators voted to convict: Romney, Murkowski, Collins, Sasse, Cassidy, Burr, Toomey
  • The acquittal was on procedural grounds; a majority of senators had voted on a threshold question to assert the Senate had jurisdiction, meaning the 57-43 conviction vote was the substantive tally on the merits
  • The Senate voted separately on whether to impose disqualification from future office holding; the vote failed 55-45 to reach the simple majority required for disqualification — a vote that was separate from the conviction threshold

Overview

A majority of the U.S. Senate voted that Donald Trump was guilty of incitement of insurrection. 57 senators voted to convict. Seven Republicans crossed the aisle.

He was acquitted because the two-thirds supermajority required for conviction — a bar designed to prevent the removal of presidents on narrow partisan votes — was not reached.

The Republican who provided political cover for acquittal — Mitch McConnell — then stood at the Senate lectern and said Trump was "practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day."

The Jurisdiction Vote

Before the substantive trial, senators voted on whether the Senate had jurisdiction to try a former president. 56 senators — including six Republicans — voted yes. This meant the subsequent acquittal was a minority position on the merits.

The senators who voted that the Senate lacked jurisdiction and then voted to acquit were, in effect, using a procedural argument they had already been told by a majority of the Senate was wrong to justify their acquittal votes.

McConnell's Statement

The statement McConnell made after his acquittal vote deserves its own place in the record. He said Trump's conduct had been "a disgraceful dereliction of duty." He said Trump's "unconscionable" behavior had continued "for hours" while the Capitol was attacked. He said Trump was "practically and morally responsible" for the attack.

Then he explained that he had voted to acquit because Trump had left office before the trial began.

He had the power, as Senate Majority Leader, to schedule the trial before Trump left office. He declined to do so.

Update log

  1. Updated with trial verdict and McConnell statement.

Sequence of events

  1. House impeaches Trump — incitement of insurrection

    The House of Representatives votes 232-197 to impeach Trump on a single article of incitement of insurrection. Ten Republicans vote to impeach, the most bipartisan presidential impeachment in U.S. history.

  2. Senate trial date set for February

    The Senate agrees to begin the trial on February 8, giving Trump's lawyers time to prepare and allowing the Senate to confirm Biden's Cabinet nominees. The delayed timeline allows Trump to leave office before the trial begins.

  3. Trial begins — jurisdiction argument

    The trial opens with a Senate vote on whether it has jurisdiction to try a former president. The Senate votes 56-44 that it has jurisdiction — six Republicans joining all Democrats. This jurisdictional vote means the subsequent acquittal will be on procedural grounds by a minority.

  4. Senate votes 57-43 to convict — acquits short of supermajority

    The Senate votes 57-43 to convict, a majority but short of the required two-thirds. Trump is acquitted. McConnell votes to acquit then gives a speech calling Trump 'practically and morally responsible' for the attack.

Sources

  1. Trump Acquitted in Impeachment Trial as Republicans Invoke Technicality — The New York Times
  2. Senate acquits Trump in impeachment trial, 57-43 — The Washington Post
  3. Senate acquits Trump in second impeachment trial — The Associated Press
  4. H.Res. 24 — Article of Impeachment: Incitement of Insurrection — U.S. House of Representatives

How this record was published

Manually curated This entry was added directly and does not carry an automated audit trail.

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