Summary
From me and Joan E Greve:
- Donald Trump became the first US president to be impeached twice. The House voted to impeach Trump on incitement of insurrection, after the president incited a violent mob to storm the Capitol last week, resulting in five deaths.
- Ten House Republicans voted in favor of impeachment. Their votes made this the most bipartisan presidential impeachment in US history. The final vote on the article of impeachment was 232-197.
- Nancy Pelosi delivered an impassioned speech calling on members to support impeachment. “He must go,” the Democratic speaker said of the president. “He is a clear and present danger to the nation we all love.”
- Kevin McCarthy said Trump “bears responsibility” for the Capitol attack but did not deserve to be impeached. “The president bears responsibility for Wednesday’s attack on Congress by mob rioters,” the Republican minority leader said. “He should have immediately denounced the mob when he saw what was unfolding.”
- Mitch McConnell has said the impeachment trial will happen after Biden has taken office on 20 January. McConnell will remain the majority leader in the Senate until at least 22 January, when the results of the two Georgia elections are certified and Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff take offices.
- Joe Biden said the senate must balance the impeachment trial with coronavirus response. “I hope that the Senate leadership will find a way to deal with their constitutional responsibilities on impeachment while also working on the other urgent business of this nation,” he said.
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Pelosi introduced a rule change to fine members who evade the detectors. This after several Republican members of Congress protested the metal detectors installed after the deadly attack on the US Capitol. The House will vote on the fines when Congress returns to session on 21 January.
- Banned from social media, Trump has released a video statement condemning violence. He made no mention of his impeachment and did not take responsibility for inciting or encouraging the attack on the US Capitol last week.
Read more about today’s historic events:
Updated
Donald Trump's second impeachment: five key takeaways
1. There are signs of a deep split within the Republican party
Some of the most high-profile members of Republican leadership aren’t denouncing the Democratic effort. Quite the contrary. Congresswoman Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the chairwoman of the House Republican Conference, announced on Tuesday that she would join Democrats and a handful of House Republicans in voting to impeach Trump.
2. The most bipartisan impeachment in American history
Unlike the last time Democrats impeached Trump, there’s a higher level of bipartisan support for the move. Congressman Kevin McCarthy, the House minority leader and top-ranking Republican in that chamber, said during a speech on Wednesday that Trump was partially to blame for the mob assault on the Capitol last week.
3. The vast majority of Republicans refused to concede any fault
Throughout the debate on Wednesday two patterns emerged among the arguments Republicans made: deflect and denounce. Republicans repeatedly denounced the mob attack last week.
4. The Senate is a mystery
How things will shake out in the Senate is a mystery. McConnell wrote in a letter to colleagues that he has not “made a final decision on how I will vote and I intend to listen to legal arguments when they are presented to the Senate”.
5. Democrats’ security concerns seem well-founded
Reporters and lawmakers noted the increased security presence around the Capitol. Congressman Seth Moulton of Massachusetts noted in his floor speech that there were more US soldiers patrolling the Capitol than were stationed in Afghanistan.
Read more:
Riots, effigies and a guillotine: Capitol attack could be a glimpse of violence to come
A guillotine outside the state capitol in Arizona. A Democratic governor burned in effigy in Oregon. Lawmakers evacuated as pro-Trump crowds gathered at state capitols in Georgia and New Mexico. Cheers in Idaho as a crowd was told fellow citizens were “taking the Capitol” and “taking out” Mike Pence, the vice-president.
As a mob of thousands invaded the US Capitol on 6 January, Trump supporters threatened lawmakers and fellow citizens in cities across the country. Compared with the violent mob in Washington, the pro-Trump crowds elsewhere in the country were much smaller, attracting dozens to hundreds of people. But they used the same extreme rhetoric, labeling both Democratic politicians and Republicans perceived as disloyal to Trump as “traitors”.
As the FBI warns of plans for new armed protests in Washington and all 50 state capitols in the days leading up to Biden’s inauguration, and fresh calls for extreme violence circulate on social media forums, the intensity of the nationwide pro-Trump demonstrations and attacks last week offer evidence of what might be coming next.
Some of the pro-Trump demonstrations on Wednesday did not turn violent. The dozens of Trump supporters who entered the Kansas state capitol remained peaceful, according to multiple news reports. In Carson City, Nevada, hundreds of Trump supporters drank beer and listened to rock music while denouncing the election results, the Reno Gazette Journal reported.
But in Los Angeles, white Trump supporters assaulted and ripped the wig off the head of a young black woman who happened to pass their 6 January protest, the Los Angeles Times reported. A white woman was captured on video holding the wig and shouting, “Fuck BLM!” and, “I did the first scalping of the new civil war.”
In Ohio and Oregon, fights broke out between counter-protesters and members of the Proud Boys, the neo-fascist group Trump directed in September to “stand back and stand by”. Proud Boys also reportedly demonstrated in Utah, California, Florida and South Carolina.
And in Washington state, Trump supporters, some armed, pushed through the gate of the governor’s mansion and stormed on to the lawn of Democrat Jay Inslee’s house. In Georgia, where lawmakers were evacuated from the state capitol, members of the III% Security Force militia, a group known for its anti-Muslim activism, had gathered outside.
Militia members, neo-Nazis, and other rightwing extremists have discussed multiple potential dates for armed protests in the coming days, researchers who monitor extremist groups say, with proposals ranging from rallies or attacks on state capitols to a “million militia march” in Washington.
The FBI’s intelligence bulletin has warned of potential armed protests from 16 January “at least” through inauguration day on 20 January, but researchers say that energy had not yet coalesced around a single event. Public social media forums where Trump supporters have gathered to discuss plans are full of dramatic, contradictory rumors, but experts say that more concrete plans are likely being made in private and in smaller forums that are more difficult to infiltrate.
Read more:
Andrew Yang announces he's running for New York mayor
The former Democratic presidential candidate was expected to make this announcement.
I moved to New York City 25 years ago. I came of age, fell in love, and became a father here. Seeing our City in so much pain breaks my heart.
— Andrew Yang🧢🗽🇺🇸 (@AndrewYang) January 14, 2021
Let’s fight for a future New York City that we can be proud of – together. Join us at https://t.co/TGnxwuBiHB pic.twitter.com/n9zxPybgbh
Analysis: Second impeachment puts Trump in first place among lords of misrule
It was always going to end this way. A presidency centered on fear, rage and division is climaxing in a Grand Guignol of three acts at the US Capitol in Washington: last Wednesday’s insurrection, this Wednesday’s impeachment, next Wednesday’s inauguration.
As Barack Obama noted after act one, “we’d be kidding ourselves if we treated it as a total surprise”.
What remains uncertain is whether this is the moment that the fever breaks and the nation gets back on track or merely a harbinger of further polarisation, violence and decline.
Liz Cheney and nine other Republicans who joined Democrats in a 232-197 bipartisan vote to impeach Trump did not provide a comprehensive answer to that question. Yes, it was 10 more than the first impeachment just over a year ago and, yes, there are cracks in the dam. But it has not yet burst.
And certainly on this Wednesday, with its besieged capital being prised from the grasp of a would-be autocrat, America resembled the sort of fragile state that it used to think it was in the business of rescuing and rebuilding.
Barriers, checkpoints and a ring of steel had been erected on Capitol Hill. Members of the national guard, with masks, guns and military garb, could be seen sleeping on hard floors in the hallways of the Capitol. The last time troops were quartered here was during the American civil war; there were more of them than in Afghanistan or Iraq today.
Inside the chamber, where members wore masks under strict new coronavirus rules, the historic day began with a prayer from R Adm Margaret Grun Kibben, the House chaplain. She noted that last week “we found ourselves seizing the scales of justice from the jaws of mobocracy”.
But it did not take long for partisanship to bare its teeth. Although this process has been much speedier than Impeachment One, which sanctioned Trump for pressuring Ukraine for political favours, there were again angry speeches from both sides.
Read more:
Biden: Senate must juggle impeachment and coronavirus response
“Today, the members of the House of representatives exercised the power granted to them under our constitution and voted to impeach and hold the president accountable,” Joe Biden said in a statement. “This nation also remains in the grip of a deadly virus and a reeling economy. I hope that the Senate leadership will find a way to deal with their constitutional responsibilities on impeachment while also working on the other urgent business of this nation.”
Earlier today Senator Mitch McConnell said that the impeachment trial will not take place until after Biden is inaugurated.
Updated
House will vote on fines for members who evade metal detectors
After several Republican members of Congress protested the metal detectors installed after the deadly attack on the US Capitol, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi introduced a rule change to fine members who evade the detectors.
The House will vote on the fines when Congress returns to session on 21 January.
“On behalf of the House, I express my deepest gratitude to the US Capitol police for the valor that they showed during the deadly insurrection on the Capitol, as they protected the lives of the staff and the Congress,” Pelosi said. “Sadly, just days later, many House Republicans have disrespected our heroes by verbally abusing them and refusing to adhere to basic precautions keeping members of our congressional community, including the Capitol police, safe.”
Members, including QAnon conspiracy theory supporter Lauren Boebert, refused to comply with new safety protocols yesterday, clashing with officers. The newly-elected congresswoman of Colorado has drawn criticism for tweeting Pelosi’s location during the violent riot last week.
Updated
Snapchat will permanently ban Donald Trump, per multiple reports.
