The impeachment trial of former Pres. Trump in the books. Congressional Democrats fell short of making the case that President Trump incited insurrection and directed the attack on the Capitol. Trump’s defense team blamed the rioters themselves and said they were acting on their initiative. The U.S. Senate exonerated Trump by a 57-43 vote. 67 votes were needed to convict. Sen. Mitch McConnell was critical of Trump’s actions on January 6 but he said that impeachment was unconstitutional so he voted no. The Senate’s decision does not condone anything that happened on or before that terrible day. McConnell said, “there’s no question, none, that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day.” McConnell added that the Senate’s action “simply shows that Senators did what the former President failed to do: We put our constitutional duty first.’