Republican Bill Cassidy says Trump wanted to ‘intimidate’ lawmakers as he defends his vote to impeach

Louisiana senator was immediately censured by state GOP after his vote to convict former president

Republican Senator Bill Cassidy defended his vote to convict Donald Trump at his impeachment trial for inciting an insurrection at the US Capitol, saying that “it was clear that he wished that lawmakers be intimidated” as they convened to certify the 2020 presidential election results.

The Louisiana senator told ABC’s This Week on Sunday that the former president “continued to basically sanction the mob” of his supporters as they launched an assault inside the halls of Congress on 6 January.

“Not until later did he did he ask them to leave,” Mr Cassidy said. “All of that points to a motive and a method. That is wrong, and he should be held accountable.”

The senator was one of only seven Republicans who voted to convict the former president on Saturday. Mr Trump was acquitted 57-43, short of a two-thirds majority vote to secure a conviction.

Read more: Live updates following Trump’s acquittal

In retaliation for breaking from the GOP, the Louisiana Republican Party’s executive committee unanimously voted to censure Mr Cassidy.

“We condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the vote today by Sen Cassidy to convict former President Trump,” the group said on Saturday. “Fortunately, clearer heads prevailed and President Trump has been acquitted of the impeachment charge filed against him.”

Louisiana’s other senator, Republican John Neely Kennedy, voted against convicting Mr Trump.

In a brief statement following his vote, Senator Cassidy said: “Our Constitution and our country is more important than any one person. I voted to convict President Trump because he is guilty.”

Democratic House impeachment managers acting as prosecutors in the trial outlined the former president’s months-long campaign to undermine election results with a “big lie” that the election was “stolen” from his supporters as he courted political violence, fueling an attack on the Capitol bolstered by his conspiracy theories.

Despite voting against the former president’s conviction, GOP Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said the former president was “practically and morally responsible for provoking” the attacks and condemned Mr Trump for his “disgraceful dereliction of duty” in the face of the attacks.

“They did this because they had been fed wild falsehoods by the most powerful man on earth,” he told the Senate following the vote. “Because he was angry. He had lost an election.”

Asked whether he believes Mr Trump can run a “credible” campaign in 2024, Senator Cassidy said “I think his force wanes” in the party.

Americans “want a leader who is accountable, and a leader who they could trust,” he said.