AN IRISH-AMERICAN Senator who was one of seven Republicans who voted to convict Donald Trump at his impeachment trial has revealed the reasoning behind his decision.
Louisiana senator Bill Cassidy, who is of Irish descent, told ABC’s This Week “it was clear that he [Trump] wished that lawmakers be intimidated” as they attempted to certify the 2020 presidential election results on January 6.
Cassidy said that Trump “continued to basically sanction the mob” of his supporters as they marched on Congress during the riots that left five people dead.
“Not until later did he did he ask them to leave,” Cassidy said. “All of that points to a motive and a method. That is wrong, and he should be held accountable.”
Despite voting to convict the former US President, Trump was ultimately acquitted with a vote of 57-43 leaving the Democrats just shorts of the two-thirds majority required to secure a conviction.
As a consequence of breaking from the GOP, the Louisiana Republican Party’s executive committee voted unanimously voted to censure Cassidy.
“We condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the vote today by Sen Cassidy to convict former President Trump,” the group said in a statement.
“Fortunately, clearer heads prevailed and President Trump has been acquitted of the impeachment charge filed against him.”
In contrast, Louisiana’s other senator, Republican John Neely Kennedy – another US politician with strong Irish roots – voted against convicting Trump.
Following the vote, Cassidy issued a brief statement explaining his decision.
“Our Constitution and our country is more important than any one person. I voted to convict President Trump because he is guilty,"” he said.
While Trump may have escaped conviction, Cassidy doubts whether he could run a credible campaign in 2024, telling ABC, “I think his force wanes” in the Republican party.
He explained that Americans “want a leader who is accountable, and a leader who they could trust.”
The surname Cassidy translates to "descendant of Caiside" and came be traced back to a Munster sept called Uí Chaisín
