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The Lead with Jake Tapper
U.S. Senate Votes to Acquit President Trump in Impeachment Trial. Aired 4:30-5p ET
Aired February 05, 2020 - 16:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:30:01]
UNIDENTIFIED CLERK: Mr. Portman.
SEN. ROB PORTMAN (R-OH): Not guilty.
UNIDENTIFIED CLERK: Not guilty.
Mr. Reed.
SEN. JACK REED (D-RI): Guilty.
UNIDENTIFIED CLERK: Guilty.
Mr. Risch.
SEN. JAMES RISCH (R-ID): Not guilty.
UNIDENTIFIED CLERK: Not guilty.
Mr. Roberts.
SEN. PAT ROBERTS (R-KS): Not guilty.
UNIDENTIFIED CLERK: Not guilty.
Mr. Romney.
SEN. MITT ROMNEY (R-UT): Not guilty.
UNIDENTIFIED CLERK: Not guilty.
Ms. Rosen.
REP. JACKY ROSEN (D-NV): Guilty.
UNIDENTIFIED CLERK: Guilty.
Mr. Rounds.
SEN. MIKE ROUNDS (R-SD): Not guilty.
UNIDENTIFIED CLERK: Not guilty. Mr. Rubio.
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL): Not guilty.
UNIDENTIFIED CLERK: Not guilty.
Mr. Sanders.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Guilty.
UNIDENTIFIED CLERK: Guilty.
Mr. Sasse.
SEN. BEN SASSE (R-NE): Not guilty.
UNIDENTIFIED CLERK: Not guilty.
Mr. Schatz.
SEN. BRIAN SCHATZ (D-HI): Guilty.
UNIDENTIFIED CLERK: Guilty.
Mr. Schumer.
SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D-NY): Guilty.
UNIDENTIFIED CLERK: Guilty.
Mr. Scott of Florida.
SEN. RICK SCOTT (R-FL): Not guilty.
UNIDENTIFIED CLERK: Not guilty.
Mr. Scott of South Carolina.
SEN. TIM SCOTT (R-SC): Not guilty.
UNIDENTIFIED CLERK: Not guilty.
Mrs. Shaheen.
SEN. JEANNE SHAHEEN (D-NH): Guilty.
UNIDENTIFIED CLERK: Guilty.
Mr. Shelby.
SEN. RICHARD SHELBY (R-AL): Not guilty.
UNIDENTIFIED CLERK: Not guilty.
Ms. Sinema.
SEN. KYRSTEN SINEMA (D-AZ): Guilty.
UNIDENTIFIED CLERK: Guilty.
Ms. Smith.
SEN. TINA SMITH (D-MN): Guilty.
UNIDENTIFIED CLERK: Guilty.
Ms. Stabenow.
SEN. DEBBIE STABENOW (D-MI): Guilty.
UNIDENTIFIED CLERK: Guilty.
Mr. Sullivan.
SEN. DAN SULLIVAN (R-AK): Not guilty.
UNIDENTIFIED CLERK: Not guilty.
Mr. Tester.
SEN. JON TESTER (D-MT): Guilty.
UNIDENTIFIED CLERK: Guilty.
Mr. Thune.
SEN. JOHN THUNE (R-SD): Not guilty.
UNIDENTIFIED CLERK: Not guilty.
Mr. Tillis.
SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): Not guilty.
UNIDENTIFIED CLERK: Not guilty.
Mr. Toomey.
SEN. PAT TOOMEY (R-PA): Not guilty.
UNIDENTIFIED CLERK: Not guilty.
Mr. Udall.
SEN. TOM UDALL (D-NM): Guilty.
UNIDENTIFIED CLERK: Guilty.
Mr. Van Hollen.
SEN. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D-MD): Guilty.
UNIDENTIFIED CLERK: Guilty. Mr. Warner.
SEN. MARK WARNER (D-VA): Guilty.
UNIDENTIFIED CLERK: Guilty.
Ms. Warren.
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Guilty.
