Trump is obviously guilty of the offenses for which he has been impeached.  But I am not talking about Trump here.

The Republicans in the Senate who will vote “not guilty” in the impeachment trial of Donald J Trump are, if not all certainly all but a small handful, guilty of lying to Congress.

Every Senator had to publicly swear to the following oath, administered by Chief Justice Roberts on national tv (highlight is mine) –

"Do you solemnly swear that in all things appertaining to the trial of the impeachment of Donald John Trump, president of the United States, now pending, you will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws, so help you god?"

We all know that most, if not all, of the Republicans in the Senate will definitely not “do impartial justice” in the impeachment trial - and knew they would not "do impartial justice" when taking the oath.  They will not decide on their vote after carefully listening to and evaluating all of the testimony and evidence presented by the “prosecution” and the arguments of the “defense”.  They will totally ignore the testimony and evidence (many were not even listening to the House managers), and their oath, and do what they were told to do by Mitch McConnell before the trial even began – vote “not guilty”.

By stating for the record that they “promise to do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws” these Senators have lied to Congress.

Lying to Congress is a crime even if you are not under oath, which I would say the Senators were. Federal law prohibits making false statements to Congress. If false statements were made knowingly and willfully about material facts, it is punishable by up to five years in prison.

Here is the citation (highlights are mine)-

TITLE 18 > PART I > CHAPTER 47 > § 1001

§ 1001. Statements or entries generally

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, whoever, in any matter within the jurisdiction of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the Government of the United States, knowingly and willfully—

(1) falsifies, conceals, or covers up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact;

(2) makes any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation; or

(3) makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry;

shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years or, if the offense involves international or domestic terrorism (as defined in section 2331), imprisoned not more than 8 years, or both.

Hey – I look forward to the trial and sentencing of the Republican Senators.