The Louisiana Republican Party issued a harsh rebuke of Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., after he voted alongside Democrats in favor of the constitutionality of the impeachment trial against former President Trump.
“The Republican Party of Louisiana is profoundly disappointed by Senator Bill Cassidy’s vote on the constitutionality of the impeachment trial now underway against former President, now private citizen, Donald J. Trump. We feel that an impeachment trial of a private citizen is not only an unconstitutional act, but also an attack on the very foundation of American democracy, which will have far reaching and unforeseen consequences for our republic,” the party said in a statement.
Louisiana GOP rebukes Cassidy, becoming latest state GOP to target its own statewide office-holder for Trump-related apostasy pic.twitter.com/iMgSHtls3X
— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) February 9, 2021
Trump is “innocent of the politically motivated, bogus charges now pending against him in a kangaroo court presided over by an openly hostile, political opponent,” the Louisiana GOP continued.
Cassidy was one of six Senate Republicans who voted with the Democrats on Tuesday.
He said he did so because Trump’s defense lawyers failed to convince him that the impeachment trial was unconstitutional.
“It was disorganized, random. They talked about many things but they didn’t talk about the issue at hand, and so, if I’m an impartial juror, and I’m trying to make a decision based upon the facts as presented on this issue, then the House managers did a much better job,” Cassidy explained. “The issue at hand is, is it constitutional to impeach a president who has left office? And the House managers made a compelling, cogent case and the president’s team did not.”
When asked what was so bad about Trump’s defense team’s argument, Cassidy said, “Did you listen to it? It speaks for itself.”
Trump’s defense lawyer, Bruce Castor, said he is not worried about Cassidy’s vote.
“We had a good day,” Castor told reporters. “I don’t think anything of it.”