UNIDENTIFIED CLERK: Guilty.
Mr. Whitehouse.
SEN. SHELDON WHITEHOUSE (D-RI): Guilty.
UNIDENTIFIED CLERK: Guilty.
Mr. Wicker.
SEN. ROGER WICKER (R-MS): Not guilty.
UNIDENTIFIED CLERK: Not guilty.
Mr. Wyden.
SEN. RON WYDEN (D-OR): Guilty.
UNIDENTIFIED CLERK: Guilty.
Mr. Young.
SEN. TODD YOUNG (R-IN): Not guilty.
UNIDENTIFIED CLERK: Not guilty.
JOHN ROBERTS, CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE U.S. SUPREME COURT: On this article of impeachment, 47 senators have pronounced Donald John Trump, president of the United States, guilty as charged; 53 senators have pronounced him not guilty as charged.
Two-thirds of the senators present not having pronounced him guilty, the Senate adjudges that respondent, Donald John Trump, president of the United States, is not guilty as charged in the second article of impeachment.
The presiding officer directs the judgment to be entered in accordance with the Senate as follows.
The Senate, having tried Donald John Trump, president of the United States, upon two articles of impeachment exhibited against him by the House of Representatives, and two-thirds of the senators present not having found him guilty of the charges contained therein, it is therefore ordered and adjudged that the said Donald John Trump be and he is hereby acquitted of the charges in said articles.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): Mr. Chief Justice.
ROBERTS: The majority leader is recognized.
MCCONNELL: I have sent a order to the desk.
ROBERTS: The clerk will report.
UNIDENTIFIED CLERK: Ordered that the secretary be directed to communicate to the secretary of state, as provided by rule 23 of the rules of procedure and practice in the Senate when sitting on impeachment trials, and also to the House of Representatives the judgment of the Senate in the case of Donald John Trump and transmit a certified copy of the judgment to each.
ROBERTS: Without objection, the order will be entered.
MCCONNELL: Mr. Chief Justice.
ROBERTS: The majority leader is recognized.
MCCONNELL: Before this process fully concludes, I want to very quickly acknowledge a few of the people who helped the Senate fulfill our duty these past weeks.
First and foremost, I know my colleagues join me in thanking Chief Justice Roberts in presiding over the Senate trial with a clear head, steady hand, and the forbearance that this rare occasion demands.
(APPLAUSE)
[16:35:05]
MCCONNELL: We know full well his presence as our presiding officer came in addition to, not instead of, his day job across the street.
So, the Senate thanks the chief justice and his staff, who helped him perform this unique role.
Like his predecessor, the Senate will be awarding Chief Justice Roberts the golden gavel to commemorate his time presiding over this body. We typically award this to new senators after about 100 hours in the chair.
But I think we can agree the chief justice has put in his due, and then some.
The page is delivering the gavel.
ROBERTS: Thank you very much.
MCCONNELL: Of course, there are countless Senate professionals whose efforts were essential.
I will have more thorough thanks to offer next week to all of those teams, from the secretary of the Senate's office, to the parliamentarians, to the sergeant at arm's team, and beyond. But there are two groups I'd like to single out now, first, the two different classes of Senate pages who participated in the trial. Their footwork and cool under pressure literally kept the floor running. Our current class came on board right in the middle of the third presidential impeachment trial in American history, and quickly found themselves hand-delivering 180 question cards from senators' desk to the dais.
No pressure, right, guys?
So, thank you all very much for your good work.
(APPLAUSE)
MCCONNELL: And, second, the fine men and women of the Capitol Police, we know that the safety of our democracy literally rests in their hand every single day.
But the heightened measures surrounding the trial meant even more hours and even more work and even more vigilance.
Thank you, all, very much for your service to this body and to the country.
(APPLAUSE)
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): Mr. Chief Justice.
ROBERTS: The chair recognizes the Democratic leader.
