WASHINGTON—United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) today voted to acquit the 45th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, in the Senate impeachment trial.
“Instead of putting the needs of the hardworking men and women of this country first, the Senate has spent this week watching a political performance by the House managers designed to humiliate the former president, discredit his successful policies, and shame the 74 million Americans who voted for him,” Senator Hagerty said. “But they have failed spectacularly. It has been a wasted week. I voted to acquit President Trump because the article of impeachment was unconstitutional. But it was also unsubstantiated by the House managers’ complete lack of investigation, smoke-and-mirrors presentation, and distortion of basic First Amendment principles. More importantly, it could have paved the way for a dangerous precedent of allowing Congress to punish any former official when control of the legislative branch shifts to a different party. The Senate is not the forum for this, and the time wasted with this political show-trial did nothing to help Tennesseans overcome the ongoing pandemic and resulting recession or put students back in the classroom safely.”