“Last week we announced an indefinite suspension of President Trump’s Snapchat account, and have been assessing what long term action is in the best interest of our Snapchat community,” a spokesperson told Axios. “In the interest of public safety, and based on his attempts to spread misinformation, hate speech, and incite violence, which are clear violations of our guidelines, we have made the decision to permanently terminate his account.”
Twitter’s CEO, meanwhile, has weighed in for the first time on the company’s decision to de-platform Trump following the US Capitol attack last week:
I do not celebrate or feel pride in our having to ban @realDonaldTrump from Twitter, or how we got here. After a clear warning we’d take this action, we made a decision with the best information we had based on threats to physical safety both on and off Twitter. Was this correct?
— jack (@jack) January 14, 2021
Read more analysis of social media companies’ bans and restrictions on Trump’s accounts, from the Guardian’s Kari Paul:
The former Michigan governor charged with crimes related to Flint water crisis
Former governor Rick Snyder has been charged with willful neglect of duty, for his role in the Flint water crisis.
In 2014, the city of Flint, Michigan had its water supply switched to the Flint river to save costs. Some 9,000 children, who are especially vulnerable to lead poisoning, were exposed to lead-contaminated drinking water.
The AP reports:
The charges, shown in an online court record, are misdemeanors punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
The indictment filed by the attorney general’s office is groundbreaking: No governor or former governor in Michigan’s 184-year history had been charged with crimes related to their time in that office, according to the state archivist.
Besides Snyder, a Republican who served until 2019, charges are expected against other people, including former officials who served as state health director, Michigan’s chief medical executive, Snyder’s communications chief and a senior adviser.
Flint was in chronic financial trouble in 2014 when a Snyder-appointed manager who was running the majority Black city carried out a money-saving decision to use the Flint River for water while a regional pipeline from Lake Huron was under construction. The corrosive water, however, wasn’t treated properly and released lead from old plumbing into homes in one of the worst manmade environmental disasters in U.S. history.
Despite desperate pleas from residents holding jugs of discolored, skunky water, the Snyder administration took no significant action until a doctor reported elevated lead levels in children about 18 months later.
Updated
Revealed: walkie-talkie app Zello hosted far-right groups who stormed Capitol
Micah Loewinger and Hampton Stall report:
Audio and chat logs reveal that at least two insurrectionists who broke into the Capitol on 6 January used Zello, a social media walkie-talkie app that critics say has largely ignored a growing far-right user base.
“We are in the main dome right now,” said a female militia member, speaking on Zello, her voice competing with the cacophony of a clash with Capitol police. “We are rocking it. They’re throwing grenades, they’re frickin’ shooting people with paintballs, but we’re in here.”
“God bless and godspeed. Keep going,” said a male voice from a quiet environment.
“Jess, do your shit,” said another. “This is what we fucking lived up for. Everything we fucking trained for.”
The frenzied exchange took place at 2.44pm in a public Zello channel called “STOP THE STEAL J6”, where Trump supporters at home and in Washington DC discussed the riot as it unfolded. Dynamic group conversations like this exemplify why Zello, a smartphone and PC app, has become popular among militias, which have long fetishized military-like communication on analog radio.
After years of public pressure, Facebook, Twitter, and Discord have begun to crack down on inciting speech from far-right groups, but Zello has avoided proactive content moderation thus far.
Most coverage on Zello, which claims to have 150 million users on its free and premium platforms, has focused on its use by the Cajun Navy groups that send boats to save flood victims and grassroots organizing in Venezuela. However, the app is also home to hundreds of far-right channels, which appear to violate its policy prohibiting groups that espouse “violent ideologies”.
Responding to a list of over 800 far-right channels, Zello said it was “prepared to take action on those”. The company also said it was working on a more elaborate response. In addition to locking some public features that would help researchers uncover more extremist content, Zello had begun purging some far-right groups as of Wednesday.
Read more:
Updated
The violent attack on the US Capitol last week followed a Donald Trump speech in which he told his supporters to “fight” for him. “If you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore,” Trump told his supporters. “You’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength.”
And yet yesterday, in Alamo, Texas, Trump again insisted: “If you read my speech … people thought that what I said was totally appropriate.”
But with an impeachment trial coming up, the president seems to have slightly shifted his rhetoric.
Updated
Trump, as others in his party have done, also tried to chastise both sides for the violence, despite the fact that it was his supporters who led the attack last week.
This year, he said, “we have seen political violence spiral out of control. We have seen too many riots, too many mobs too many acts of intimidation and destruction. It must. Whether you are on the right, or on the left, a Democrat or Republican. There is never a justification for violence. No excuses. no exceptions.”
Donald Trump makes a video statement, doesn't mention impeachment
Banned from social media, Donald Trump has released a video statement condemning violence but making no mention of his impeachment and without taking any responsibility for inciting the attack on the Capitol last week.
“Those who engaged in the attacks last week will be brought to justice,” Trump said.
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 13, 2021
“Sadly and with a heart broken,” House speaker Nancy Pelosi said, as she signed the impeachment article that will be sent to the Senate.
“Donald Trump is a clear and present danger to our country,” she said, and that she was sad about “what this means for our country” as she signed the article accusing Trump of incitement of insurrection.
Updated
Meanwhile, the Democrats are huddling on how they’d prosecute.
CNN’s Manu Raju:
Pelosi is meeting with impeachment managers. Lead manager Jamie Raskin told me it was uncertain how many witnesses they would seek and how long trial would be.
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 13, 2021
“We’re still just getting organized, but if it comes to it, we'll get you answers as soon as we've got some answers.”
A lot could happen between now and the impeachment trial...
But it remains unclear whether enough Republican senators will vote to convict the president. Pat Toomey, a Republican senator of Pennsylvania, who condemned Trump’s role in inciting violence and called on him to resign, has nevertheless hedged on whether he’d vote to convict.
Whether the Senate can convict a president after leaving office is “debatable” Toomey said in a statement. “Should the Senate conduct a trial, I will again fulfill my responsibility to consider arguments from both the House managers and President Trump’s lawyers,” he said.
Updated
Trump’s second impeachment has led to some strong responses from political commentators, including former US labor secretary and Guardian US columnist Robert Reich:
In case you weren't clear about the state of today's GOP: Only 10 House Republicans voted to impeach a president who incited an attempted overthrow of the U.S. government.
— Robert Reich (@RBReich) January 13, 2021
Especially white Americans don’t like to hear it, but we got to the “coup” stage of fascism because we didn’t impeach at the concentration camps, cages, family separations, beatings, gassing, disappearances. Fascism’s a pattern of escalation and nobody tried to really break it
— ❤️ (@umairh) January 13, 2021
The bottom line is that after everything, ten House Republicans voted to impeach Trump, two Cabinet officers quit, Twitter banned Trump, Lindsey Graham got off the train and back on again, and Trump is staying in office.
— Susan Glasser (@sbg1) January 13, 2021
For a week.
We all know that the Republicans are going to try to impeach Biden at some point, right? To do another one of their "sorry, these are the new rules. See how you like it," things.
— Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) January 13, 2021
The Senate’s leading Democrat, Chuck Schumer responds to the Trump impeachment: “A Senate trial can begin immediately, with agreement from the current Senate Majority Leader to reconvene the Senate for an emergency session, or it will begin after January 19th. But make no mistake, there will be an impeachment trial in the United States Senate”
“Despite the efforts of Donald Trump and violent insurrectionists, America is not a dictatorship,” Schumer said.” We have been and will forever remain a Democracy that respects and reveres the rule of law, including the bedrock principle that the voters choose our leaders – that just power can only derive from the consent of the governed.”
McConnell says Trump impeachment trial will take place after Biden inauguration
Mitch McConnell has said there’s no chance of an impeachment trial for Trump until after Joe Biden is inaugurated.
“Given the rules, procedures, and Senate precedents that govern presidential impeachment trials, there is simply no chance that a fair or serious trial could conclude before President-elect Biden is sworn in next week,” McConnell said in a statement.
“In light of this reality, I believe it will best serve our nation if Congress and the executive branch spend the next seven days completely focused on facilitating a safe inauguration and an orderly transfer of power to the incoming Biden administration,” he said.
The Republican leader did not indicate his position on whether he’d vote to convict or acquit Trump.
Updated
Second Trump impeachment summary
That’s it from me today. My west coast colleague, Maanvi Singh, will take over the blog for the next few hours.
Here’s where this historic day stands:
- Donald Trump became the first US president to be impeached twice. The House voted to impeach Trump on incitement of insurrection, after the president incited a violent mob to storm the Capitol last week, resulting in five deaths.
- Ten House Republicans voted in favor of impeachment. Their votes made this the most bipartisan presidential impeachment in US history. The final vote on the article of impeachment was 232-197.
- Nancy Pelosi delivered an impassioned speech calling on members to support impeachment. “He must go,” the Democratic speaker said of the president. “He is a clear and present danger to the nation we all love.”
- Kevin McCarthy said Trump “bears responsibility” for the Capitol attack but did not deserve to be impeached. “The president bears responsibility for Wednesday’s attack on Congress by mob rioters,” the Republican minority leader said. “He should have immediately denounced the mob when he saw what was unfolding.”
- Mitch McConnell has said there will be no impeachment trial earlier than 19 January, when the Senate is currently set to return from recess. Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, had said the chamber should return early to take up impeachment, but McConnell has signaled no interest in doing so.
Maanvi will have more coming up, so stay tuned.
Updated
Why did Donald Trump just get impeached on the charge of incitement of insurrection?
In the chaotic aftermath of the Capitol riot, Trump and his now dwindling number of Republicans allies tried to claim he did nothing wrong.
