Sen. Bill Cassidy’s (R-La.) office says he is weighing his decision on the impeachment trial vote after Cassidy was seen Friday with a draft statement that showed support for former President Trump’s acquittal.
The photo of the draft, which was taken by a Washington Post photographer, showed it saying, “The House Managers did not connect the dots to show President Trump knew that the attack on the Capitol was going to be violent and result in the loss of life.”
A Cassidy spokesperson was quick to respond to the photos on Twitter, clarifying that the statement does not represent a final decision from the senator.
The Louisiana Republican “is still weighing both sets of arguments and is reviewing memos from both points of view as part of his thought process before coming to a conclusion,” spokesperson Ty Bofferding said.
Earlier in the week, Cassidy broke with most Republicans by voting for the impeachment trial to proceed, and he said the House impeachment managers had “done very well” with their presentations on the events before and during the Jan. 6 Capitol assault.
The draft, despite supporting acquittal, said that “President Trump and many others certainly contributed to the environment. The former president did engage in excessive and unnecessary rhetoric before and after the election.”
The Senate would need 17 Republicans to turn on Trump in order to convict him and ensure he would never be allowed to run for office again.