SCHUMER: I join the Republican leader in thanking the personnel who aided the Senate over the past several weeks. Capitol Police do an outstanding job day in, day out to protect the members of this chamber, their staffs, the press and everyone who works in and visits this Capitol.
They were asked to work extra shifts, and in greater numbers, to provide additional security over the past three weeks.
Thank you to every one of them.
I, too, would like to thank those wonderful pages. I so much enjoyed you, with your serious faces, walking down right here and giving the chief justice our questions.
As the leader noted, the new class of pages started midway in this impeachment trial.
When you take a new job, you're usually given a few days to take stock of things, get up to speed. This class was given no such leeway, but they stepped right in, didn't miss a beat.
Ferrying hundreds of questions from U.S. senators to the chief justice on national television is not on how most of us spend our first week at work. But they did it with aplomb. I'd also like to extend my personal thank you to David Hauck, the director of the Office of Accessibility Services, Tyler Pumphrey (ph), the supervisor, and Grace Ridgeway, the wonderful director of Capitol Facilities.
Everyone Grace's -- everyone, Grace's team -- on Grace's team worked so hard to make sure we were ready for impeachment, Gary Richardson, known affectionately to us as Tiny, the chief chamber attendant, Jim Hoover and the Cabinet Shop, who built new cabinets to deprive us of the use of electronics and flip phones during the trial.
Brenda Byrd -- one -- Brenda Byrd and her team did a spectacular job of keeping the Capitol clean, and Lyden Webb (ph) and his team, who moved the furniture, and then moved it again and again and again.
Grace, we appreciate all your hard work. Please convey our sincerest thanks to your staff.
Thank you, all, the whole staff, for your diligent work through many long days and late nights during this very trying time in our nation's history.
MCCONNELL: Mr. Chief Justice.
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: The chair also wishes to make a very brief statement.
I would like to begin by thanking the majority leader and the Democratic leader for their support as I attempted to carry out ill- defined responsibilities in an unfamiliar setting.
They ensured that I had the wise counsel of the Senate itself, through its secretary and her legislative staff.
[16:40:05]
I'm especially grateful to the parliamentarian and her deputy for their unfailing patience and keen insight.
I'm likewise grateful to the sergeant at arms and his staff for the assistance and many courtesies that they extended during my period of required residency.
And thank you all for making my presence here as comfortable as possible.
As I depart the chamber, I do so with an invitation to visit the court. By long tradition and in memory of the 135 years we sat in this building, we keep the front row of the gallery in our courtroom open for members of Congress who might want to drop by to see an argument or to escape one.
(LAUGHTER)
ROBERTS: I also depart with sincere good wishes, as we carry out our common commitment to the Constitution through the distinct roles assigned to us by that charter.
You have been generous hosts, and I look forward to seeing you again under happier circumstances.
The chair recognizes the majority leader.
MCCONNELL: I move that the Senate, sitting as a court of impeachment on the articles against Donald John Trump, adjourn sine die.
ROBERTS: Without objection, the motion is agreed to.
The Senate, sitting as a court of impeachment, stands adjourned sine die.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: And there it is.
President Trump has been acquitted. The Senate requires a two-thirds supermajority vote to remove a president. And, in this case, majorities voted to acquit President Trump of both articles of impeachment, a big, historical moment.
This has only happened three other times, one in 1868, one time in the late '90s, 1999, and today. A president has been acquitted and will not be removed from office -- Wolf.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Fifty-two/48 on abuse of power, the -- Mitt Romney the only Republican who voted in favor of abuse of power. But he voted against obstruction of Congress. The final vote was 53-47.
TAPPER: It has been a long process.
It has been difficult and partisan.
Let's talk with our experts here about what we just witnessed.
And, Jeffrey Toobin, let me start with you.
I suppose we always knew there were never going to be 67 votes to remove President Trump from office, but it is a historical moment.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: And what is unusual about this impeachment in particular is that the underlying facts are still in dispute.
That wasn't in dispute with the -- Bill Clinton's impeachment and the whole Monica Lewinsky matter. But here, because there were no witnesses, and because the House did a truncated --
TAPPER: No new witnesses.