But as the Guardian’s Ed Pilkington has laid out, Trump’s incitement can be traced all the way back to 19 December, when he first mentioned a “big protest in DC”, and said “Be there, will be wild!”. This reached a climax on 6 January, when Trump urged a crowd outside the White House to march on the Capitol. Read the full timeline here:
And here is Trump before the Capitol riot whipping up the crowd:
The most surprising Republican “yes” vote on impeachment came from Tom Rice of South Carolina.
Before the vote, Rice did not offer any indication that he was planning to support impeachment, and he was not considered one of the likely “yes” votes.
Rice has not yet put out a statement explaining his vote, but this tweet from last week, sent during the violent riot at the Capitol, captures his frustration with Donald Trump.
To all my friends back home, I am fine. Capitol Police evacuated us from the Capitol Building. DC is in chaos.
— Congressman Tom Rice (@RepTomRice) January 6, 2021
This will accomplish nothing.
Where is the President!? He must ask people to disperse and restore calm now.
Here are the ten House Republicans who voted to impeach Donald Trump on the charge of incitement of insurrection:
- John Katko of New York.
- Liz Cheney of Wyoming.
- Adam Kinzinger of Illinois.
- Fred Upton of Michigan.
- Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington state.
- Dan Newhouse of Washington state.
- Peter Meijer of Michigan.
- Tom Rice of South Carolina.
- Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio.
- David Valadao of California.
The Republicans’ votes made this the most bipartisan presidential impeachment in history. In comparison, five Democrats voted to impeach Bill Clinton in 1998.
Trump becomes the first US president to be impeached twice
The House has voted to impeach Donald Trump on the charge of incitement of insurrection, after the president incited a violent mob to storm the Capitol last week, resulting in five deaths.
The final vote was 232-197, with 10 House Republicans supporting the measure.
Trump has become the first president in US history to ever be impeached by the House twice.
The matter will now go before the Senate, which will decide whether Trump should be convicted and removed from office.
The trial will likely conclude after Joe Biden takes office anyway, but a conviction would prevent Trump from running for president again.
A tenth House Republican, David Valadao of California, has voted “yes” on the article of impeachment against Donald Trump.
The vote currently stands at 229-195 in favor of impeachment.
Nine members have not yet voted.
Article of impeachment reaches majority level of support
The article of impeachment has now reached a majority level of support, with at least 229 House members voting “yes” on impeaching Donald Trump for a second time.
The vote currently stands at 229-194.
But the vote is still ongoing, and members can change their votes until it is gaveled out. Stay tuned.
Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, Ann Wagner of Missouri and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania have all voted “no” on impeachment.
The three members were some of the last remaining Republicans who were considered possible “yes” votes, but they have apparently decided against impeaching the president for a second time.
It’s looking like the total number of Republicans supporting impeachment will likely be nine, but we won’t know for sure until the vote is complete.
Seven House Republicans have already voted “yes” on impeaching Donald Trump, and at least two more are expected to do so.
Assuming no one charges their vote, this will be the most bipartisan presidential impeachment in US history, as a CBC News reporter noted.
BREAKING: This is now the most *bipartisan* presidential impeachment in American history.
— Alexander Panetta (@Alex_Panetta) January 13, 2021
Six Republicans have already voted to impeach Trump - the most ever from one party again a president of that same party.
Previous record: five Democrats vs Bill Clinton in 1998.
In his statement explaining his vote in support of impeachment, Anthony Gonzalez also accused Donald Trump of having “abandoned his post” amid the violence at the Capitol.
Gonzalez argued that the president’s failure to act further endangered those present at the Capitol.
The Republican congressman described the president’s actions as “fundamental threats” to American democracy.
Two more House Republicans, Tom Rice of South Carolina and Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio, have voted “yes” on impeaching the president.
Assuming they do not change their votes, they will be the eighth and ninth Republicans to support impeachment.
In a statement, Gonzalez said he was supporting impeachment because Donald Trump “helped organize and incite a mob that attacked the United States Congress”.
See my full statement on impeachment below. pic.twitter.com/pBBYRI2RUP
— Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (@RepAGonzalez) January 13, 2021
House votes on article of impeachment against Trump
The House has now concluded its two hours of debate on the article of impeachment against Donald Trump.
The chamber has moved on to a roll-call vote on the article, incitement of insurrection.
The measure is expected to pass with the support of all Democrats and at least seven Republicans.
Seventh House Republican says he will support impeachment
Peter Meijer, a Republican congressman from Michigan, has become the seventh Republican House member to say he will support the impeachment of Donald Trump.
“The President betrayed his oath of office by seeking to undermine our constitutional process, and he bears responsibility for inciting the insurrection last week,” Meijer said in a statement. “With a heavy heart, I will vote to impeach President Donald J. Trump.”
President Trump betrayed his oath of office by seeking to undermine our constitutional process, and he bears responsibility for inciting the insurrection we suffered last week. With a heavy heart, I will vote to impeach President Donald J. Trump. pic.twitter.com/SREfFp0nd2
— Rep. Peter Meijer (@RepMeijer) January 13, 2021
Meijer, a freshman congressman, previously said he was considering supporting impeachment, but this is the first time he has clearly said he will do so.
Seven Republicans have now said they will vote to impeach Trump, which means the president will be impeached in a bipartisan vote. When Trump was impeached the first time, only Democrats supported the measure.
The debate on the article of impeachment against Donald Trump is now wrapping up, and the House will soon move on to the final vote on impeachment.
Steve Scalise, the House minority whip, was the final Republican speaker, and he applauded the Capitol Police officers who work to protect lawmakers every day. Two Capitol Police officers have died since last week, when a violent, pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol.
House members in the chamber stood to applaud the fallen Capitol Police officers, marking a rare moment of bipartisanship during today’s contentious debate.
The House majority leader, Steny Hoyer, is the final Democratic speaker, and he has repeatedly cited the words of Republican Liz Cheney, who has said she will support impeachment.
“Will we stay silent, will we not stand up and say this is not acceptable?” Hoyer said. “Donald Trump has constructed a glass house of lies, fear-mongering and sedition.”
McConnell indicates he is open to convicting Trump
The Guardian’s Daniel Strauss reports:
Mitch McConnell, the top-ranking Republican in the Senate, indicated to colleagues that he is undecided on how he would vote on impeachment.
In a letter to his Senate colleagues sent out Wednesday afternoon, as members of the House moved forward with impeaching Donald Trump, the Kentucky Republican wrote, “while the press has been full of speculation, I have not made a final decision on how I will vote and I intend to listen to the legal arguments when they are presented to the Senate.”
The line in his note to Senate colleagues follows The New York Times reporting Tuesday night that McConnell is pleased with Democrats’ move to impeach the president again and has been sharing that sentiment with associates.
McConnell’s openness to impeaching the president, a fellow Republican, is the most significant sign so far that congressional Republican leaders are less resistant to Trump’s impeachment than the last time the president was impeached.
In the House, congresswoman Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the House Republican Conference chair, said she would vote to impeach Trump. Five other House Republicans have also come out in support of impeachment.
It’s unclear how Senate Republicans will vote. It’s also unclear if McConnell’s openness will offer cover for other Republicans who privately would like to see the president impeached. Two-thirds of senators would have to support conviction in order for him to be removed from office.
Congressman Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts Democrat and a Marine Corps veteran, noted that there are currently more troops in Washington than in Afghanistan.
Rep. Moulton: "There are more troops right now in Washington DC than in Afghanistan. And they are here to defend us against the commander in chief, the POTUS and his mob." pic.twitter.com/bpf9mdWhYi
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 13, 2021
“And they are here to defend us against the commander in chief, the president of the United States and his mob,” Moulton said.
Moulton encouraged his colleagues to look at the National Guard members protecting the Capitol and search for “an ounce of their courage.”
Young Kim, a freshman Republican congresswoman who flipped a California district that Donald Trump lost by 10 points, will vote against impeachment.
However, I believe impeaching the president now will fail to hold him accountable or allow us to move forward once President-elect Biden is sworn in. This process will only create more fissures in our country as we emerge from some of our darkest days. https://t.co/NK1EdO5xoN pic.twitter.com/IJIlb6oGva
— Young Kim (@RepYoungKim) January 13, 2021
“The violence we saw last week was disgusting. Our law enforcement was attacked, lives were lost and more were put in danger. These rioters must be held accountable. Words have consequences and I believe the president should also be held accountable,” Kim said in a statement.
“However, I believe impeaching the president at this time will fail to hold him accountable or allow us to move forward once President-elect Biden is sworn in. This process will only create more fissures in our country as we emerge from some of our darkest days.”
So far, only six House Republicans have signaled they intend to support the article of impeachment.
It is now past 3 pm in Washington, but the House has not yet moved on to the final vote on the article of impeachment.
The House majority leader, Steny Hoyer, said yesterday that the final vote would occur at roughly 3 pm, but there are about 20 minutes of debate left.
Once the debate has concluded, the chamber will move on to voting on the article, which is expected to be approved.
Chip Roy, a Republican of Texas who has criticized his colleagues’ efforts to cast baseless doubt upon the legitimacy of the presidential election, said he believed Donald Trump had committed “impeachable” offenses.
“The president of the United States deserves universal condemnation for what was clearly, in my opinion, impeachable conduct, pressuring the vice president to violate his oath to the constitution.” Roy said in his speech.
And yet Roy will not be supporting the article of impeachment. The congressman argued the article had been drafted in a manner that targeted political speech itself.
