Democrats poised to impeach defiant Trump over storming of U.S. Capitol

[webfact]

Democrats poised to impeach defiant Trump over storming of U.S. Capitol

By Richard Cowan and Susan Cornwell

 

A mob of supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump storm the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, U.S., January 6, 2021. REUTERS/Leah Millis

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A fiery debate opened in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday over a Democratic-led effort to remove President Donald Trump from office for inciting supporters who stormed the Capitol last week, while Trump denied any wrongdoing.

 

Democrats pushed Republican lawmakers to disavow Trump's false allegation that President-elect Joe Biden's victory in the Nov. 3 election was illegitimate - the claim that enraged Trump's supporters and prompted the violence in Washington that killed five including a police officer.

 

Republicans refused to concede the point and said their unsuccessful effort last week to challenge the results of the election was justified. But in a sign of divisions within the party, House Republican leaders have decided not to lobby their members against voting for impeachment, two House leadership aides told Reuters, leaving the decision to each lawmaker's conscience.

 

Making his first public appearance since last Wednesday's riot, Trump defended the remarks he made to supporters at a rally before they stormed the seat of Congress and also lambasted Democrats for pushing ahead with a drive to impeach him for an unprecedented second time.

 

Democrats will give President Donald Trump one last chance on Tuesday to leave office just over a week before his term expires or face an unprecedented second impeachment over his supporters' deadly Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol. This report produced by Jillian Kitchener.

 

"What I said was totally appropriate," Trump told reporters as he left for a trip to the U.S.-Mexico border wall near Alamo, Texas, his first public foray since the assault on the Capitol. "I want no violence."

 

The Republican president did not answer a reporter's question about whether he would resign.

 

The Democratic-controlled House plans to vote as soon as Wednesday on an article of impeachment charging Trump with inciting insurrection unless he resigns or Vice President Mike Pence moves to oust him under a provision in the U.S. Constitution.

 

The House will vote later on Tuesday on a resolution calling on Pence, a Republican, to invoke Section 4 of the 25th Amendment, a never-before used power that allows a majority of the Cabinet to strip the president of power if he or she is deemed unable to discharge the office's duties.

 

Pence advisers say he is opposed to the idea, and Trump told reporters in Texas he was not worried about the prospect.

 

"The 25th Amendment is of zero risk to me," Trump said, standing in front of a section of the Mexico border wall in Texas.

 

With only eight days left in Trump's term, chances the Democratic push will result in his removal before Biden takes office on Jan. 20 appear remote. But Democrats say Trump's actions demand a response.

 

"Our nation, our democracy and our freedom cannot risk another day of the Trump presidency," said Representative Jim McGovern, the chairman of the House Rules Committee.

 

Democrats could also use an impeachment trial to push through a vote blocking Trump from running for office again.

 

PARTISAN BATTLE LINES

At a Rules Committee session setting the timeline and procedures for Tuesday's debate, lawmakers previewed the potentially emotional battle over the resolution with angry exchanges over Republican efforts to cast doubt on Biden's sweeping election win.

 

McGovern challenged Republican Representative Jim Jordan, a staunch Trump ally who received a Presidential Medal of Freedom from the president on Monday, to declare that Biden won "fair and square and the election was not stolen."

 

Jordan refused to utter those words and defended his challenges to the Electoral College result saying: "I followed the process the Constitution prescribes" when there are concerns over a state's election results.

 

"I am stunned that after all that has happened we cannot get a definitive answer," McGovern responded as the two lawmakers sparred and talked over each other.

 

If Trump has not stepped down and Pence has not taken action by Wednesday, Democratic leaders plan to bring impeachment to the House floor.

   

REPUBLICAN CENSURE

U.S. Representative Tom Reed, a moderate Republican, wrote in a New York Times op-ed that he and House colleagues would introduce a censure resolution against Trump on Tuesday as an alternative to a "rushed, divisive" impeachment.

