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Dominic Raab refuses to say if he would have voted to impeach Donald Trump

Conservative foreign secretary says people should trust US system after Trump acquitted

Jon Stone
Policy Correspondent
Sunday 14 February 2021 11:16 GMT
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Dominic Raab refuses to say if he would have voted to impeach Donald Trump

Dominic Raab has refused to say whether he would have voted to impeach Donald Trump, after the former US president was acquitted in a narrow senate vote on Saturday.

The Foreign Secretary said he did not want to "get dragged into" in the internal politics of the United States following an impeachment trial over events at the US capitol.

But the Conservative MP also said he trusted the US system to make the right decision, after Mr Trump was deemed not to have incited protesters to storm Congress.

Seven senators from Mr Trump's own Republican Party including former presidential candidate Mitt Romney had joined Democrats in voting to convict Mr Trump, but their support was not enough.

57 senators voted to convict him and 43 to acquit, but a two-thirds majority is required in the chamber for impeachment.

Asked about his view on the issue in an interview on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show, Mr Raab said: "I would say that we we've always said we trust the US system of checks and balances to resolve all of those issues.

"My focus has been on working with the new administration. I spoke to Tony Blinken yesterday we're cooperating on a whole range of issues, including the nuclear issue around Iran, many others, Myanmar, and will continue to do so."

The result means that Mr Trump was found not guilty of inciting the deadly Capitol riot.

He is the only president in US history to ever have been impeached twice and the first to have it tried in the senate after he left office.

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