Here’s what the article says, in part: “Donald John Trump engaged in high Crimes and Misdemeanors by inciting violence against the Government of the United States ...
“Donald John Trump, by such conduct, has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to national security, democracy, and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office[.]”
Marjorie Taylor Greene, the freshman Georgia congresswoman who supports the QAnon conspiracy theory, delivered her speech while wearing a mask that said “censored”.
Greene did not seem to pick up on the irony that she was claiming to be “censored” while delivering a speech on the floor of the House of Representatives, which was broadcast on national television.
Yes, Marjorie Taylor Greene is wearing a mask that says “CENSORED” as she speaks into a microphone on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. pic.twitter.com/i7401gseIU
— Jessie Opoien (@jessieopie) January 13, 2021
Nancy Pelosi will speak today at the lectern that was taken by one of the rioters during the violence at the Capitol last week.
A House staffer was seen wheeling the lectern through Statuary Hall as the floor debate on the article of impeachment continued.
During the riot last week, a man was photographed carrying the speaker’s lectern through the Rotunda with a smile and a wave to the camera.
The man, identified as Adam Christian Johnson of Florida, was arrested on federal charges two days later.
New York Democratic representative Adriano Espaillat just spoke in utter fury about a mob “summoned and dispatched” by Donald Trump to attack the US Capitol on January 6, including one rioter who waved a Confederate flag inside the complex.
He said he believed that those exhorted by the president to march on the Capitol as both chambers of Congress were in session to certify the election result in Joe Biden’s favor were intent on trying to kidnap lawmakers.
Espaillat said he believes thugs aimed “to assassinate Pence and Pelosi”, referring to the Republican vice president Mike Pence and the Democratic Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi.
Trump had urged his supporters at a rally before the riot to march on the Capitol and “fight” to overturn the election result, after his requests to Pence somehow to engineer such a thing (which is not in the vice president’s power) had failed.
Moments ago, Cori Bush, the newly elected progressive congresswoman from St Louis, delivered an impassioned speech calling for the impeachment of Donald Trump.
Rep. Cori Bush: "The 117th Congress must understand that we have a mandate to legislate in defense of Black lives. The first step in that process is to root out white supremacy, starting with impeaching the white supremacist-in-chief." https://t.co/AOSBKrUbre pic.twitter.com/XU0N3HHtRW
— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 13, 2021
“If we fail to remove a white supremacist president who incited a white supremacist insurrection, it’s communities like Missouri’s 1st district that suffer the most,” Bush said.
“The 117th Congress must understand that we have a mandate to legislate in defense of Black lives. The first step in that process is to root out white supremacy, starting with impeaching the white supremacist-in-chief.”
As she finished her speech, Bush’s denunciation of white supremacy was booed by some of her Republican colleagues.
The statement from the president, which calls for “no violence,” comes a week after Donald Trump incited a violent mob to storm the Capitol, resulting in five deaths.
The president has consistently denied responsibility for inciting the riot, despite telling a group of his supporters to march to the Capitol moments before the building was breached.
Trump claimed yesterday that his words were “totally appropriate,” even though they have been intensely criticized by members of both parties.
Statement from the president
Donald Trump has put out a statement from the White House.
Trump statement pic.twitter.com/ufdgSCInVC
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) January 13, 2021
The statement includes: “In light of reports of more demonstrations, I urge that there must be NO violence, NO lawbreaking and NO violence of any kind.” He calls for folks to calm down.
Updated
Afternoon summary
The House of Representatives is on track to impeach Donald Trump this afternoon, so do stay tuned. It’s been a busy morning. Here are the main points so far:
- Six Republican members of the House of Representatives have now indicated they will support the impeachment of Donald Trump. That will boost the overwhelming Democratic push for the action, with the official impeachment moment not long away.
- Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell’s office has said there will be no impeachment trial before 19 January, when the chamber is currently set to return from recess.
- House speaker Nancy Pelosi quoted Abraham Lincoln, saying, “We cannot escape history. We... will be remembered in spite of ourselves.” She said Trump must be removed from office. “He must go...he is a clear and present danger to the nation we all love.”
- Steny Hoyer, the House majority leader, rejected Republicans’ arguments that a swift impeachment would only further divide the country. “There are consequences to actions, and the actions of president of the United States demand urgent, clear action by the Congress of the United States,” Hoyer said.
Sixth House Republican says he will support the impeachment of Trump
Washington state Republican Dan Newhouse just rose on the floor of the House and said he would support the historic impeachment today of Donald Trump.
Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Washington) votes to impeach President Donald Trump. pic.twitter.com/4pzr0RnmEM
— Drew Mikkelsen (@drewmikkelsenk5) January 13, 2021
In a strongly worded statement last night, Liz Cheney, a representative from Wyoming, the No. 3 Republican in the House, and the daughter of the former vice-president Dick Cheney, said that Trump had “summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack” during the Capitol riot on January 6.
“Everything that followed was his doing,” she said. “None of this would have happened without the president. I will vote to impeach the president.”
After setting the ball rolling by House GOP members, Cheney was joined last night by the Washington representative Jaime Herrera Beutler, the New York representative John Katko, the Illinois representative Adam Kinzinger, and representative Fred Upton, of Michigan, the Republicans who all said they would vote for impeachment.
Newhouse said there was “no excuse” for the president’s actions, when he encouraged hyper-loyal supporters to march on the US Capitol a week ago, egged on to attempt to overturn the results of the election by force.
Republican Rep. Dan Newhouse announces he is voting to impeach Trump even though he thinks the articles are "flawed." He says there is "no excuse" for Trump's actions; he says Trump "misinformed and inflamed a violent mob."
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) January 13, 2021
Newhouse says he and others should've spoken up sooner.
Updated
House minority leader Kevin McCarthy is decrying the events of January 6 as “the worst day I’ve ever seen in Congress”.
McCarthy said:“The president bears responsibility for Wednesday’s attack on Congress by mob rioters. He should have immediately denounced the mob when he saw what was unfolding.”
After arguing he shouldn't be impeached, Kevin McCarthy says, "The president bears responsibility for Wednesday's attack on Congress by mob rioters. He should have immediately denounced the mob when he saw what was unfolding."
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) January 13, 2021
But the California Republican is not in favor of impeaching Donald Trump. He’s arguing for a creating a fact-finding commission and an official censure of the president to suffice.
He repeated something that he reportedly told Trump directly - that, unlike what he points out “some say”, the violent mob that invaded the US Capitol last week was not driven by far left anti-fascist activists collectively known as “antifa”.
“There is no evidence of that,” McCarthy said.
He talked of pledging a smooth transition to the presidency of Joe Biden a week from today. Smattering of applause for McCarthy.
House Democrats have consistently denounced Donald Trump for inciting the Capitol riot during the debate on the article of impeachment.
Hakeem Jeffries, who served as an impeachment manager during the president’s first Senate trial, referred to Trump as “a living, breathing impeachable offense”.
"Donald Trump is a living, breathing impeachable offense" -- Rep. Hakeem Jeffries pic.twitter.com/8P8I7Dgebi
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 13, 2021
Moments later, Jamie Raskin, the Democrat who will serve as the lead impeachment manager this time around, also criticized Republicans who have tried to blame Democrats for the violence seen last week.
“It is a bit much to be hearing that these people would not be trying to destroy our government and kill us if we just weren’t so mean to them,” Raskin said.
Rep. Raskin: "It is a bit much to be hearing that these people would not be trying to destroy our government and kill us if we just weren't so mean to them." pic.twitter.com/TEydYa2PSn
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 13, 2021
At least 20,000 National Guard troops may be deployed to help safeguard the nation’s capital ahead of Joe Biden’s inauguration next week.
“I think you can expect to see somewhere upwards beyond 20,000 members of the National Guard that will be here in the footprint of the District of Columbia,” acting DC police chief Robert Contee said at a news conference on Wednesday.
The announcement comes one week after a mob of Trump loyalists breached and vandalized the US capitol, where Biden will be inaugurated next Wednesday.
Despite threats of potential violence on Inauguration Day, Biden has said he is “not afraid” to take the oath of office outside on the Capitol steps.
Cedric Richmond, the Democratic congressman who is leaving the House to join Joe Biden’s administration, delivered a fiery speech in support of Donald Trump’s impeachment.
During debate on Impeachment of President Trump, @reprichmond concludes his final House floor speech: "Simply put, we told you so. Richmond out." pic.twitter.com/bwMxwCqmoR
— CSPAN (@cspan) January 13, 2021
The Louisiana Democrat noted that, during the president’s first impeachment, his party warned Trump would carry out more attacks on American democracy if he were not removed from office.
“Simply put, we told you so,” Richmond said. Nodding at his imminent departure from the House, he then added, “Richmond out.”
No Senate impeachment trial before 19 January, McConnell's office says
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell’s office has said there will be no impeachment trial before 19 January, when the chamber is currently set to return from recess.
McConnell’s press secretary confirmed the Washington Post’s report on the timing on the trial.
Can confirm —> https://t.co/l2U1WlyQSF
— Doug Andres (@DougAndres) January 13, 2021
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer had called for the chamber to return early to take up the impeachment of Donald Trump, but McConnell is apparently declining to do so.
The decision means that Trump’s impeachment trial will overlap with the first days of Joe Biden’s presidency.
Updated
Adam Schiff, who served as the lead impeachment manager during Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial, said the Capitol riot represented “the most dangerous moment for our democracy in a century.”
"This is one of those moments."
