Sen. Susan Collins’ late Tuesday announcement that she would be voting down both articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump was described by critics and opponents as a “craven political charade” and her reasoning was almost immediately contradicted by Trump himself.
Though acknowledging Trump’s actions were “improper and demonstrated very poor judgment,” Collins argued that Trump had learned “a pretty big lesson” from the impeachment and shouldn’t be convicted and removed from office.
Asked about Collins’ comments just hours later at a lunch with TV news anchors, Trump flatly contradicted Maine’s senior senator. He said he didn’t need to learn a lesson because he had done nothing wrong and again insisted that “it was a perfect call.”
In a speech from the Senate floor on Tuesday, Collins also berated Democrats for “failing to compel testimony and document production,” despite the fact that Republicans voted roughly one dozen times last week to block additional witnesses and evidence. Collins garnered headlines for being one of two Senate Republicans who broke ranks on one vote to call for additional witness testimony.
“Once again, Susan Collins has let the country and her home state down,” said Gordon Adams, co-director of Mainers for Accountable Leadership PAC and American University professor of foreign policy who served in the administration of President Bill Clinton.
“She pretended to call for witnesses and evidence when her vote did not matter,” Adams continued. “And today she has dismissed the corruption of the presidency as a trivial matter. Her decision to vote to acquit is nothing more than political cowardice.”
“The Senator Collins of today enabled a sham trial and is voting with Mitch McConnell to acquit the President after her party blocked key evidence and witness testimony,” said Maine Democratic Party chair Kathleen Marra. “She has abandoned her commitment to the truth in favor of her pursuit of power and Mainers can see through her craven political charade.”
The senator’s Democratic challengers reacted to the news largely with cynicism, saying her vote against impeachment made her complicit in what amounted to a sham trial.
“I’m not treating Collins’ continued complicity in the cover up like it’s news,” tweeted Saco attorney Bre Kidman. “The question wasn’t ‘will Collins do the right thing?’ The question has been ‘will Collins find a way out of going along with the wrong thing to improve her optics?’ We deserve better. No compromises.”
Turning a phrase commonly employed by Collins against her, Betsy Sweet tweeted, “I am more than ‘disappointed’ that Maine’s Senator did not use her position or leadership to insist on evidence and witnesses, and now cites that as a main reason to acquit this unlawful President.”
“I wish I could say that I’m surprised, but I’m not,” former Google executive Ross LaJuenesse quipped in a video message.
Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon released a statement saying that Collins “decision to acquit despite the case against the President and without hearing more of the facts again reveals her commitment to standing with Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump.”
“This was not the process that Mainers and Americans deserved, and Senator Collins was complicit in letting that happen,” she added.
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