Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell made a point of writing a Wall Street Journal op-ed Monday night defending his vote to acquit Donald Trump even though he believes Trump bears “moral responsibility” for the riots.

McConnell voted with the majority of Republicans to acquit Trump. Afterwards he delivered a speech that excoriated Trump for his actions that spurred on the violent MAGA mob that stormed the Capitol.

His Journal op-ed reiterates he firmly believes Trump pushed “unhinged falsehoods” but said, “Our job wasn’t to find some way, any way, to inflict a punishment. The Senate’s first and foundational duty was to protect the Constitution.”

McConnell stood by the argument that “the Constitution presupposes that anyone convicted by the Senate must have an office from which to be removed,” and said there’s no “so-called January exemption” because of potential litigation down the road.

Of course, one of the biggest responses to McConnell making this argument on Saturday was that the man himself could have allowed the trial to start while Trump was still in office.

His response to this is that “no remotely fair or regular Senate process could have started and finished in less than one week” and to accuse Democrats of saying “Senate Republicans should have followed a rushed House process with a light-speed Senate sham.”

McConnell has gotten some criticism not just for his vote to acquit, but for his words blasting Trump — including from fellow GOP senator Ron Johnson.

You can read the full op-ed here.

The post McConnell Pens Op-Ed Defending Vote to Acquit Trump: Our Job Wasn’t to ‘Find Some Way’ to ‘Inflict a Punishment’ first appeared on Mediaite.

from Mediaite https://ift.tt/2ZhL71d