— ABC News (@ABC) January 13, 2021
Rep. Adam Schiff says America has endured a Civil War, world wars and more, and will endure "a Trumpist and white nationalist insurrection," because "patriotic Americans step forward to say 'enough.'"https://t.co/vdtbbFfqdP pic.twitter.com/bmtjEcpzSa
“Today, we invoke the remedy the founders provided for just such a lawless president: impeachment,” Schiff said.
The California Democrat added, “More important, today we begin the long road to restoration. ... To preserve this sacred place, this citadel of democracy, for ourselves and for posterity, let us say enough. Enough.”
Jim Jordan, one of the president’s congressional attack dogs, argued against the impeachment of Donald Trump for inciting a violent mob to attack the Capitol by condemning “cancel culture”.
"They want to cancel the president" -- Jim Jordan pic.twitter.com/ttM0wzF8Bi
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 13, 2021
“We should be focused on bringing the nation together. Instead, Democrats are going to impeach the president for a second time one week, one week before he leaves office. Why?” Jordan said. “They want to cancel the president.”
Jordan added, “It won’t just be the president of the United States. The cancel culture will come for us all.”
In reality, Democrats have said they want to impeach the president for a second time because Trump incited a violent mob to attack the Capitol, resulting in five deaths.
Moments ago, Pelosi argued Trump “must go” because he represents “a clear and present danger to the nation we all love”.
Updated
Nancy Pelosi described January 6, when a violent mob stormed the Capitol, as a “day of fire.” George W Bush used the same phrase to describe the September 11 attacks.
“We know that the president of the United States incited this insurrection, armed rebellion, against our common country,” the Democratic speaker said.
Pelosi argued it was a vital necessity to impeach the president, but she said of the need to impeach, “It breaks my heart. It should break your heart. It should break all of our hearts.”
The speaker said she stood before the chamber today as “an officer of the constitution.” “Search your souls,” Pelosi said, “is the president’s war on democracy in keeping with the constitution?”
Pelosi: Trump 'is a clear and present danger to the nation we all love'
House speaker Nancy Pelosi kicked off the two hours of debate on the article of impeachment against Donald Trump.
The Democratic speaker began her remarks by quoting Abraham Lincoln, saying, “We cannot escape history. We... will be remembered in spite of ourselves.”
Pelosi argued Trump must be removed from office because he represents a clear threat to national security.
“He must go,” Pelosi said. “He is a clear and present danger to the nation we all love.”
Updated
The article of impeachment, incitement of insurrection, is now being read on the House floor before the debate begins.
The article reads, in part, “In his conduct while President of the United States — and in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, provide, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed — Donald John Trump engaged in high Crimes and Misdemeanors by inciting violence against the Government of the United States ...
“Donald John Trump, by such conduct, has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to national security, democracy, and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office, and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with self-governance and the rule of law. Donald John Trump thus warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States.”
House adopts rule to begin debate on article of impeachment
The House has voted 221-203 to begin debate on the article of impeachment, incitement of insurrection, against Donald Trump.
The House voted 221-203 to adopt H.Res. 41. https://t.co/KQHegRyHhp
— House Press Gallery (@HouseDailyPress) January 13, 2021
The House will now debate the article for two hours, with a final vote on impeachment expected later this afternoon.
House speaker Nancy Pelosi went outside to thank the National Guard troops who are protecting the Capitol today, as members vote on the article of impeachment against Donald Trump.
The Democratic speaker also presented the troops with her challenge coin as a token of appreciation, per NBC News.
Pelosi just went outside and thanked the troops protecting the Capitol, and game them all her challenge coin: pic.twitter.com/VbOhyFxcVj
— Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) January 13, 2021
Graham opposes impeachment despite distancing himself from Trump
Lindsey Graham has released a statement expressing opposition to the second impeachment of Donald Trump, claiming the resolution “will do great damage to the institutions of government and could invite further violence.”
Supporting the impeachment of President Trump under these circumstances will do great damage to the institutions of government and could invite further violence at a time the President is calling for calm.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) January 13, 2021
“If there was a time for America’s political leaders to bend a knee and ask for God’s counsel and guidance, it is now,” the Republican senator said in the statement. “The most important thing for leaders to do in times of crisis is to make things better, not worse.”
Graham interestingly leveled criticism at fellow Republicans who are supporting the impeachment.
“As to Senate leadership, I fear they are making the problem worse, not better,” Graham said. “To my Republican colleagues who legitimize this process, you are doing great damage not only to the country, the future of the presidency, but also to the party.”
Graham’s statement comes after reports indicated that Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has told colleagues he believes Trump committed impeachable offenses.
It also comes one week after Graham seemed to distance himself from the president in response to Trump inciting a violent mob to storm the Capitol.
“All I can say is count me out,” Graham said last week. “Enough is enough.”
The Republican proposal to amend the rule for debate on the article of impeachment has failed, by a vote of 221-205.
The House voted 221-205 to order the previous question on H.Res. 41. https://t.co/KQHegRyHhp
— House Press Gallery (@HouseDailyPress) January 13, 2021
The House is now voting on the rule itself. If it passes, as is expected, that will kick off two hours of debate on the article of impeachment.
Andy Biggs, a Republican congressman of Arizona, is circulating a petition calling on Liz Cheney to resign from her post as House Republican conference chair, according to Axios.
This petition is being sent around by @RepAndyBiggsAZ’s team pic.twitter.com/S3eoLlEYXE
— Alayna Treene (@alaynatreene) January 13, 2021
The petition comes one day after Cheney, the third-ranking House Republican, announced she would support the article of impeachment against Donald Trump.
“The President could have immediately and forcefully intervened to stop the violence. He did not,” Cheney said in a statement explaining her vote. There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution.
“I will vote to impeach the President.”
Senate impeachment trial as soon as this week?
Republican leadership in the US Senate is mulling the possibility of beginning an impeachment trial of Donald Trump as early as Friday if (as appears highly likely) the Democratic Party-dominated House of Representatives approves one article of impeachment, according to a report this morning.
A senior Senate Republican aide, who asked not to be identified, has told the above to the Reuters news agency, and stressed that no decisions had yet been made on whether to take that step.
Updated
Jim Jordan, one of the president’s fiercest congressional allies, said Liz Cheney should be removed as House Republican conference chair for supporting impeachment.
“We ought to have a second vote,” Jordan said, per the Washington Post. “The conference ought to vote on that.”
NEWS: @Jim_Jordan says @Liz_Cheney should be removed as conference chair.
— Mike DeBonis (@mikedebonis) January 13, 2021
"We ought to have a second vote."
"The conference ought to vote on that."
The proposal to oust Cheney for her impeachment vote seems to be at odds with Republicans’ calls for unity and healing after a violent, pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol last week.
Apparently the unity does not apply to House members.
The vote on the rule to set up debate on the article of impeachment is underway, and a number of Republicans are voting by proxy.
The decision is noteworthy because Republican members have criticized House speaker Nancy Pelosi for allowing voting by proxy amid the coronavirus pandemic.
But today, a week after a violent mob stormed the US Capitol, many Republican members are taking the proxy option.
As the vote continues, House members are once again sidestepping the metal detectors that have been set up outside the chamber.
Rep. Bob Gibbs walks right around the metal detector and enters the House floor.
— Matt Fuller (@MEPFuller) January 13, 2021
We’re back to this.
A HuffPost reporter saw three Republican members -- Bob Gibbs, Chip Roy and Garret Graves -- ignore the metal detectors.
Another Republican member, Russ Fulcher, pushed past a cop guarding the metal detectors to gain access to the floor.
The metal detectors were set up yesterday to provide more security on the floor, in response to the violent riot at the Capitol last week, but some Republicans have objected to their use or ignored them entirely.
The House is now voting on the rule to open debate on the article of impeachment, incitement of insurrection, against Donald Trump.
Dozens of Republicans have already voted against the rule, but it is expected to pass with all Democrats’ support.
This is a procedural vote that will allow the House to move on to debate the article of impeachment itself. The final vote on the article will come this afternoon.
A New York Times reporter captured a picture of a group of black National Guard troops posing for a photo with the statue of civil rights leader Rosa Parks in the Capitol’s Statuary Hall.
Taking a photo with the statue of Rosa Parks in Statuary Hall. pic.twitter.com/wUcGRnPFLS
— Emily Cochrane (@ESCochrane) January 13, 2021
The picture resonated with many, given that it was taken just a week after violent rioters (many of whom espoused white supremacist views) stormed the Capitol.
These black service members are now protecting the very lawmakers who were forced to shelter in place because of that mob.
Nancy Mace, a Republican of South Carolina, delivered her first floor speech as a congresswoman moments ago, addressing the article of impeachment against Donald Trump.
“This is not the reason why I wanted to give my first speech in our chambers,” Mace said.
Republican Rep. Nancy Mace, making her first speech on the House floor, argues against Trump's impeachment because it's "rushed" and "there is violence on both sides of the aisle" pic.twitter.com/Ym534qDLbx
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 13, 2021
Mace expressed dismay about the violence at the Capitol last week, saying she was very grateful that she sent her children home before Wednesday because she was worried about the rhetoric she was seeing.
Mace, who has been very critical of Trump and his allies who have echoed his baseless claims of widespread fraud in the presidential election, then went on to argue this impeachment is “rushed,” so she will not be supporting it.
She added that “there is violence on both sides of the aisle.” But the violence last week, which resulted in five deaths, was incited by the president and was carried out by a group of his supporters.
