In a tweet on Wednesday, Hillary Clinton commented on the second impeachment proceedings against former President Donald Trump. She called Senate Republicans Trump’s “co-conspirators,” saying that if they do not convict him, it will not be because “the facts were with him or his lawyers mounted a competent defense.”
If Senate Republicans fail to convict Donald Trump, it won't be because the facts were with him or his lawyers mounted a competent defense. It will be because the jury includes his co-conspirators.
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) February 10, 2021
Clinton seems to suggest that there is no other option for Republicans other than to agree with the House impeachment managers’ case against Trump or be aligned with him as a “co-conspirator.” There does not appear to be another reason for acquittal to the former Secretary of State.
On Thursday, Clinton tweeted again, drawing comparisons between Republicans and the rioters on January 6. The former First Lady posted an opinion piece by Representative Jim McGovern (D-MA) and iVote Founder Ellen Kurz published by Newsweek.
The op-ed, released on Monday, is titled “Congress Must Defeat the Continued Insurrection Against American Democracy.”
In her tweet, Clinton included the opening lines from the article:
The insurrection isn't over. "In Republican-controlled state legislatures across the country, the assault on American democracy that began on January 6 rages on,” write @ivotefund's @EllenKurz and @RepMcGovern.https://t.co/jVrLn4fuby
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) February 11, 2021
The opinion piece comments on voter identification and verification practices in states like Georgia and Arizona, making the claim that “Peach State Republicans are specifically targeting low-income Black and Latino communities. ”
The writers claim that Congress must take action in order to ensure that all votes are counted and so that Republicans are not able to make “voting harder for eligible citizens they don’t think will vote red.”
They argue that Republicans have “long decried voter expansion efforts—first by dismissing them as a partisan ploy to boost the Democratic vote, and more recently by raising the red herring of voter fraud.”
Notably, the authors seem to compare the Capitol riots on January 6th to voting practices and laws in red states.
“Congress must act to ensure the cancerous tumor we found on January 6th does not metastasize across the country, state by state.”
As reported by The Hill, Clinton’s initial tweet was sent after senators heard arguments from House impeachment managers on the second day of hearings.
“Reps. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) and Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) attempted to draw a direct line between the rioters and the former president, citing at least one person reading a tweet from Trump attacking the vice president over a megaphone during the riot.”
The managers also showed footage previously unseen of Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman leading Senator Romney (R-UT) away from the House side of the Capitol. Romney told reporters that seeing the violence “tears at your heart and brings tears to your eyes. That was overwhelmingly distressing and emotional.”
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) commented on the violent footage and its effect on an acquittal in an interview.
“There will be at least 44 [Republicans who vote to acquit Trump]. Or more. I think we might get one or two back on acquittal…Everybody objects to that violence. Everybody is horrified by that violence. But the question is: Did the president incite that?”
The Senate needs 17 Republicans to vote with the Democrats in order for the impeachment to be successful and the former president convicted. According to Politico’s reporting, that is not expected to happen.