 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the top congressional Democrat, told Democratic members on a conference call on Monday that a censure "would be an abdication of our responsibility," according to a source familiar with the call.

 

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, has said no trial could begin until the chamber returns from its recess on Jan. 19.

 

But Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who is set to become the majority leader after two Democrats from Georgia are seated and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris is sworn in, told reporters the Senate could be recalled to handle the matter.

 

Top Democrats are still debating whether it would be better to send the impeachment charge against Trump to the Senate immediately on passing it or wait to give Biden time to work with senators to confirm his nominees and pass priority legislation before setting off a fresh partisan brawl.

 

A Senate conviction requires a two-thirds majority of those present, which means at least 17 Republicans would have to break with a president who has maintained an iron grip over his party for four years. An impeachment trial also could proceed even after Trump leaves office.

 

The president's actions have driven a wedge among Republicans, with a handful of lawmakers either calling for him to step down immediately or saying they will consider supporting impeachment.

 

Impeachment appears likely to pass the House. The lawmakers who drafted the formal charge say at least 218 of the 222 Democrats in the chamber already support it.

 

The House impeached Trump in December 2019 for pressuring Ukraine's president to investigate Biden, but the Republican-controlled Senate acquitted him in February 2020.

 

Only two other U.S. presidents have been impeached.

 

After last week's chaos, authorities are hardening security ahead of Biden's inauguration, which has already been dramatically scaled back due to the coronavirus pandemic.

 

(Reporting by Richard Cowan and Andrea Shalal; Additional reporting by Susan Cornwell, David Morgan, Doina Chiacu and Steve Holland; Writing by John Whitesides; Editing by Scott Malone, Paul Simao and Peter Cooney)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2021-01-13

 

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[sirineou]

At least three Republicans in the house of representatives have announced that they will vote to impeach. 

I am sure more to come. 

[Whale]

I was hoping after the 20th we could just forget he even existed. Do they really want to keep him the news as the headline?

[Sujo]

5 minutes ago, Whale said:

I was hoping after the 20th we could just forget he even existed. Do they really want to keep him the news as the headline?

If it banishes him out of politics and into jail then yes. He should face the consequences. Law and order and all that jazz.

[scorecard]

Can one or more of our US TV members confirm that an impeachment action can continue after he leaves office and to a conclusion.

 

In other words he could be impeached after he's left office?

 

Which in my understanding would mean he would be barred from running again. True?

[Jeffr2]

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/12/politics/mcconnell-impeachment-trump-capitol-riot/index.html

 

Quote

McConnell believes impeachment push will help rid Trump from the GOP, but has not said if he will vote to convict

 

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has indicated that he believes that impeaching President Donald Trump will make it easier to get rid of the President and Trumpism from the Republican Party, according to a source with knowledge of the matter.

 

[mtls2005]

Fauci Says Immunity from Trump Requires Two Doses of Impeachment

 

“One impeachment was a good start, but it didn’t get it done,” the esteemed virologist said.

 

By Andy Borowitz

[mtls2005]

Liz Cheney to vote for regime change...

 

"On January 6, 2021 a violent mob attacked the United States Capitol to
obstruct the process of our democracy and stop the counting of
presidential electoral votes. This insurrection caused injury, death and
destruction in the most sacred space in our Republic. 

 

"Much more will become clear in coming days and weeks, but what we know now is enough. The President of the United States 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. 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."

 

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/12/liz-cheney-trump-impeachment-statement-458394

[Chomper Higgot]

46 minutes ago, scorecard said:

Can one or more of our US TV members confirm that an impeachment action can continue after he leaves office and to a conclusion.

 

In other words he could be impeached after he's left office?

 

Which in my understanding would mean he would be barred from running again. True?

Impeachment takes place in Congress, the impeachment trial takes place in the Senate.

 

Trump can be impeached (already is impeached once) and the Senate trial can take place after the election.