“I hold him accountable for the events that transpired,” Mace said of Trump. And yet ... she is not supporting impeachment.
The Capitol rioter who was photographed wearing a sweatshirt that said “Camp Auschwitz” has been arrested, according to multiple reports.
The rioter was identified as Robert Keith Packer of Virginia.
CNN reports:
An image of Packer inside the Capitol, whose sweatshirt bore the name of the Nazi concentration camp where about 1.1 million people were killed during World War II, has evoked shock and disbelief on social media. The bottom of his shirt stated, ‘Work brings freedom,’ which is the rough translation of the phrase ‘Arbeit macht frei’ that was on the concentration camp’s gates. ...
One Virginia resident, who spoke to CNN on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, described Packer as a long-time extremist who has had run-ins with the law.
‘He’s been always extreme and very vocal about his beliefs,’ the resident said.
House majority leader: Trump's behavior demands 'urgent, clear action by the Congress'
Steny Hoyer, the House majority leader, rejected Republicans’ arguments that a swift impeachment would only further divide the country, after the president incited a violent mob to storm the Capitol.
“There are consequences to actions, and the actions of president of the United States demand urgent, clear action by the Congress of the United States,” Hoyer said.
.@LeaderHoyer: "There are consequences to actions and the actions of president of the United States demand urgent clear action by the Congress of the United States."
— CSPAN (@cspan) January 13, 2021
He then reads impeachment statement from @RepLizCheney. pic.twitter.com/L1fIhCaQbh
Hoyer quoted the five Republican members of Congress who have already said they will support impeachment, including Liz Cheney, the House Republican conference chair.
The majority leader predicted that more Republicans would join them in supporting impeachment when the vote happens this afternoon.
The appearance of National Guard troops at the Capitol this morning is a visceral reminder of the violence that took place last week.
One picture, captured by a New York Times photographer, shows troops resting in a hallway that Nancy Pelosi frequently passes through on her way to her office.
Inside the Capitol this morning where Speaker Pelosi usually walks to her office. pic.twitter.com/BQIEf5b2s4
— Erin Schaff (@erinschaff) January 13, 2021
The plaque next to the troops honors the service members who were quartered in the Capitol during the Civil War.
A CNN reporter shared a tweet comparing photos of troops at the Capitol today to sketches of troops at the Capitol during the Civil War.
Troops quartered in the Capitol, the Civil War vs now. (Photos via @DaniellaMicaela and @ReedReports) pic.twitter.com/DCnR3E9fh2
— Rebecca Buck (@RebeccaBuck) January 13, 2021
Tom Cole, the top Republican on the House rules committee, made a process argument against the second impeachment of Donald Trump.
“This is not the type of robust process we’ve followed for every modern impeachment,” Cole said on the House floor.
The Republican congressman called for “healing” after a violent mob stormed the Capitol, arguing another impeachment would only further divide the nation.
It’s worth noting that last week, Cole supported an objection to counting Arizona and Pennsylvania’s electoral votes for Joe Biden after the violence at the Capitol.
Steny Hoyer, the House majority leader, told NBC News that the chamber would immediately send the impeachment article to the Senate if it passes the House.
.@LeaderHoyer told me Democrats would send impeachment articles to the Senate immediately.
— Leigh Ann Caldwell (@LACaldwellDC) January 13, 2021
There had been discussions among Democrats about holding back the article until their party took control of the Senate, but it seems House leadership decided against that.
The House is now debating the rule to set up the debate on the impeachment article later today, which will precede the vote on the article.
The House is back in session and will debate for up to one hour H.Res. 41 - Rule providing for consideration of H.Res. 24 – Impeaching Donald John Trump, President of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors.
— House Press Gallery (@HouseDailyPress) January 13, 2021
Speaking on the House floor, Jim McGovern, the Democratic chairman of the rules committee, noted that today’s vote is taking place at “an actual crime scene” after a violent mob stormed the Capitol.
McGovern recounted how Donald Trump incited the crowd to attack the Capitol, by encouraging a group of his supporters at a rally to march down Pennsylvania Avenue as Congress certified Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election.
“I saw evil,” McGovern said of the rioters.
Grun Kibben, the House chaplain, reflected on the gravity of the day and the grief of the past week in her opening prayer this morning.
“We stand before you to give account for our role in today’s momentous decisions and our deepest desire to carry out responsibilities to govern, protect and preserve this nation while yet unsettled by the events of this past week,” Kibben said.
The president’s likely impeachment comes exactly one week after he incited a violent, pro-Trump mob to storm the Capitol, resulting in five deaths.
After gaveling in the session, the House immediately went into a brief recess before starting the debate on the article of impeachment.
The final vote on the article, incitement of insurrection, is expected around 3 pm ET.
The article is expected to pass with the support of all Democrats and at least five Republicans, meaning this impeachment (unlike Donald Trump’s first impeachment) will be bipartisan.
House gavels in session to consider article of impeachment
The House has now gaveled in its session to debate and vote on the article of impeachment, incitement of insurrection, against Donald Trump.
Over on Capitol Hill, National Guard troops have been deployed to protect lawmakers and staffers amid the impeachment vote, in response to the violence last week that has left five people dead.
The scene at the Capitol Visitor Center - absolutely filled with National Guard. pic.twitter.com/A9JNT7nwlh
— Grace Segers (@Grace_Segers) January 13, 2021
This is Joan Greve in Washington, taking over for Martin Belam.
The House will soon gavel in its session to consider the article of impeachment against Donald Trump, which charges the president with incitement of insurrection in connection to the violent riot at the Capitol last week.
If the article is approved, as is expected, Trump will become the first president in US history to ever be impeached twice.
The matter will then move on to the Senate, where two-thirds of senators would have to vote to convict Trump to remove him from office.
It currently seems unlikely that the Senate would vote to convict, but reports indicate the Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, has told colleagues he believes Trump has committed impeachable offenses.
It will be quite an interesting day on Capitol Hill, so stay tuned.
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to sweep across the country state and local governments across the US are bracing for severe economic impacts in 2021 that could force layoffs of government employees and swinging cuts to services.
The last few months have offered a more detailed picture of what the pandemic’s economic recession will look like for state and local governments. While some have been spared the doomsday scenarios predicted at the outset of the pandemic, others have been “savaged”. On the line are millions of jobs and drastic cuts to already struggling services in the midst of a national health and economic crisis that is only getting worse.
State and local governments set the budgets for local police and fire departments, public schools, health departments, road constructions and repair, public transportation and many other essential public services. How each state, city or town gets revenue varies widely, though it ultimately is some combination of income, sales and property taxes. No matter what the combination, when the economy is hurting – people are unemployed and are buying less and businesses are closing – state and local governments can take a huge hit.
“There are a lot of state and local governments who are seeing very, very strong impacts, and they’re going to have to make very sizable tax increases or spending cuts, especially at the local level,” said Dan White, director of government consulting and fiscal policy research with Moody’s Analytics, which has estimated that budget deficits will total about $80bn to $100bn even with federal aid from Congress’ stimulus packages.
The outlook for some state governments is not as bad as economists had feared at the beginning of the pandemic. States including California and Virginia have been spared from huge losses, partly because tax revenue in those states have not declined as much as initially expected as people went back to work and wealthier workers continued to work from home.
But other states are looking at huge deficits, some worth billions of dollars, particularly as the industries that they rely on for revenue, like tourism or energy, have declined because of the pandemic.
Read more of Lauren Aratani’s report here: US state and local governments brace for layoffs and cuts due to pandemic
A month after federal regulators ordered it to disclose how its practices affect children and teenagers, TikTok is tightening its privacy practices for the under-18 crowd.
Starting today, the default privacy setting for accounts with users aged 13 to 15 will be private. That means only someone the user approves as a follower can view their videos, which was not the case previously. But teens can still change this setting to public if they want.
Older teenagers won’t see this default setting change. For users aged 16 or 17, the default setting to let people download the videos they created will now be “off,” rather than “on.”
Reuters report that TikTok is also blocking users’ ability to download videos created by those 15 or younger. This age group will also see direct messaging restricted and won’t be able to host live streams. A tool called “family pairing,” meanwhile, lets parents link their TikTok account to their teen’s to enable content and privacy settings.
Last month, the Federal Trade Commission asked TikTok’s parent company, along with Facebook, Twitter, Amazon and five other social media companies to provide detailed information on how they collect and use consumers’ personal data and how their practices affect children and teens.
TikTok users are asked to put in their birthday when they sign up for the service, but, as with other social media platforms, there is no real verification to ensure it is accurate.
The Trump administration was involved in a protracted attempt last year to ban TikTok in the US altogether. The irony that in the end it was the president himself who was banned from most social media services following last week’s assault on the US Capitol has not been lost on many users.
Some truly unprecedented scenes in the US Capitol in the run-up to the inauguration of Joe Biden as president.
Just walked into the Capitol to find literally hundreds of troops napping and lining up in the Congressional Visitor Center— as streets around here are largely blocked.
— Nathaniel Reed (@ReedReports) January 13, 2021
Many are cuddling their firearms, fatigues over their heads to block light, and riot gear in neat piles. pic.twitter.com/vCHAOGMdfA
Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei at Axios have this to say on the strategy of the Republican leadership over the attempt to impeach Donald Trump for a second time:
Top Republicans want to bury president Trump, for good. But they are divided whether to do it with one quick kill via impeachment, or let him slowly fade away.
Sources tell Axios Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell would be more likely than not to vote to convict Trump — a green light for other Republican senators to follow.
