Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) responded to the guilty verdict of former President Donald Trump by writing: “These charges never should have been brought in the first place. I expect the conviction to be overturned on appeal.”
McConnell is being ridiculed by political pundits including Eric Garcia, Washington correspondent and bureau chief for The Independent, who replied: “Reminder, all of this could have been avoided if Mitch McConnell had voted to convict Trump.”
Garcia shared a link to the speech McConnell delivered in February 2021, in which he condemned Trump and said he was “morally responsible” for the January 6 attack on the Capitol. McConnell said Trump should be held accountable through the criminal justice system for his actions but did not vote to convict Trump because he was no longer in office and could, in his opinion, “not be subject to impeachment.”
Sen. McConnell immediately after Trump’s Jan 6 Impeachment trial:
— Republican Voters Against Trump (@AccountableGOP) August 2, 2023
“[Trump] didn't get away with anything yet. We have a criminal justice system in this country…And former presidents are not immune from being accountable by either one.” pic.twitter.com/SMQQEGZmkS
McConnell said in the speech: “We have a criminal justice system in this country. We have civil litigation. And former presidents are not immune from being held accountable by either one.”
Former FBI Special Agent turned Yale Law-trained MSNBC legal analyst Anka Rangappa replied to McConnell, “Mitch, please.”
Mitch, please. https://t.co/MZo1hSVrHY
— Asha Rangappa (@AshaRangappa_) May 31, 2024
Note: In February, when McConnell announced his retirement from the Senate (he said he plans to serve out his Senate term, which ends in January 2027, “albeit from a different seat in the chamber”), he said: “I still have enough gas in the tank to thoroughly disappoint my critics and I intend to do so with all the enthusiasm which they have become accustomed.”
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