North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Wayne Goodwin released the following statement after North Carolina Republican Senators Richard Burr and Thom Tillis voted to dismiss the impeachment trial last night, even as five of their Republican colleagues voted to proceed:

“Senators Richard Burr and Thom Tillis have a duty to defend and protect our Constitution and our democratic process from the dastardly, seditious attack incited by former President Trump himself. Trump was rightly impeached by the House of Representatives.  It is imperative that Burr, Tillis, and other Senate Republicans take the next necessary step and hold accountable the former President who fueled the first attack on our U.S. Capitol since 1814. That duty did not end when Trump’s term ended. To refuse to hold Trump accountable for his treachery, and refuse to convict him and assess an appropriate penalty sets the most dangerous of precedents. These spineless Senators have proved once again to the people of North Carolina that they are too cowardly to stand up to their party leaders, even after a deadly insurrection that tore at the fabric of our country. These Senators themselves are now a danger to our democracy. Their continued allegiance to the Trumpian cult of personality – and to Party over Country – is a violation of their own oath of office.”

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