WASHINGTON — While fellow Republican Louisiana Senator, Bill Cassidey, M.D., broke party lines to convict former President Donald Trump on Saturday, John N. Kennedy held firm in his decision to acquit.
Sen. Kennedy released the following statement upon voting “not guilty” in the Trump impeachment trial:
“My job as a senator and juror in an impeachment trial is not—NOT—to defend, excuse or explain anyone’s behavior—not the Capitol rioters’, not the Democrats’, not the president’s. My job is to evaluate the evidence.
“In my judgment, impeachment is not supposed to be political sport where one party seeks advantage over the other at the expense of the country.
“The merits of the Democrats’ case were not even close.
Sen. John N. Kennedy
“The Democrats afforded the president no due process in the House—no hearings, no investigation, no right to be heard, no defense. No one is above the law, but no one is beneath it.
“Second, the president is no longer the president. We were asked to impeach a guy in Florida. The Democrats never proved jurisdiction.
“Third, the Democrats charged President Trump with inciting a riot through his speech, but then the Democrats introduced evidence that the riot was pre-planned. The Democrats disproved their own case.
“There are one or two things I think we can all agree on: The nut jobs who violated the Capitol on Jan. 6 should be prosecuted and jailed. There can be no justice without order. Political violence is wrong. Always. It was wrong on Jan. 6, and it was wrong during the riots this summer.
“Finally, both parties should be big tent.”
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) also released a statement following his own vote to acquit.
“After carefully reviewing the evidence and legal arguments from counsel for both parties, I am convinced that impeachment was intended only as a means of removing presidents and other officials from office,” stated Sen. Wicker.
“On two occasions during this trial, I had already voted not to proceed to trial based on this jurisdictional issue. My vote for acquittal today was consistent with those previous votes.
“I hope we can put this trial behind us and recommit to the cooperative spirit we need to meet our republic’s pressing challenges.”