TOOBIN: New witnesses -- and the House did a truncated investigation, we are still learning what really went on between the United States and Ukraine.
And I expect that will be going on for sometime, which certainly there is a legal resolution of this matter here. I mean, the president is acquitted, and that's the way it is going to stay.
But history's resolution is going to be very -- is going to -- is unresolved. I don't know if it's going to be different. But it is unresolved, both politically and factually.
What really went on here? We don't know yet.
TAPPER: And, George Conway, Mitt Romney the only Republican in the Senate to vote in favor of removing President Trump from office.
He has talked about feelings sometimes as though he was on another universe -- in another universe than his Republican colleagues when the facts were presented.
You're a conservative attorney, and I suspect that you have similar -- you can relate to that emotion, the idea of being in a different universe than your Republican friends.
GEORGE CONWAY, HUSBAND OF KELLYANNE CONWAY: Absolutely.
And the verdict of history is going to be on Mitt Romney's side. And talking about a different universe, I was struck by not so much the vote, which we all expected, but by Senator McConnell's speech just before the vote, where he talked about -- he attacked the impeachment as a violation of norms, when he said that the people who are supporting the impeachment were attacking institutions until they get their way.
What universe is that from? That's what -- that's Donald Trump's signature -- it's his modus operandi. He's defending Trump by attacking the Democrats for precisely what Trump has done for three years, attacking people in his own government, attacking the bureaucracy, attacking his own appointees, attacking the Justice Department, attacking the -- you know, attacking the entire system which we have a trial.
It's absolutely just remarkable what has been sacrificed here, in addition to the senatorial oaths, which, as I remarked earlier, mean impartial justice, which means you do the same thing whether it's a Democrat or a Republican, black, white, whatever.
In addition to that, truth has taken a beating here. And reality has taken a beating here.
[16:45:01]
TAPPER: And I know we're going to lose you in a few moments.
So, I just want to ask you one other follow, which is, you think history will be on the side of Mitt Romney?
CONWAY: Absolutely. Absolutely.
TAPPER: How can you be confident in that?
CONWAY: I'm confident because the evidence was -- I beg to differ a little a little with Jeff.
I don't think the evidence was disputed in any material way. And the evidence will keep coming out. This was an investigation that hasn't gone on for very long.
I mean, what scandal or what criminal investigation that you know of is only three or four months old where you know so much? And what that tells us is, there is just a mountain of evidence yet to come, because not all the evidence did come out.
The White House saw to it that it didn't come out. I think, in fact, there was something on another network where Senator Romney said that he wanted to get an affidavit to help the White House, an affidavit --
TAPPER: Through another individual, he asked the White House, can you please get affidavits from John Bolton and Mick Mulvaney --
CONWAY: Right.
TAPPER: -- so I have some reason to believe your point of view. Provide me with exculpatory information.
And what they did.
CONWAY: Think of how damning what these men have to say, if they wouldn't even provide that affidavit.
BLITZER: Let's go over to Kaitlan Collins over at the White House.
Kaitlan, first of all, any reaction, any word whether or not we're going to hear directly from the president of the United States, who was found not guilty on both of these articles of impeachment?
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, we're still keeping an eye on the president's Twitter feed.
We are expecting to hear from him at some point, but when and how still seems to be up in the air.
We should note that this is obviously the outcome the White House wanted. But, Wolf, this is not how they thought they were going to get it.
All day long, you were hearing from the president's top advisers that they believed it was going to be a bipartisan vote to acquit President Trump. And, of course, you saw Mitt Romney there denying them that by voting yes on that first article of impeachment, the article alleging the president of abusing the power that he has by being president.
And you heard from the vice president, Mike Pence, just this afternoon, Kellyanne Conway, and even the national security adviser, Robert O'Brien, all today predicting that this vote was going to be bipartisan.
And, of course, they have since been denied that, at least as it comes on the first article of impeachment. But, regardless, the president will be happy with this outcome. We're waiting to see how he does respond.