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy would love a Trumpless world, but doesn’t want to knife him with fingerprints. This school of thought wants to let Trump do himself in, without a big party fight over his sins and sentence.
The fade-away caucus sees a danger that the impeachment-conviction route is, as a prominent conservative put it, “making him Jesus. ... Truly stupid.”
But an effort by McCarthy to push a lighter punishment for Trump censure has crumbled.
Read more here: Axios – Top Republicans want Trump done — forevermore
Jacob Blake’s uncle, Justin Blake, has written for us today about how there are two justice systems in America:
Last week, I was again reminded that we live under two justice systems. One lets armed white insurrectionists violently attack our nation’s seat of government. Another gasses, beats, and shoots rubber bullets at people defending Black lives. And even though I live nowhere near Washington DC, this is personal for me.
The day before the attempted insurrection at the US Capitol, Rusten Sheskey got off scot-free. He is the Kenosha cop who shot my nephew, Jacob Blake, seven times in the back. The Kenosha district attorney, Michael Gravely, declined to charge Sheskey, and he faces no consequences. Jacob is now permanently paralyzed from the waist down.
Sheskey is just like the thousands of Trump-supporting, white nationalists who laid siege to the US Capitol in broad daylight. They broke windows, stole federal property, and ransacked offices. They endangered lawmakers, their staff, and other employees in the complex. They may have exposed countless people to Covid-19. They had flex cuffs and placed pipe bombs. They were out for blood.
This justice system calls these people “protesters”, and they are protected by the first amendment. Sheskey operates under this justice system, and it is unacceptable. He claimed self-defense after he shot Jacob in the back, in front of his kids, also in broad daylight. No plausible explanation exists for this escalated response.
The fact that the Capitol insurrection and Jacob’s shooting both happened in broad daylight shows how barefaced state-sanctioned violence has become.
Read more here: Justin Blake – There are two justice systems in America. Ask my nephew, Jacob Blake
Megan Rapinoe has spoken on the recent attack on the US Capitol, saying: “This is America. We showed our true colours”. The 35-year old soccer forward opened a media teleconference yesterday with a six-minute exposition on the fractious state of the country in the wake of last week’s siege. She added: “Unleashing a white supremacist mob is nothing new to America”
Sahil Kapur at NBC News says that the decisions Republican lawmakers make in the coming days over the impeachment of Donald Trump “could define the party and shape American democracy for generations to come”. He writes:
The Senate requires a two-thirds majority to convict a president, which will mean at least 17 Republicans would need to join Democrats if the vote is taken after 20 January. That’s a tall order.
The judgment of history looms. And for some who want to make a break from Trump and chart a new path for the Republican Party, time is running short.
“It sure seems like the last best chance to stand up to the guy while it still matters,” said Liam Donovan, a lobbyist and former Republican campaign operative. “Republicans can speak up now or they can follow the path of least resistance, but at some point there will be a reckoning, and it will come at a political cost.”
In Kapur’s analysis, it may come down to the actions of one man:
The outcome may center on Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, a Trump ally who broke with him on 6 January when making an impassioned plea to affirm Joe Biden’s victory. But McConnell’s intentions aren’t clear. His office had no comment Tuesday on impeachment.
Others say his position could determine the outcome. “I think if McConnell supports conviction in the Senate then the votes will be there to convict the president,” said a senior Republican aide, who requested anonymity to speak candidly.
Read more here: NBC News – Trump impeachment may define the Republican Party
President-elect Joe Biden has announced ambassador Samantha Power as his nominee for Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and has also said he will elevate the position to become a member of the National Security Council. Power served in the Obama administration as the US permanent representative to the United Nations.
In a statement, Biden said:
Samantha Power is a world-renowned voice of conscience and moral clarity — challenging and rallying the international community to stand up for the dignity and humanity of all people. I know firsthand the unparalleled knowledge and tireless commitment to principled American engagement she brings to the table, and her expertise and perspective will be essential as our country reasserts its role as a leader on the world stage. As USAID Administrator, Power will be a powerful force for lifting up the vulnerable, ushering in a new era of human progress and development, and advancing American interests globally.
If you’ve got a few minutes to spare, then I can recommend investing a bit of time on this. The Hill this morning have undertaken publishing a 4,500 word “oral history” of last week’s assault on the US Capitol. It takes in words from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and reporters who were there on the day, and some of the quotes bring home the extreme sense of danger that they felt on the day. Here are the words of Colorado’s Rep. Jason Crow:
If there was a plan, that plan had deteriorated, and things were going to get bad quickly. Which they did. I made the decision to call my wife, tell her that I loved her, to pass that along to the kids, and I was preparing to either make a stand or fight our way out, and I would let her know as soon as I could.
Read more here: The Hill – ‘I saw my life flash before my eyes’: An oral history of the Capitol attack
The New York based Human Rights Watch are releasing their annual report today, and head of the group Kenneth Roth has told Reuters that president-elect Joe Biden will need to restore the credibility of the US on human rights at home and abroad.
“Trump has been a complete disaster for human rights, he flouted human rights at home with the fomenting of the 6 January attack on the Capitol being just the latest example of the natural culmination of four years of abuse of democratic principles,” Roth said.
Roth accused Trump of having “cozied up to every friendly autocrat under the sun” while reserving criticism on human rights issues for his “perceived adversaries” - Venezuela, Cuba, Iran, and “sometimes China”.
“But that kind of utterly inconsistent approach had no credibility. There was no force to his criticism when people knew that it was serving another political agenda, not a principled agenda,” he said.
Biden should articulate human rights as a “guiding principle of US foreign policy and then to stick with it, even when that’s difficult”, Roth said.
He urged him to call off arms sales to countries such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Israel and also called for Biden to re-engage with the United Nations’ Human Rights Council, a Geneva forum which Trump quit in June 2018.
In his introductory essay to the World Report 2021, he argues that “The past four years show that Washington is an important but not indispensable leader on human rights. Many other governments treated Trump’s retreat as cause for resolve rather than despair and stepped up to protect human rights.”
So far there are five Republicans in Congress who have come out in support in public of impeaching president Donald Trump. Here is who they are and what they have said:
Rep. John Katko (New York): “By deliberately promoting baseless theories suggesting the election was somehow stolen, the president created a combustible environment of misinformation, disenfranchisement, and division. When this manifested in violent acts on 6 January, he refused to promptly and forcefully call it off, putting countless lives in danger.”
Rep. Liz Cheney (Wyoming): “The president summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack. Everything that followed was his doing. None of this would have happened without the president. The president could have immediately and forcefully intervened to stop the violence. He did not.”
Rep. Fred Upton (Michigan): “I would have preferred a bipartisan, formal censure rather than a drawn-out impeachment process. But it is time to say: Enough is Enough.”
Rep. Herrera Beutler (Washington): “I understand the argument that the best course is not to further inflame the country or alienate Republican voters. But I am a Republican voter. I believe in our Constitution.”
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (Illinois): “There is no doubt in my mind that the president of the United States broke his oath of office and incited this insurrection. He used his position in the Executive to attack the Legislative. So in assessing the articles of impeachment brought before the House, I must consider: if these actions – the Article II branch inciting a deadly insurrection against the Article I branch – are not worthy of impeachment, then what is an impeachable offense?”
A broad coalition of organizations is urging Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to mandate a national moratorium on water and other utility shutoffs on day one in the White House, in order to curtail the spread of Covid-19 and ease the financial burden on struggling Americans.
More than 600 environmental, rights and religious groups will on Wednesday present the incoming Democratic administration with a draft executive order that would impose an immediate nationwide ban on disconnecting essential utilities like water, gas and electricity until at least 12 months after the coronavirus pandemic ends.
The groundswell of pressure comes amid mounting reports of water and energy shutoffs across the country despite Covid cases, hospitalizations and deaths spiralling. A study from Duke University last year found that banning water and utility shutoffs helps reduce the Covid infection rates.
Cutting off access to running water is particularly dangerous as regular handwashing is crucial to minimize the spread of the highly contagious virus.
Yet moratoriums on water shutoffs have so far been patchy and often short lived. Only 20 states banned disconnections last year despite warnings from public health experts, and 11 of these moratoriums have expired. Currently, 56% of Americans – 183m people – are at risk of losing their water supply if they cannot keep up with bill payments.
There is no national watchdog tracking water debt and shutoffs, but at least 226 utilities that issued moratoriums last year have also since let the bans expire, according to analysis by Food and Water Watch (FWW).
“This patchwork of protections has more than half of the country falling through the cracks and vulnerable to water shutoffs during the height of the pandemic. Zip code should not determine access to water. This is a basic matter of public health and humanity,” said Mary Grant, the Public Water For All campaign director from FWW, which is spearheading the campaign for a federal moratorium.
Read more of Nina Lakhani’s report here: Vast coalition calls on Biden to impose national moratorium on water shutoffs
US supreme court reinstates restrictions on abortion pill previously lifted due to Covid
The US supreme court has reinstated a requirement that women visit a hospital or clinic to obtain a drug used for medication-induced abortions, lifting an order by a lower court allowing the drug to be posted or delivered during the coronavirus pandemic.
The justices granted a request by the Trump administration to lift a federal judge’s July order that had suspended the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) rule requiring in-person visits.
The court’s three liberal justices said they would have denied the Trump administration’s request while litigation over the dispute continued in lower courts.
A district judge in Maryland, Theodore Chuang, had ruled that owing to the health risks that Covid-19 poses, the in-person requirements “place a substantial obstacle in the path of women seeking a medication abortion” and likely violate their constitutional rights.
