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AP source: GOP leader McConnell will vote to acquit Trump

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Nicholas Kamm/AP
FILE - In this Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020, file photo, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, of Kentucky, speaks during a news conference with other Senate Republicans on Capitol Hill in Washington, while Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyoming, listens at left. Congress is preparing to convene for a new session with lawmakers sworn into office during a tumultuous period. Opening the Senate could be among Mitch McConnell’s final acts at majority leader. Republican control is in question until Tuesday’s runoff elections for two Senate seats in Georgia. The outcome will determine which party holds the chamber. (Nicholas Kamm/Pool Photo via AP, File)
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell will vote to acquit Donald Trump in the former president's impeachment trial.

That's according to a source familiar with McConnell's thinking who was not authorized to publicly discuss the decision and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Word of McConnell's decision came Saturday before what is expected to be a final day in the historic trial on the charge that Trump incited the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.

Closely watched, the Republican leader's views carry sway among GOP senators and are likely to influence others weighing their votes.

A two-thirds vote of the Senate would be needed for Trump's conviction.

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