BLITZER: Kaitlan, stand by.
Gloria. this is a -- let's not forget, this is history unfolding, only the third time in American history we have seen something like this, a president of the United States be impeached by the House of Representatives, but then acquitted in the U.S. Senate.
GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: And while, at the outset of this, and we have all at this table lived through this for the last weeks, we have known what the final outcome was going to be, I think that the -- going through this process was important.
And it was important because you could hear from the House managers about their case and the case they were making to the United States Senate, even though they knew they were going to lose. And they brought it all there.
And then you heard from the White House, and the senators sat there for hours and hours and hours without their phones, without their staff. And, obviously, this was a largely partisan decision in the end.
But I think the Mitt Romney decision and the speech that Mitt Romney made is something that will go down in history. I think it is -- you cannot underestimate how difficult it is for someone to go against his own party and be the only person doing it, and his own president.
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Very important historic chapter closes today with those two votes, but the debate over this, we're just now going into the next chapter, which is, how does it play out in a presidential election year?
How does it play out with the president's mood? And we expect to hear from the president. His campaign says he has been totally vindicated.
The House speaker, of course, says, you are impeached forever. That is the debate that will go on with the American people through this election year and beyond.
And, to Jeffrey's point and the point George was making earlier, the president has been acquitted by the United States Senate. Double jeopardy does not apply in politics. And so, as the new revelations come out, whether it's the Bolton book, whether it's the new e-mails our Vivian Salama at CNN reporting on today that do shed new light on the controversies here, Nancy Pelosi and her House, Jerry Nadler saying today, the chairman of Judiciary Committee, they're going to subpoena John Bolton.
That's risky for the Democrats. It is risky because it's T-ball for Trump politically to say, this is gratuitous, this is all political. But -- but it's also risky for all these senators who just voted on the president's side, as this new information comes out.
So, we should pause and reflect on the history of today. In the context of impeachment, this is over, but it's not over. TAPPER: Absolutely not.
And, Laura Coates, Hillary Clinton just did a tweet: "As the president's impeachment trial began, Republican senators pledged an oath to defend the Constitution. Today, 52 of them voted to betray that oath and all of us. We're entering dangerous territory for our democracy," Hillary Clinton writes. "It'll take all of us working together to restore it."
So this is not the end of it.
LAURA COATES, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, no.
And, of course, the dangerous territory she's speaking of is partly what Mitch McConnell was talking about. He called it a precedent- breaking impeachment.
[16:50:04]
Now, he meant that to inure to his benefit, but, in reality, think about what happens to the next president who will face impeachment, who is not certain that acquittal is on the other side of this entire endeavor.
What about the precedent that's been set now for that person, who really can't call witnesses, to try to be -- have exculpatory evidence come in, to try to support the argument about there being a benefit of the doubt?
And Mitch -- I mean, Mitt Romney, it wasn't just that he's a Republican who has gone against the party, because, arguably, he doesn't believe he's in the same party as Trump, number one, but also the issue of, it's what he was saying.
Number one, he just was dismissive of that Dershowitz argument, the idea that -- the idea the founding fathers said, I have to have an actual list that's codified before I can find the use of power, he rejected it.
He talked about Hunter Biden, saying it may be unsavory to have you use your father's name that way, but it's not a crime, exonerating that, the -- all of the hype that was made from the Trump defense team about Hunter Biden and Joe Biden.
And then he talked about the idea of, the reason we can't wait until an election is because the Constitution wanted it to be in the hands of the Senate. They wanted to remove what was going to be partisan from the voters.
In all of those ways, he didn't just reject one theory of the Republican Party. He blew it all away and, in support, he believes, of his oath.
And I think those three things are going to be what actually represents his legacy in the future, and what will undermine the Republican or the Democrats' endeavor in the future to impeach a president under this standard.
TAPPER: And, Senator Santorum, not only do you -- did you anticipate that this was going to be the result, that President Trump was going to be fully acquitted -- they didn't even come close to supermajorities.