He said the government had also taken actions to, in effect, waive several in-person requirements for dispensing other drugs, including opioids.
The dispute centres on the FDA’s requirement that the drug mifepristone, one of two pills used to perform a medication abortion, be dispensed in-person by a certified prescriber. Medication abortions are approved through the first 10 weeks of pregnancy.
Groups representing tens of thousands of physicians, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, sued the FDA in May, saying that requiring in-person visits to pick up a pill needlessly exposes patients, doctors, and workers to a greater risk of contracting Covid-19.
Read more here: US supreme court reinstates restrictions on abortion pill
Prominent lawyers who helped fuel Donald Trump’s baseless charges of election fraud to try and thwart Joe Biden’s win, are now facing potentially serious legal and financial problems of their own tied to their aggressive echoing of Trump’s false election claims, say former Department of Justice lawyers and legal experts.
They include a federal investigation into the Capitol attack by a pro-Trump mob, possible disbarment and a defamation lawsuit.
Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, who led Trump’s conspiratorial drive to overturn the election and gave an incendiary talk to the Trump rally right before the march on the Capitol began, could be ensnared in a federal probe of the attack and is facing a disbarment complaint in New York.
Pro-Trump lawyers Sidney Powell and Cleta Mitchell have, respectively, been hit with a defamation lawsuit for making false claims, and losing her law firm post after coming under scrutiny for her work promoting Trump’s false claims.
“I never saw allegations of misconduct that I think are as seriously unethical as the conduct of lawyers who have been propounding the false claims of President Trump,” said Mary McCord, who led the DoJ’s national security division at the end of the Obama administration until May 2017, and also served for six years on the DC Circuit’s Grievance Committee.
Giuliani, a former New York mayor and ex federal prosecutor who led Trump’s ad hoc legal team, seems to be the most endangered of Trump’s lawyers.
Without offering evidence, Giuliani told Trump’s Save America rally in DC before the Capitol attack that “I’m willing to stake my reputation, the president is willing to stake his reputation, on the fact that we’re going to find criminality there.” And he pointedly said, “Let’s have trial by combat.”.
The day after the mob attack which led to five deaths, Michael Sherwin, the acting US attorney for Washington DC, publicly launched an investigation into the riot, and signaled he would be looking at numerous participants including instigators which could implicate Trump and Giuliani for their roles in inciting the attack.
McCord said Giuliani seems to have crossed the legal red lines in advising Trump after Giuliani left a detailed voice message at the wrong office for Alabama’s newly elected senator Tommy Tuberville on 6 January about how to “slow down” the electoral college vote.
Read more of Peter Stone’s report here: Lawyers face fallout from fueling Trump’s false claims of election fraud
Michael Kranish writes for the Washington Post overnight about Liz Cheney, the highest ranking Republican yet to come out in favor of impeaching president Donald Trump. He reports:
The decision marked an extraordinary denouement for Cheney and her potentially precarious perch in the party’s leadership. She had feuded for months with Trump and lately had been at odds with the majority of her caucus, even as speculation mounts about whether she might one day seek the speakership. The move was applauded by those in the party who have urged a clean break with Trump.
“It is a remarkable statement that sets a new bar for leadership in the House,” said Brendan Buck, a former aide to House Speaker John A. Boehner. “She is turning the page on Donald Trump. I think she is doing the right thing in her mind, and when you do the right thing for the right reasons you have to hope the politics work out for you.”
He also traced her actions back to a phone call from her father on 6 January:
Cheney was in the House chamber, urging that Republicans reject efforts pushed by Trump and many others in her party to challenge the electoral college results that determined Trump had lost his reelection bid. She did not know she was being attacked by Trump, who was delivering the speech that would incite a mob to storm the Capitol, until her father reached her by phone in the House cloakroom.
“We got to get rid of the weak congresspeople, the ones that aren’t any good, the Liz Cheneys of the world,” Trump said in the speech, singling her out as he urged the mob to march to the Capitol. After being informed of the president’s tirade by her father, Cheney walked out on the House floor, still hoping to stop the effort backed by Trump to overturn the electoral college votes. Then she heard a mob banging on the chamber’s doors and a shot fired, and realized that an attempted insurrection was underway.
Read more here: Washington Post – Before riot, Trump said ‘we got to get rid’ of Rep. Liz Cheney. Now she supports impeaching him.
US sees new record of 4,327 Covid deaths in a single day
According to the figures from the Johns Hopkins university, yesterday the US recorded 215,805 new coronavirus cases, and 4,327 further deaths. This takes the total death toll in the pandemic in the US to 380,485, and marks the highest single daily death figure recorded by the university since the pandemic began. The previous highest figure of 4,194 was recorded on 7 January.
The Covid Tracking Project reports that 131,326 people are currently hospitalized in the US with Covid-19. It is the 42nd day in a row that the figure has exceeded 100,000.
Christina Maxouris at CNN reports that over the past week, the US has averaged more than 3,300 deaths every day, a jump of more than 200% since November. She writes:
Arizona reported a record-high 5,082 hospitalized Covid-19 patients Tuesday and on the same day broke a second record: more than 1,180 patients with the virus in ICU beds. In Louisiana, Gov. John Bel Edwards extended an order which keeps Covid-19 mitigation measures in place for nearly another month, saying the state was seeing a “huge spike” in cases and hospitalizations.
Yesterday the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated that more than 27.6 million vaccine doses have so far been distributed in the US, and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced changes in the distribution plan to try and speed up the roll-out.
Azar said “We are telling states they should open vaccinations to all people 65 and over, and all people under age 65 with a comorbidity with some form of medical documentation.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of the nation’s leading immunologists, said that “When people are ready to get vaccinated, we’re going to move right on to the next level, so that there are not vaccine doses that are sitting in a freezer or refrigerator where they could be getting into people’s arm.”
US carries out first federal execution of a woman in nearly seven decades
Overnight, Kansas woman Lisa Montgomery was executed, the first time in nearly seven decades that the US government has put to death a female inmate.
Montgomery, 52, was pronounced dead at 1.31am after receiving a lethal injection at the federal prison complex in Terre Haute, Indiana. She was the 11th prisoner to receive a lethal injection there since July when Donald Trump, an ardent supporter of capital punishment, resumed federal executions after a 17-year hiatus.
“The craven bloodlust of a failed administration was on full display tonight,” Montgomery’s attorney, Kelley Henry said in a statement. “Everyone who participated in the execution of Lisa Montgomery should feel shame.”
“The government stopped at nothing in its zeal to kill this damaged and delusional woman,” Henry said. “Lisa Montgomery’s execution was far from justice.”
It came after hours of legal wrangling before the supreme court cleared the way for the execution to move forward. Montgomery was the first of the final three federal inmates scheduled to die before next week’s inauguration of president-elect Joe Biden, who is expected to discontinue federal executions.
An appeals court granted Montgomery a stay of execution on Tuesday, shortly after another appeals court lifted an Indiana judge’s ruling that found she was likely mentally ill and couldn’t comprehend she would be put to death. But both appeals were lifted, allowing the execution of the only female on federal death row to go forward.
Montgomery killed 23-year-old Bobbie Jo Stinnett in the north-west Missouri town of Skidmore in 2004. She used a rope to strangle Stinnett, who was eight months pregnant, and then cut the baby girl from the womb with a kitchen knife. Montgomery took the child with her and attempted to pass the girl off as her own.
Ed Pilkington wrote for us last week about the background story to Lisa Montgomery’s life: ‘A lifetime of torture’: the story of the woman Trump is rushing to execute
Nancy Pelosi accused Donald Trump of associating himself with sedition and treason in a strong statement yesterday calling for the removal of the president through impeachment after a failed call for enactment of the 25th amendment.
The final vote on Tuesday night was 223 to 205, with only one Republican backing the non-binding resolution that asked Mike Pence, the vice-president, to declare Trump ‘incapable’ under the 25th amendment.
The vote was largely symbolic, since Pence had already said he would not do so, arguing he did not believe “such a course of action is in the best interest of our nation or consistent with our constitution” and warned that efforts to remove Trump from office risked “further divide and inflame the passions of the moment”.
Welcome to our live coverage of US politics for Wednesday, when the House of Representatives is expected to vote to impeach president Donald Trump for a historic second time.
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The House voted to formally call on the vice-president, Mike Pence, to invoke the 25th amendment and strip Donald Trump of his presidential authority. Only one Republican backed the measure and Pence has rejected the call.
- It will now move forward with impeachment. A single article charges Trump with “incitement of insurrection,” and directly quotes the president’s speech to supporters at the rally near the White House on 6 January.
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Four Republican representatives, including third-ranking GOP member Liz Cheney, have said they’ll vote to impeach Trump. “The president of the United States summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack,” Cheney said.
- Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell has told colleagues that he believes Trump committed impeachable offenses, according to the New York Times.
- Representatives for the FBI and the justice department said more than 160 case files have been opened in connection to last week’s violence at the Capitol.
- The US military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff put out a rare message to service members saying the pro-Trump mob attack on the US Capitol last week was an assault on America’s constitutional process and against the law.
- There were 215,805 new cases of coronavirus recorded in the US yesterday, and 4,327 further deaths. It is the highest daily death count recorded by the Johns Hopkins university since the pandemic began.
- The US carried out the first federal execution of a woman in nearly seven decades. Lisa Montgomery was pronounced dead early in the morning after supreme court cleared the path for her death.
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