Team,

It is with deep disappointment and disgust that I come to you and share the news that the U.S. Senate just voted to again acquit former President Donald J. Trump in his second impeachment trial.

I voted based on the evidence and in line with my conscience to convict Trump. Here’s why:

The evidence of Trump’s incitement of insurrection was overwhelming. Video after video, tweet after tweet. This president sowed doubt in our democratic elections, stoked the flames of hatred and violence, threatened elected officials — including his own Vice President — to throw out and disqualify legally cast votes, and implored his followers to “keep on fighting.” 

He declared, “We will never surrender, we will only win.” 

And we all know what happened next.

Over the past week, I again witnessed and relived deeply disturbing audio and video footage of the violent insurrectionists smashing windows of the Capitol, chanting death threats, desecrating this sacred building and rifling through our desks, brutally attacking Capitol police officers bravely doing their jobs to defend us, and spilling blood.

All the while, Trump cheered them on and tweeted more attacks on his own Vice President that was in the Capitol with his family while it was under siege.

The angry mob was mere seconds—and just 58 steps—away from reaching me and my colleagues. The courageous Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman saved lives by directing the crowd away and up a flight of stairs, and urging Senator Romney to run away from the oncoming mob.

The events on January 6th were horrific and truly traumatic. Video footage further showed how close we came to it being much, much worse.

This week, I said that history will judge whether we show courage and hold accountable the person who is responsible. Because we all know that if not for Donald Trump—his actions over the weeks leading up to the assault on our Capitol and again during the actual siege—this would not have happened.

What happened in our country will be talked about for generations to come. This trial was a moral moment in which we needed profiles in courage, from both sides of the aisle. Sadly, there wasn’t enough.

The majority of Republican senators voted to acquit Donald Trump for his dangerous, deadly actions, and by doing so, they ignored them, they excused them, and they invited this horror back on our country again. They set a dangerous precedent.

Even with this discouraging turn of events, I still have hope.

I have hope because we came together last November to reject Trump’s hatred and remove him from office. I have hope that under the Biden presidency, we can build back our country better and undo the damage Trump has caused. And I have hope that we will work hard to hold those who lacked the courage to stand on the right side of history today accountable at the ballot box in the near future.

We will not let Trump or his conspirators get the chance to hurt our country like this ever again.

Stay hopeful. Together, we will rise from this.

— Cory