Republican senator says Trump's fate should be left to the courts

Sen. Mike Rounds said "the courts are the appropriate place" to deal with Trump.

A Republican Senator who voted against impeaching Donald Trump for his alleged role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the nation's Capitol said Sunday that the former president's fate should be left in the hands of the Department of Justice and the federal courts.

In an interview with ABC's "This Week" anchor George Stephanopoulos, South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds agreed that the 2020 presidential election was "fair, as fair as we've seen."

"Every single individual in the United States is subject to the courts' systems. What happens with a president is that he has the shield of office, which in many cases prohibits or limits the ability of the courts to address issues surrounding that. What an impeachment does is take away that shield. President Trump was no longer president at the time that that occurred," Rounds said. "The courts are the appropriate place where those questions should be answered."

Rounds was at the Capitol when the insurrection occurred -- with thousands of Trump supporters bashing through the doors and windows and overwhelming police.