Friday, Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) sounded off on the House’s second impeachment of President Donald Trump, this time for “incitement of insurrection” after a group of his supporters breached the U.S. Capitol.
Barr acknowledged on “CNN Newsroom” that he does not see Trump as “blameless” in the riot at the Capitol, but said the rushed impeachment looks “more like an act of political vengeance” than “trying to uphold the standards of the presidency.”
“The president here is not blameless, but ultimately, I voted against impeachment because, as a legal matter, the Supreme Court has set the standard for what constitutes criminal incitement in a way that doesn’t violate the First Amendment,” Barr told CNN anchor Jim Sciutto. “And here, based on the facts, the president’s conduct, while unfortunate, did not rise to the level of the legal definition of incitement. But beyond the legal analysis, I think the real point here is that with only seven days left in this president’s term, what does impeachment actually accomplish? It looked to me, and every member, Republican and Democrat, had to make their own judgment, but it looked to me more like an act of political vengeance as opposed to actually trying to uphold the standards of the presidency. And again, what I would say is let’s follow the advice of the president-elect, and let’s try to do what we can to bring the country together to turn the page, heal and unite the country.”
Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent