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'Democracy is fragile,' Biden says after Trump acquittal

"This sad chapter in our history has reminded us that democracy is fragile. That it must always be defended. That we must be ever vigilant," Biden said in a statement after Trump's trial on charges he incited the mob that overran Congress on January 6. 

  (Agence France-Presse)
Washington, United States
Sun, February 14, 2021

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'Democracy is fragile,' Biden says after Trump acquittal US President Joe Biden leaves the White House to spend the weekend in Camp David, on February 12, 2021 in Washington DC. (Agence France Presse/Eric BARADAT )

President Joe Biden said Saturday that despite Donald Trump's acquittal in the US Capitol insurrection trial the charges against him are not in dispute and the attack shows "democracy is fragile."

"While the final vote did not lead to a conviction, the substance of the charge is not in dispute," Biden said after the Senate voted 57-43 to acquit Trump in his second impeachment trial.

"This sad chapter in our history has reminded us that democracy is fragile. That it must always be defended. That we must be ever vigilant," Biden said in a statement after Trump's trial on charges he incited the mob that overran Congress on January 6. 

Donald Trump was acquitted Saturday on charges of inciting an insurrection at the US Capitol, after a majority of Senate Republicans closed ranks and refused to punish the former president in his historic second impeachment trial.

The five-day trial saw Democratic prosecutors argue -- bolstered by dramatic video of the January 6 riot -- that Trump betrayed his oath by whipping up his supporters into storming Congress in a last-ditch attempt to cling to power.

It concluded as expected with a majority of Republicans declaring him not guilty, in a sign of the powerful grip the 74-year-old Trump continues to exert on his party.

But while the 57-43 majority that voted to convict fell short of the two-thirds needed in the Senate, seven Republicans joined with Democrats to seek Trump's conviction, making it the most bipartisan impeachment trial in US history.

Trump, who has been secluded in his Florida club since leaving office on January 20, welcomed the verdict -- denouncing the proceedings as "yet another phase of the greatest witch hunt in the history of our country."

 

 

 

 

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