In fact, majorities of the Senate voted to acquit President Trump on each count, each of the two counts. Not only did you anticipate that. You would have voted to acquit him as well.
RICK SANTORUM, CNN COMMENTATOR: I would have.
And I respect that people could look at these sets of situations and look at the law, in other words, look at what the constitutional standard is, as happened in 1999, and people said, even if we accept the facts, which, again, the facts were not in much dispute in 1999 -- some people said, yes, this rises the level of impeachment -- I mean conviction. Some said not.
And I -- people can come to different conclusions. But the idea that Mitt Romney's decision was dispositive, I just don't think it is.
And Nancy Pelosi is right. Donald Trump has -- will be forever impeached. But Bill Clinton will remind you that Donald Trump will be forever acquitted. And that acquittal has meant a lot more to Bill Clinton, I think, in the end than the impeachment.
And I think that will be the case here. I think Donald Trump is going to get reelected, which will even make that acquittal much more demonstrative and the impeachment less important.
So -- and then one other final point, because we talk about the partisanship. We have now got through, what, four impeachments, and not once has a Democrat ever crossed his party. They didn't cross its party this time, didn't cross the party --
TAPPER: In the Senate.
SANTORUM: In the Senate. Didn't cross it in -- even in the Nixon thing.
I mean, they all were against Nixon. Even in the Johnson impeachment, they were all for Johnson. So if -- there have been crossovers, but it's always been Republicans. Interesting thought.
BLITZER: Nia?
NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: No, good historical context from Rick Santorum.
The big question being, I think, for Donald Trump, what does this mean for his reelection? He is the first president to seek reelection with this hanging over his head.
Nancy Pelosi, interestingly enough, said that she doesn't think that impeachment will actually really matter in 2020, that it'll ride on 2020. For those individual senators, possibly, you think about Susan Collins, who is up for reelection, people like Cory Gardner, who everyone was looking at to see what they would do, in some ways, you compare what they did to what Mitt Romney did, right?
And some of these folks are going to face pretty tough reelections. They got tough Democratic candidates. So, within that context, that will be interesting to watch.
And Mitt Romney, listen, we came into this thing thinking that we knew what was going to happen, how these folks would vote. This was a bit of a surprise from Mitt Romney, who has a reputation sometimes of going with his party, sometimes bucking his party, but powerful statement here, wrapping his decision in the language of religion, to a party, again, that thinks about religion, and where white evangelicals hold a lot of sway.
TAPPER: And if we're wondering what President Trump's response is going to be, you might remember last year somebody created that meme on Twitter of President Trump running for reelection, not only in 2024, but 2028, 2032, 2040, like, he did -- and it goes on forever.
There it is. Here it is. And this is what President Trump just tweeted again the moment that he's acquitted. He's retweeting this meme, tweeting this meme of President Trump not only running -- winning reelection in 2024, but forever, Trumpism forever.
(CROSSTALK)
TAPPER: So, if anybody would think he's been chastened or humbled at being only the third president in history, and the only one to have had votes for removal that were bipartisan, well, it's quite the contrary.
[16:55:10]
HENDERSON: Yes.
And what does this mean for his behavior, right? Does he --
(CROSSTALK)
BORGER: -- king? I'm there forever?
(CROSSTALK)
TOOBIN: There are Republican senators who voted for acquittal because they thought there was no misconduct here, that the phone call was perfect or close to it.
And that, to me, is an intellectually honest position. What really amazes me is the John Thunes, the Susan Collins, who say, the president has learned his lesson.
HENDERSON: Yes.
TOOBIN: No, he has not. No, he has not. He is going to do this again. He want -- he said he will do it again. And the idea that there is
some chastening here say is absurd.
TAPPER: Well, certainly, his Twitter feed would suggest that you're right, Jeffrey.
President Trump has now been acquitted by the U.S. Senate on both articles of impeachment, both on abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
We're going to squeeze in a quick break.
Much more when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
