North Carolina GOP To Censure Sen. Richard Burr For Voting To Impeach Trump

The North Carolina Republican Party will hold a vote Monday to determine if Sen. Richard Burr (R-North Carolina) will be censured due to his vote to convict former President Donald Trump.

Michael Whatley, chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party, quickly spoke out against Burr after his vote. “North Carolina Republicans sent Senator Burr to the United States Senate to uphold the Constitution and his vote today to convict in a trial that he declared unconstitutional is shocking and disappointing,” Whatley said.

Burr’s vote to convict surprised several insiders, as he originally sided with Republicans, voting that impeaching a former president is unconstitutional. Burr who will retire in 2022 rather than run for reelection told reporters Saturday that he “believed that it was unconstitutional to impeach a president who was no longer in office,” and that he still believes it after his vote.

Burr then conceded that “evidence is compelling that President Trump is guilty of inciting an insurrection against a coequal branch of government and that the charge rises to the level of high Crimes and Misdemeanors. I have listened to the arguments presented by both sides and considered the facts. The facts are clear.”

“The President promoted unfounded conspiracy theories to cast doubt on the integrity of a free and fair election because he did not like the results. As Congress met to certify the election results, the President directed his supporters to go to the Capitol to disrupt the lawful proceedings required by the Constitution,” said Burr. “When the crowd became violent, the President used his office to first inflame the situation instead of immediately calling for an end to the assault.”

Burr is the second senator after Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana) to face censure from his state party after voting to convict Trump.