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Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell speaking following Trump's acquittal US Senate TV/DPA/PA Images

McConnell says Trump 'practically, morally responsible' for provoking Capitol riots - but voted to acquit him

The five-day trial concluded last night as expected – with most Republicans declaring Trump not guilty.

TOP SENATE REPUBLICAN Mitch McConnell delivered a scathing rebuke of Donald Trump yesterday despite voting to acquit the former president on an impeachment charge, saying he was responsible for the 6 January mob assault on the US Capitol.

“There’s no question – none – that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day,” McConnell said in a speech following the vote that led to Trump’s acquittal.

“These criminals were carrying his banners. Hanging his flags. And screaming their loyalty to him.”

He called Trump’s actions leading up to the siege “a disgraceful dereliction of duty.”

McConnell went further and suggested Trump could face charges now that he is out of office.

“President Trump is still liable for everything he did while he was in office, as an ordinary citizen,” he said. “He didn’t get away with anything yet.”

The Republican from Kentucky, however, said he voted to acquit Trump on a charge of inciting insurrection because, he said, it is unconstitutional to convict a president in an impeachment trial after he has left office.

The five-day trial concluded last night as expected – with most Republicans declaring Trump not guilty. 

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.

President Joe Biden said that despite the acquittal the charges against Trump are “not in dispute” and called on Americans to defend democracy.

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.”

Despite the stain of a second impeachment, Trump hinted at a possible political future, saying that “our historic, patriotic and beautiful movement to Make America Great Again has only just begun.”

“We have so much work ahead of us, and soon we will emerge with a vision for a bright, radiant, and limitless American future,” he said in a statement.

After the trial, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was openly targeted by rioters and evacuated from the Capitol on 6 January, laid into the “cowardly” Republican senators who voted to acquit.

“Senate Republicans’ refusal to hold Trump accountable for igniting a violent insurrection to cling to power will go down as one of the darkest days and most dishonorable acts in our nation’s history,” she said in a statement.

A furious Pelosi later belittled the prospect that Trump might now be the subject of a censure vote in Congress.

“These cowardly senators who couldn’t face up to what the president did and what was at stake for our country are now going to have a chance to give a little slap on the wrist?” she said to reporters, making that gesture.

“We censure people for using stationery for the wrong purpose. We don’t censure people for inciting insurrection that kills people in the Capitol,” said Pelosi.

© AFP 2021

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    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute David Dickenson
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 1:04 PM

    Cost of insurance will kill it here.

    117
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    Mute Paddy Byrne
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 2:29 PM

    It says it has a range of 300km and can hit speeds of 300kmph. . But then the article says you can get to london in just over an hour? I dont get it. Because if you travel at 300kmph you wont make it to london in time before it dies? Because it takes over an hour.

    39
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    Mute Imnotrodten
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 2:47 PM

    My flying car is an 04 so nobody will quote me

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    Mute Paraic McDonagh
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 3:31 PM

    @Paddy Byrne. Range, flight time and air speed are all different things. If you have a tail wind, you may have an airspeed of 300km/hr but you might cover 350km of ground. Also range is not calculated at maximum airspeed, so if London was 300km away as the crow flies, it still might take over an hour if you are cruising at say, 250km/hr. Lastly, London is 464km from Dublin as the crow flies, so the article is most likely talking about flight time (time in the air) as opposed to journey time but it might be possible for the aircraft to achieve greater range depending on loading and being trimmed for ‘maximum range’. You would have to refer to the performance charts for the aircraft to determine the maximum range (as opposed to specified range).

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    Mute John Moylan
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 7:03 PM

    …lolz. Mine’s an ’85 DMC12 so qualifies for classic.. :)

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    Mute Craig Barry
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    Jan 4th 2017, 9:23 AM

    As the crow flies..gotcha

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    Mute Paraic McDonagh
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 1:20 PM

    Amazon are developing a airship warehouse which will carry a large amount of stock floating in the sky and will deliver via drone. In other words, in the near future, the sky above us will be owned by e-commerce full of buzzing cr4p.

    40
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    Mute Kieran OKeeffe
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 1:30 PM

    Considering the carnage on our roads at times..would you really be comfortable with idiots flying above you?

    39
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    Mute Bairéid Rísteard
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 1:40 PM

    @Kieran OKeeffe: Reduced vertical separation minimum!

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    Mute Cian Martin
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 1:41 PM

    There’s no way they’ll let actual people have control of these things.

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    Mute Dave Byrne
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 4:12 PM

    That’s only in play above FL290 or 29000ft

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    Mute John Flood
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 4:59 PM

    @keiran o keeffe – perhaps using carnage is a bit of hyperbole “deaths” would do fine carnage ˈkɑːnɪdʒ/ noun the killing of a large number of people. “the bombing was timed to cause as much carnage as possible” synonyms:slaughter, massacre, mass murder,mass destruction, butchery, bloodbath,indiscriminate bloodshed, bloodletting,annihilation, destruction, decimation,havoc; 

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    Mute Colleen McGovern
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 1:09 PM

    Meet George Jetson

    34
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    Mute Gene Parmesan
    Favourite Gene Parmesan
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 1:21 PM

    His wife Judy

    16
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    Mute The Girl
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 1:29 PM

    Daughter, Judy, Jane his wife.

    16
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    Mute alpha_chaarlie
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 2:02 PM

    You can fly to London in an hour as it is…

    32
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    Mute Desmodromic
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 1:43 PM

    Dear Santa. I know it’s a bit early…

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    Mute Pius Flynn
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 1:57 PM

    Don’t know about having a fender bender at 3000 metres

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    Mute Jason Culligan
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 2:22 PM

    “With an expected range of 300km and estimated top speed of up to 300km/h, the Lilium Jet is aiming to make inter-city travel, faster than any widely available mass transit system.

    San Francisco to Palo Alto would take less than 15 minutes, while Dublin to London would take just over an hour.”

    So basically, this thing cannot fly between Dublin and London as the flight time will be longer than the expected battery life on a full charge. That’s a new battery and we all know that our current batteries tend to degrade over time after successive charges.

    In my mind it would need to have a maximum range of at least 1,000 km before it’s of any real value. Why would one invest in this thing when it will probably cost the same as a Cessna 172 but have 1/4 of the range?

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    Mute Patrick Gough
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 1:07 PM

    electric planes is a stupid idea. But big drones are the future.

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    Mute Tony Canning
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 1:24 PM

    It seems you have a narrow view of what a drone is.

    42
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    Mute Noel Allan
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 7:29 PM

    Then the Government will put up the first Air50 Toll Bridge, go through our gate before you access the skies.

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    Mute Peter
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 4:31 PM

    I want one.

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    Mute Free comment ratings
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 2:59 PM

    Needed badly.

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    Mute Gerard Heery
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 6:19 PM

    Going to buy one for the mother in law

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    Mute Jackson Bollovks
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    Jan 3rd 2017, 1:28 AM

    The question is will it pick me up from the pub?

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    Mute Joseph Siddall
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 7:52 PM

    Such a lovely looking mock-up/prototype…sat on a ratty old pallet. Get a grip lads.

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    Mute Fiona Fitzgerald
    Favourite Fiona Fitzgerald
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 9:34 PM

    What fuel is it using, though? Does it run on batteries? Is Atomico just a buzz word here? Not liking the hint of radioactivity.

    1
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