 

However, it might not come to that.

 

Mitch McConnell is signaling his support for impeachment (because it would be good for the GOP). Republican Senators are staying they will vote to impeach.

 

Following the attack on the Capitol, corporate donors are withdrawing their support from the GOP and very specifically from those Republicans who voted against certification of the election result.

 

Trump is already talking about continuing his political involvement after he leaves office, if not a GOP candidate (see donor withdrawals) he would have to stand as an independent and would then be a direct threat to the GOP.

 

Impeachment will bar him from office.

 

We have an interesting week ahead of us.

 

[cmarshall]

1 hour ago, scorecard said:

Can one or more of our US TV members confirm that an impeachment action can continue after he leaves office and to a conclusion.

 

In other words he could be impeached after he's left office?

 

Which in my understanding would mean he would be barred from running again. True?

 

Probably he can be impeached or tried in the Senate after he has left office.  Apparently, that has been done to a judge years ago.  There is some opinion against that option.  So, the best course of action is to impeach, convict him in the Senate, remove him from office, and disqualify him for future office.  But that would require McConnell to call the Senate back into session very soon.  Could happen.  McConnell is apparently now on board with impeachment.  The Rs see this as their chance to get rid of Trump

.

[Tug]

1 hour ago, Whale said:

I was hoping after the 20th we could just forget he even existed. Do they really want to keep him the news as the headline?

Unfortunately after what he instigated on the 6th we must continue to push him out then try and hopefully prison along with the rest of the elected officials who enabled and supported his trying to destroy our democracy what a epic failure of a president 

[cmarshall]

42 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Impeachment takes place in Congress, the impeachment trial takes place in the Senate.

 

Trump can be impeached (already is impeached once) and the Senate trial can take place after the election.

 

However, it might not come to that.

 

Mitch McConnell is signaling his support for impeachment (because it would be good for the GOP). Republican Senators are staying they will vote to impeach.

 

Following the attack on the Capitol, corporate donors are withdrawing their support from the GOP and very specifically from those Republicans who voted against certification of the election result.

 

Trump is already talking about continuing his political involvement after he leaves office, if not a GOP candidate (see donor withdrawals) he would have to stand as an independent and would then be a direct threat to the GOP.

 

Impeachment will bar him from office.

 

We have an interesting week ahead of us.

 

 Impeachment CAN bar him from office if he is convicted in the Senate and the Senate takes the extra vote to disqualify him from future office holding.

[Chomper Higgot]

49 minutes ago, Tug said:

Unfortunately after what he instigated on the 6th we must continue to push him out then try and hopefully prison along with the rest of the elected officials who enabled and supported his trying to destroy our democracy what a epic failure of a president 

There’s more to come:

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-55625707

[Tug]

Another house republican signed on for impeachment and Mitch McConnell is on board over in the senate it’s gathering steam!

[cmarshall]

2 minutes ago, Tug said:

Another house republican signed on for impeachment and Mitch McConnell is on board over in the senate it’s gathering steam!

But it doesn't mean anything unless McConnell joins with Schumer to call the Senate back into session to try Trump under the articles of impeachment.  Jury is still out.

[J Town]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Republicans refused to concede the point [to disavow Trump's false allegation that President-elect Joe Biden's victory in the Nov. 3 election was illegitimate] and said their unsuccessful effort last week to challenge the results of the election was justified.

In light of all we know now, this is an indefensible stance. They are STILL saying the election was stolen!

[tifino]

why not just wait'n'see whether or not the response requires more than 70 million pairs of handcuffs to weather the storm? 

[heybruce]

To paraphrase Sir Humphrey https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/to-lose-one-cabinet-minister-may-be-considered.97861/  :  To be impeached once may be considered misfortune, to be impeached twice looks like justice.

