Following today’s historic vote to impeach President Donald Trump for inciting insurrection, Maine Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Marra released the following statement:
“Today’s bipartisan vote to impeach President Donald Trump for inciting violence against the Government of the United States is a sad, but important milestone in our nation’s history. For months, Trump made baseless and repeatedly disproven claims of voter fraud in an attempt to overturn the results of the election. Then, after whipping up thousands of his supporters gathered outside the White House into a frenzy and inciting insurrection, he refused to quell their violent behavior and instead sat idly by and watched it unfold on live television. He’s an imminent threat to our democratic institutions, and the Senate should vote to convict him and disqualify him from holding public office ever again.
“Make no mistake: Trump’s actions were encouraged by Republicans––including Senator Collins––who have, at best, remained silent and at worst fanned the flames and enabled last week’s deadly siege. Senator Collins long ago abandoned her commitment to the truth when she voted to acquit the president after her party blocked key evidence and witness testimony. Then she justified her shameful vote by claiming that Trump learned his lesson.
“The only lesson Trump learned is that Republicans like Senator Collins will refuse to hold him accountable. When she had the chance to stop Trump’s abuses of power, she showed no courage and no ‘Moment of Conscience.’ She’s complicit.
“Voting to convict this president and disqualify him from holding public office again is the bare minimum Senator Collins and her Republican colleagues must do––there’s no question Trump committed an impeachable offense. But if we are to unify and reconcile as a nation, Republicans must also reckon with their role in enabling a reckless president who saw no limits to his own power, lied to his supporters about the results of a free and fair election and incited an insurrection against Congress. That’s the only way we move forward and out of this dark chapter of our nation’s history.”
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