One Purely Partisan Vote

President Donald Trump has been acquitted on both articles of impeachment, but the acquittals are not exonerations. The first article, abuse of power, was bipartisan in the votes to convict, with 52 Republicans choosing to vote “not guilty,” but one Republican, two independents, and 45 Democrats voted guilty.

The final votes were 52-48 on the charge of abuse of power and 53-47 on the charge of obstruction of Congress.

Trump will forever bear the mark of being the first president ever to receive a vote of guilty from a member of his own party on an article of impeachment.

The abuse of power vote to acquit, cast only by Republicans, was a purely partisan vote.

BREAKING: Chief Justice John Roberts: "It is therefore ordered and adjudged that the said Donald John Trump be, and he is hereby, acquitted of the charges in said articles." https://t.co/BwTA0PDtF3 pic.twitter.com/TdVQu3S1CY

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) February 5, 2020

EARLIER: Senate Democrats Are United in Votes to Convict Trump – Only Vote to Acquit Will Be Partisan

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Appearing on CNN’s “New Day” on Monday morning, Washington Post congressional reporter Rachael Bade claimed some Republican lawmakers are balking at a plan by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to go after the whistleblower whose report led to the impeachment trial of Donald Trump.

Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) served notice that the Republican-majority Senate Intelligence Committee will investigate the whistleblower, stating, “The Senate Intel Committee under Richard Burr has told us that they will call the whistleblower,” before adding, “I want to understand how all this crap started.”

According to Bade, that sentiment is not universal among Republican lawmakers.

“So Lindsey Graham was on TV yesterday talking about how Senate Republicans need to call in the whistle-blower even though this is over,” Bade told hosts John Berman and Alisyn Camerota. “Part of me wonders, was he trying to speak to an audience of one? I know the president is unhappy about being impeached, but Lindsey Graham has been talking about this for a couple of months now. they haven’t really done anything about it.”

“So part of me wonders, is this just him firing up the rhetoric the way the president wants him to? Fight fire with fire?” she suggested. “We’ll see if they actually make these moves to call in the whistleblower privately or bring in Obama officials. But from my understanding, there’s a lot of Republicans who just want to move on and they’re not interested in that. So we’ll see what Graham ends up doing.”

Watch below:

‘Wholly Inappropriate’

U.S. Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) is calling for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to cease the confirmation process of all of President Donald Trump’s judicial nominees until his impeachment trial his concluded. Should he be convicted and removed from office, his nominees would not go forward.

Sen. Harris called it “wholly inappropriate” to move forward on any nominees.

“Today, the United States Senate will receive articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump and begin to determine whether the president’s actions warrant his removal from office,” Harris said in a statement on her government website.

“The president is charged with high crimes and misdemeanors, and the Senate must take seriously its constitutional role in this process. During the time when articles of impeachment are before the Senate, it would be wholly inappropriate to advance the president’s nominees to the federal judiciary.”

Yesterday Trump posted this tweet:

Now up to 187 Federal Judges, and two great new Supreme Court Justices. We are in major record territory. Hope EVERYONE is happy! https://t.co/ymEQljJyib

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 15, 2020