[Berkshire]

6 hours ago, cmarshall said:

 

Probably he can be impeached or tried in the Senate after he has left office.  Apparently, that has been done to a judge years ago.  There is some opinion against that option.  So, the best course of action is to impeach, convict him in the Senate, remove him from office, and disqualify him for future office.  But that would require McConnell to call the Senate back into session very soon.  Could happen.  McConnell is apparently now on board with impeachment.  The Rs see this as their chance to get rid of Trump

.

I really think there's a good chance of conviction in the Senate this time around.  Mitch is pretty fed up with Trump.  Not only for the insurrection last week, but for losing the 2 senate seats in Georgia.  Both are on Trump.  More than anyone, Mitch wants Trump out of the GOP forever.  McConnell actually has a pretty good relationship with Biden.  And both actually want a strong and viable Republican party.  That can't happen until Trump is gone and gone for good.

[heybruce]

37 minutes ago, Berkshire said:

I really think there's a good chance of conviction in the Senate this time around.  Mitch is pretty fed up with Trump.  Not only for the insurrection last week, but for losing the 2 senate seats in Georgia.  Both are on Trump.  More than anyone, Mitch wants Trump out of the GOP forever.  McConnell actually has a pretty good relationship with Biden.  And both actually want a strong and viable Republican party.  That can't happen until Trump is gone and gone for good.

This supports my opinion that McConnell is a shameless opportunist, and a vindictive one at that.  However if these qualities work in favor of protecting the US Constitution and government from even more shameless opportunistic autocrats, it's wise to take advantage of them.

[Berkshire]

5 minutes ago, heybruce said:

This supports my opinion that McConnell is a shameless opportunist, and a vindictive one at that.  However if these qualities work in favor of protecting the US Constitution and government from even more shameless opportunistic autocrats, it's wise to take advantage of them.

I'm not a big fan of Mitch.  Especially during the Trump era.  But as they say, "the enemy of my enemy...." 

[vandeventer]

9 hours ago, sirineou said:

At least three Republicans in the house of representatives have announced that they will vote to impeach. 

I am sure more to come. 

So I could most likely get 3 democrats to vote for not impeaching him. He did nothing wrong!

[Berkshire]

3 minutes ago, vandeventer said:

So I could most likely get 3 democrats to vote for not impeaching him. He did nothing wrong!

Trump will be impeached....again.  That's nearly certain.  The only question is what will happen in the Senate. 

[heybruce]

9 minutes ago, vandeventer said:

So I could most likely get 3 democrats to vote for not impeaching him. He did nothing wrong!

He did nothing wrong?  He excited the mob, encouraged them to march on the Capitol building, refused to authorize use of the National Guard after the Capitol Police were overwhelmed, then expressed love for the mob when asking them to go home.

 

If you think all these things are nothing, you are in serious denial of reality.  I doubt that you will find three Democratic Senators in similar denial.

[Jeffr2]

13 minutes ago, vandeventer said:

So I could most likely get 3 democrats to vote for not impeaching him. He did nothing wrong!

Yeah, only incited some 10-20k domestic terrorists to go to the capitol and commit violence.  Trolling as usual.

[Sujo]

More impeachments than terms. Hahaha.

[Eric Loh]

4 minutes ago, Sujo said:

More impeachments than terms. Hahaha.

No US President has ever been impeached twice. 4 impeachments in US history and he owns 2. ????

[Sujo]

6 minutes ago, Eric Loh said:

No US President has ever been impeached twice. 4 impeachments in US history and he owns 2. ????

so much winning.

 

I do hope jnr and rudy get charged for inciting a riot. Extra icing on the cake.

[heybruce]

14 minutes ago, Eric Loh said:

No US President has ever been impeached twice. 4 impeachments in US history and he owns 2. ????

And in just one term.  Nixon and Clinton needed two terms to get one impeachment.

[Sujo]

55 minutes ago, vandeventer said:

So I could most likely get 3 democrats to vote for not impeaching him. He did nothing wrong!

off you go then. Tell trump to get them.