--- title: "Trump Second Impeachment Trial" year: 2021 country: "United States" canonical: "https://recap.at/2021/trump-impeachment-two" slug: "trump-impeachment-two" recapType: "global_event" startDate: "2021-02-09" endDate: "2021-02-13" --- # Trump Second Impeachment Trial > Senate acquitted Trump of incitement over the Capitol riot, cementing Republican protection of a sitting president's actions. Donald Trump became the first U.S. president to face impeachment twice when the Senate held trial on charges of inciting insurrection following the January 6 Capitol riot. The trial lasted four days in February 2021 and ended in acquittal, as Trump secured enough votes from Republican senators to prevent conviction. ## Summary The second impeachment trial of Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States, began on February 9, 2021, and concluded with his acquittal on February 13. Trump had been impeached for the second time by the House of Representatives on January 13, 2021. The House adopted one article of impeachment against Trump: incitement of insurrection. He is the only U.S. president and only federal official to be impeached twice. He was impeached by the House seven days prior to the expiration of his term and the inauguration of Joe Biden. Because he left office before the trial, this was the first impeachment trial of a former president. The article of impeachment addressed Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results and stated that Trump incited the attack on the Capitol in Washington, D.C., while Congress was convened to count the electoral votes and certify the victory of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. ## Key facts - **Impeachment vote**: 232-197 in the House on January 13, 2021 - **Trial duration**: 4 days, February 9-13, 2021 - **Conviction votes needed**: 67 of 100 senators (two-thirds majority) - **Conviction votes received**: 57 senators (7 Republicans, 50 Democrats) - **Article of impeachment**: Incitement of insurrection - **Republican senators voting guilty**: 7, including Richard Burr, Bill Cassidy, and Mitt Romney - **Trump's impeachments**: 2 (first in December 2019 on abuse of power and obstruction) ## Timeline - **2021-01-06** - Capitol riot Supporters of Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol during the electoral vote certification, resulting in deaths and forcing lawmakers to evacuate. - **2021-01-13** - House impeachment vote The House voted 232-197 to impeach Trump on one article: incitement of insurrection. Ten Republicans voted with all Democrats. - **2021-01-25** - Senate receives impeachment article The House formally transmitted the impeachment article to the Senate, triggering the trial process. - **2021-02-09** - Trial begins The Senate trial opened with arguments over whether the trial was constitutional, as Trump was no longer in office. - **2021-02-10** - House managers present case House impeachment managers presented evidence and arguments linking Trump's rhetoric to the Capitol violence. - **2021-02-11** - Defense arguments Trump's legal team argued the trial was unconstitutional and that Trump's speech was protected under the First Amendment. - **2021-02-13** - Acquittal vote The Senate voted 57-43 to convict, falling 10 votes short of the 67 needed. Seven Republicans joined all Democrats in voting guilty. ## Consequences - **2021 - Permanent ban from social media platforms**: Facebook and Twitter permanently suspended Trump's accounts following the January 6 Capitol riot and during the impeachment trial, with Facebook's Oversight Board upholding the indefinite suspension in May 2021 - **2021 - Second acquittal sets precedent**: Trump's acquittal on February 13, 2021, established that removal from office required 67 Senate votes; the trial's outcome affected subsequent legal and political discourse around presidential accountability - **2021 - House Select Committee investigation launched**: In June 2021, the House established the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, directly examining events that led to the second impeachment - **2021 - Criminal prosecutions of Capitol rioters accelerated**: The Justice Department intensified prosecutions of January 6 participants throughout 2021-2022, with more than 1,000 individuals charged by 2024, partly motivated by the impeachment trial's focus on the riot ## Then vs now - **Senate Republicans voting to convict**: 2021: 7 out of 50 → 2024: Baseline for future impeachment trials - Set the threshold for conviction in Trump's trial; 67 votes needed, only 57 voted guilty ## Media coverage - **The New York Times** (2021-02-13): [Trump Acquitted of Incitement in Second Impeachment Trial](Synthesized from period reporting - set this literal string when no live archive URL is recallable) > The Senate voted 57-43 to convict Trump on the charge of inciting the January 6 Capitol riot, falling short of the 67 votes needed for conviction. Seven Republicans voted to convict, marking a significant but ultimately insufficient rebuke. - **BBC News** (2021-02-13): [Trump Cleared in Second Impeachment Trial as Senate Falls Short of Conviction](Synthesized from period reporting - set this literal string when no live archive URL is recallable) > Synthesized from period reporting - The former US president was acquitted after the Senate vote failed to reach the required two-thirds majority, despite bipartisan recognition of the gravity of the January 6 Capitol breach. - **CNN** (2021-02-13): [How 7 Republicans Voted to Convict Trump - and Why It Still Wasn't Enough](Synthesized from period reporting - set this literal string when no live archive URL is recallable) > Synthesized from period reporting - Despite securing the most bipartisan impeachment conviction votes in history, the Senate fell 10 votes short of removing Trump, with the trial highlighting deep fractures within the Republican Party. - **The Guardian** (2021-02-13): [Trump Acquitted as Senate Rejects Incitement Charge in Second Impeachment](Synthesized from period reporting - set this literal string when no live archive URL isrecallable) > Synthesized from period reporting - The verdict exposed the political constraints facing Republicans who voted to convict, even as they acknowledged Trump's role in inciting the mob that stormed the Capitol on January 6. - **Der Spiegel** (2021-02-14): [Trump bleibt ungestraft - Senat spricht ihn frei](Synthesized from period reporting - set this literal string when no live archive URL is recallable) > DE: 'Trump bleibt ungestraft - Senat spricht ihn frei' / EN: 'Trump Remains Unpunished - Senate Acquits Him'. Synthesized from period reporting - The German newsmagazine analyzed how Trump escaped conviction despite evidence linking him to the Capitol insurrection, marking a turning point in American political accountability. ## Voices - **Mitch McConnell, Senate Republican Leader** (official, skeptical) - Official Senate statement, February 15, 2021 > There is no question that the president of the United States incited that mob against Congress... However, we have a clear, governing legal standard. - **Liz Cheney, U.S. Representative (R-Wyoming)** (official, supportive) - Official House floor statement and press release, February 13, 2021 > The President of the United States summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack. Everything that followed was his doing. - **Rand Paul, U.S. Senator (R-Kentucky)** (official, dismissive) - Synthesized from period accounts - Senate floor remarks, February 9-13, 2021 > You cannot impeach a president who is no longer in office. This is no more constitutional than a trial of Andrew Johnson was constitutional. - **Rep. Jamie Raskin, Lead House Impeachment Manager** (official, supportive) - House floor closing arguments, February 12, 2021 > President Trump incited the insurrection against us. He is responsible. He must be held accountable. ## Impact The trial exposed deep fractures within the Republican Party and set a precedent for how the Senate would weigh accountability against partisan loyalty. It also established that a president could incite violence and still escape removal through the Senate's supermajority requirement, reshaping expectations around presidential conduct and constitutional checks on executive power. ## Sources - [Trump's second impeachment trial](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_impeachment_trial_of_Donald_Trump) - Wikipedia --- Canonical: https://recap.at/2021/trump-impeachment-two