Alaska U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski was one of just seven Republican senators to vote to convict former President Donald Trump for his role in inciting the attempted insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
On Tuesday, after the 45-page indictment charging the president with several crimes for spreading lies about the 2020 election with the intent of overturning the results of the election, Murkowski stood by her decision, arguing that everything that’s come out since then has reinforced that decision.
“In early 2021, I voted to impeach former President Trump based on clear evidence that he attempted to overturn the 2020 election after losing it,” she wrote. “Additional evidence presented since then, including by the January 6 Commission, has only reinforced that the former President played a key role in instigating the riots, resulting in physical violence and desecration of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.”
Trump faces four charges in the latest indictment, which is his third since leaving office. They include a conspiracy to defraud the United States, a conspiracy to obstruct a congressional proceeding, obstruction of an official proceeding and a conspiracy against rights. The last charge comes from a Civil War-era law that makes it a crime to threaten, intimidate or otherwise oppress Americans’ right to vote and to have their vote counted.
The indictment also identifies six unnamed and yet-to-be-charged co-conspirators. Most of those individuals have been identified, including former Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman and Sidney Powell and former DOJ attorney Jeffrey Clark.
John Eastman, who is identified as co-conspirator #2, recently appeared in an Alaska courtroom where he was presented as an expert witness in the case to disqualify Republican Rep. David Eastman (no relation) from holding office, arguing that speech can’t be an imminent incitement to violence if you put an “if” in the statement. John Eastman is currently facing disbarment proceedings.
While fellow Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, who didn’t vote to convict Trump, has been silent on the charges, Murkowski encouraged everyone to read the 45-page indictment.
“Today, the former President has been indicted on four criminal counts. Like all Americans, he is innocent until proven guilty and will have his day in court,” she said. “As that process begins, I encourage everyone to read the indictment, to understand the very serious allegations being made in this case.”
The indictment
Matt Acuña Buxton is a long-time political reporter who has written for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and The Midnight Sun political blog. He also authors the daily politics newsletter, The Alaska Memo, and can frequently be found live-tweeting public meetings on Twitter.
