House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) is encouraging senators to vote to convict former President Donald Trump and bar him from holding future office.
Schiff was asked during an appearance on CNN on Tuesday night what he would like the Republican senators to know about how they vote on whether or not to convict Trump.
“You know, the job is just not that important. If the worry here is losing a primary election, there are worse things in the world. And to me, the worst thing in the world is not to do your constitutional duty,” Schiff said.
He went on to warn that if the Senate votes to acquit Trump, the former president could incite violence again.
“If they don’t disqualify this president after committing the most egregious constitutional crime in history, and he runs again, we will fully have to expect he will cheat, he will lie, and he will incite again and put this country through hell again,” he said.
Watch the video below:
https://twitter.com/CuomoPrimeTime/status/1359331551188832257
The Senate is conducting an impeachment trial to determine whether or not to convict Trump for what lawmakers say is his role in inciting the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
A two-thirds majority, or 67-votes, is required to convict Trump, which means at least 17 Republicans would have to defect. If the chamber votes to convict, senators could vote to bar him from holding future office would only require 51-votes.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is reportedly signaling to his members that the conviction vote is a vote of conscience and that he will not lobby them on how they vote.
Additionally, he reportedly believes that although the majority of the Republican caucus voted to declare the impeachment trial unconstitutional, they could still vote to convict Trump.
However, it is seen as unlikely that 17 Republicans would vote to convict.