A majority of U.S. senators voted to impeach former President Donald Trump on Saturday, but the 57-43 vote fell short of the two-thirds threshold needed to convict.
Seven Republicans and all 50 Democrats — including Arizona’s Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly — voted for conviction.
The president was accused of inciting the insurrection that led to the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
Shortly after the trial concluded on Saturday afternoon, Sinema and Kelly issued statements explaining their votes to convict, saying that Trump had violated his oath of office.
Sinema said unity and trust need to be rebuilt for the future of democracy, but believes that some senators voted for party loyalty rather than the Constitution.
"Former President Donald Trump betrayed his oath willfully, as no president has before. He incited a violent insurrection against his own government because he did not like the outcome of a free and fair election," Sinema said.
Kelly said the trial’s purpose was to make clear that any attacks on democracy cannot stand.
“The evidence demonstrated that former President Donald Trump incited the violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, with the intention of overturning the decision of the voters of Arizona and other states, and then did nothing to stop it because he hoped it would be successful. That makes him guilty of the charge laid out in the article of impeachment, and it also makes him guilty of violating his oath of office."
No witnesses were called during the proceedings, due to a deal struck between Trump’s legal team and Democratic lawmakers.
Former U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona Paul Charlton, who was appointed by President George W. Bush, believes U.S. House Democrats looking to convict Trump would have benefited from calling witnesses.
“I think the Democrats picked up late in the game, and too late in the game, that their case would have benefitted from witnesses, it’s something I think as you study the case, would have come to your attention," said Charlton.
Charlton says he was surprised that seven Republicans voted to convict Trump, making it the most bipartisan impeachment vote in U.S. history.
