Senate falls brief of majority to convict Trump
The US Senate has fallen short of the two-thirds majority had a need to convict former President Donald Trump on a charge of incitement to insurrection over the Capitol riot on 6 January.
Most senators - 57 to 43, including seven Republicans - voted to convict Mr Trump, 10 votes short of the 67 necessary for conviction.
After his acquittal, Mr Trump released a statement denouncing the trial as "the best witch hunt ever sold".
This was Mr Trump's second impeachment.
If he had been convicted, the Senate could have voted to bar him from running for office again.
After the vote, the senior Republican in Congress, Senator Mitch McConnell stated Mr Trump have been "sensible" for the assault on the Capitol and called it a "disgraceful, disgraceful dereliction of duty".
Earlier, he voted against conviction, saying it had been unconstitutional given that Mr Trump was no more president. Mr McConnell was instrumental in delaying Mr Trump's trial until after he remaining office, on 20 January.
Nevertheless, Mr McConnell warned Mr Trump could still be kept liable in court.
"He didn't escape with anything yet. But. We have a criminal justice program in this country, we have civil litigation and previous presidents aren't immune from being [placed] accountable by either one," he said.
In their closing statements, the Democratic House of Representatives lawmakers appointed to shepherd the process through the Senate warned that it might be dangerous to acquit Mr Trump.
"The stakes cannot be higher as the cold, hard real truth is that what happened on 6 January can occur again," Representative Joe Neguse said.
"Record has found us. I consult that you certainly not look the other approach," Representative Madeleine Dean said.
However, Mr Trump's lawyer, Michael van der Veen, named the proceedings a "present trial" and stated the Democrats had been "obsessed" with impeaching Mr Trump.
"This impeachment has been a complete charade from starting to end," he explained. "The complete spectacle has been only the unhinged quest for a long-standing political vendetta against Mr Trump by the opposition get together."
Mr Trump himself said zero president had "ever been through anything enjoy it" and that "the movements to create America Great Again" had "only just begun".
