Following Senate Republicans’ vote to acquit Donald Trump of the charge of inciting insurrection following his second impeachment trial, Maine Democratic Party Chair Drew Gattine released the following statement:

“All senators have a duty to defend and protect our Constitution. Today, Senate Republicans once again put their own self-serving political interests ahead of the health of our democratic institutions, despite overwhelming evidence that Trump incited a deadly mob siege on the Capitol in an attempt to overturn a free and fair election.

“Senator Collins was right to vote to convict today. But she doesn’t get a pass on the last four years where she was complicit in enabling a reckless president who damaged our democracy and America’s global reputation. Never forget that when Senator Collins had the chance to stop Trump’s ongoing abuses of power, she refused. She made a craven political calculation to help shield him from consequences in his first impeachment trial, then justified her vote by claiming that Trump learned a ‘pretty big lesson.’

“To this day, she has refused to come clean with Mainers about whether she voted to elect him to a second term. Over the course of Trump’s entire presidency, Senator Collins consistently chose her own political gain over her responsibility to Mainers and the health of our democracy. America has paid a heavy price as a result.

“Senator Collins must publicly reckon with her role in refusing to hold this dangerous president accountable before he incited a deadly siege that killed five people, including a Capitol police officer. That’s the only way to close this dark chapter in our nation’s history.”

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