Former U.S. President Donald Trump was acquitted Saturday of inciting the January 6 Capitol attack, which left five dead, but an Ipsos poll shows that most American adults, including nearly half of all Republicans, believe he was at least partially responsible for starting the deadly assault.
The poll once again shows that though the five-day historic impeachment trial spared Trump from the first-ever conviction of a U.S. president, it exposed the fragility of America's democratic traditions and how divided the nation is.
The national online poll, which surveyed 998 adults, showed that over 70 percent Americans thought Trump was at least partially responsible for the violent confrontation between police and his loyalists who broke into Congress in hopes of stopping lawmakers from certifying the November 2020 presidential election results.
Among them, 30 percent of Americans said he was "fully" responsible for the riot, another 25 percent said he was largely responsible, and 16 percent said he was partially responsible. The remaining 29 percent said Trump was not at all responsible for the attack.
Still, the final Senate vote on Saturday was 57 to 43, 10 short of the 67 votes needed to secure a conviction, despite it being, by far, the largest bipartisan support for conviction in impeachment history. The failing conviction vote means the Senate cannot bar Trump from holding future federal offices.
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, scoffs at the Republicans who voted to acquit during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 13, 2021. /CFP
Seven Republicans vote to convict
With control of the Senate split 50-50, a party always has an uphill battle to convince members of the other party to cross the party line. This time, Democrats failed to persuade 17 more Republicans to convict a former president who is still very popular with a large part of the GOP base.
Only seven Republicans voted to convict Trump, among which two are retiring, and four just won their elections and aren't up for reelection until 2026. The other GOP vote came from Mitt Romney – the only Republican to vote to convict Trump in his first impeachment trial.
"Our Constitution and our country are more important than any one person. I voted to convict President Trump because he is guilty," Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana said after his vote to convict. He had initially sided with the vast majority of Senate Republicans who voted last month to block the trial from moving forward.
"Tribalism is a hell of a drug, but our oath to the Constitution means we're constrained to the facts," Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska said, adding he wouldn't vote against his own conscience "simply because it is politically convenient.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi scoffed at the Republicans who voted to acquit. She called them "a cowardly group of Republicans" who "were afraid to defend their job, respect the institution in which they serve."
"We censure people for using stationary for the wrong purpose. We don't censure people for inciting insurrection that kills people in the Capitol," Pelosi said at a press conference following the Senate impeachment trial.
Daily takeaways from the trail:
Day 1: Senate rules trial is constitutional
Day 2: More unsettling footage presented
Day 3: Democrats wrap up case for conviction
Day 4: Defense wraps, Saturday verdict likely
Senator Mitch McConnell responds after former President Donald Trump's second impeachment trial at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 13, 2021. /Screenshot from Congress.gov webcast
Trump may face other criminal investigations
Mitch McConnell, Washington's most powerful Republican and the Senate's minority leader voted to acquit, as he believed that a former president could not face trial in the Senate, but he used his strongest language to date to excoriate Trump minutes after the trail, calling him "morally responsible" for the Capitol attack, saying Trump's actions surrounding the attack were "a disgraceful, disgraceful dereliction of duty."
The Senate's longest-serving GOP leader suggested that though Trump is now out of office, he could still face criminal prosecution for his acts.
The acquittal won't be the end of accountability for Trump on the riots, as there are hundreds of cases pending for the riots and their cases have begun to weave his words into arguments.
Jessica Watkins, an Army veteran and, according to court papers, a member of the Oath Keepers militia group, was charged by federal prosecutors for planning to lead others to siege the Capitol. Watkins said in court documents this week that she believed she was responding to the call from then-President Trump himself.
Besides, Trump is also facing several other criminal investigations for his business dealings in New York and possible election fraud charges stemming from a phone call between himself and the U.S. state of Georgia's Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
In a leaked phone call, Trump is heard telling Raffensperger, the state official in charge of certifying the election results, "I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have."
Prosecutors in Georgia have joined those in New York to conduct criminal investigations into Trump's effort to influence election results.
Though none of those cases, even if they lead to convictions, could bar Trump from future office like impeachment, they are sure to keep the riot in the public eye.
"President Trump is still liable for everything he did while he was in office as an ordinary citizen," McConnell said. "He didn't get away with anything. Yet."
(With input from agencies)