House impeaches Trump for role in deadly Capitol riot

The House voted today to impeach President Trump for a second time in a swift and bipartisan condemnation of the President’s role in inciting last week’s riot at the US Capitol.

In case you missed today’s events, here’s what you need to know:

About the vote: The House voted 232 to 197 to impeach Trump exactly one week after rioters forced lawmakers to flee from the very chamber in which they cast ballots in during the fourth presidential impeachment in US history. This is the first time a President has been impeached twice. See a full breakdown of the vote here.

Republicans also voted to impeach Trump: Ten Republicans, including the House’s No. 3 Republican, Liz Cheney of Wyoming, joined all Democrats to impeach Trump for “incitement of insurrection.” Cheney’s statement was cited by impeachment supporters and detractors alike Wednesday after she charged that Trump “summoned this mob, assembled the mob and lit the flame of this attack.”

Trump delivers remarks about the Capitol attack: After the House vote, Trump released a video statement calling for calm as the threat of new riots — which the President said he’d been briefed on by the Secret Service — casts a pall over Washington. Trump did not mention the historic impeachment that had occurred a few hours earlier.

President-elect Joe Biden’s message to Congress: In a statement, the President-elect noted that “it was a bipartisan vote cast by members who followed the Constitution and their conscience,” before turning to the pandemic. “This nation also remains in the grip of a deadly virus and a reeling economy,” Biden said. “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.”

What’s next: While impeachment won’t force Trump from office — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is not planning to bring the Senate back for a trial before Jan. 19, meaning the trial won’t begin until Trump is out of office and Biden has been sworn in. The majority leader said in a statement following the vote that a trial could not be completed ahead of Biden’s inauguration even if it started beforehand, and he wanted Congress and the executive branch to spend the next week focused on “facilitating a safe inauguration and an orderly transfer of power.”

Irritated over a second impeachment, President Trump has told people to stop paying Rudy Giuliani’s legal fees, a person familiar with the matter tells CNN, though aides were not clear if the President was serious about his instructions. 

Trump has been blaming his longtime attorney and many others for the predicament he now finds himself in, though he has not personally accepted any responsibility in public or in private, people familiar with his reaction told CNN. Giuliani is still expected to play a role in Trump’s impeachment defense but has been left out of most conversations thus far. 

Another source of Trump’s ire is Rep. Kevin McCarthy, who incensed Trump further today by saying he bears responsibility for last week’s riot. The President had already been upset with McCarthy after the left the option of censuring Trump on the table in a letter to colleagues earlier this week.

The details about Giuliani’s legal fees were first reported by the Washington Post.

US intelligence officials have warned that last Wednesday’s attack on the US Capitol by supporters of President Trump will likely motivate additional follow-up attacks by extremists throughout 2021, according to an intelligence bulletin dated Wednesday and obtained by CNN.

Warning that the people who attacked the Capitol largely viewed their efforts as a success, the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and Office of the Director of National Intelligence said the attack “very likely will serve as a significant driver of violence” for a diverse set of domestic extremists, according to the bulletin. 

The bulletin added follows reporting this week that extremists were emboldened by the attack and that “chatter is off the charts right now,” the bulletin said.

“The violent breach of the US Capitol Building is very likely part of an ongoing trend in which [extremists] exploit lawful protests, rallies, and demonstrations, and other gatherings to carry out ideologically-motivated violence and criminal activity,” the intelligence bulletin warned. 

More details: The range of potential future targets of attack was varied, with intelligence officials warning in the bulletin that extremists could zero in on government officials and institutions, as well as racial and religious minorities, journalists, and members of the LGBTQ+ community.

The bulletin also indicated that the Jan. 6 attack may have served as a venue for extremists of differing ideological motivations to foster connections.

In addition to the perceived success of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, intelligence officials warned that the response by law enforcement could also motivate extremists to respond with violence, including at the upcoming Jan. 20 inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.

“Since the [Capitol attack], violent online rhetoric regarding the [inauguration] has increased, with some calling for unspecified ‘justice’” for a rioter shot by police inside the Capitol, the bulletin said. 

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam castigated rioters who stormed the US Capitol on Jan. 6 and said their actions were “egged on from conspiracy theories and lies from a president who could not accept losing.”

“Their goal was simple: overturn a legal and fair election,” Northam said Wednesday during his annual State of the Commonwealth address. “Those were scenes I don’t believe any of us ever expected to see in our lifetime. But none of that just happened. None of it was an accident and nothing about it was spontaneous.”

Northam thanked state troopers and the Virginia National Guard, both of which were among the first law enforcement agencies to respond to the riots.

“These men and women dropped everything and raced to defend our country’s temple of democracy,” he said. “While others hesitated, Virginians were first on the scene. It made me proud to see that line of state police cars racing across the 14th Street Bridge.”

Northam also took a moment of silence to honor the memory of Capitol Police officers Brian Sicknick and Howard Liebengood, both of whom died in the aftermath of the riots.

Despite the incident, Northam expressed optimism for the country as it moved forward from the incident.

“Americans are better than this and I pray that we all can summon the better angels of our nature in this new year,” he said.

President-elect Joe Biden released a statement Wednesday night in reaction to the House’s impeachment of President Trump, reiterating his expressed hope that the Senate will be able to carry out their regular legislative duties while dealing with impeachment responsibilities.

“This nation also remains in the grip of a deadly virus and a reeling economy,” Biden says. “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.” 

While not stating his position either way, Biden stated that the violence at the Capitol was incited by the President, saying it “was carried out by political extremists and domestic terrorists, who were incited to this violence by President Trump.” 

Biden added: “From confirmations to key posts such as Secretaries for Homeland Security, State, Defense, Treasury, and Director of National Intelligence, to getting our vaccine program on track, and to getting our economy going again. Too many of our fellow Americans have suffered for too long over the past year to delay this urgent work.”

Jonathan Fahey is resigning as acting US Immigration and Customs Enforcement director just weeks after assuming the post, according to a Department of Homeland Security official. 

Fahey’s departure is the latest in a string of leadership changes at the Department of Homeland Security and the most recent acting ICE director to step down.

Last month, Fahey’s predecessor, Tony Pham, departed. Pham had assumed the post last August. 

It’s unclear what prompted Fahey’s departure. 

House Majority Whip James Clyburn said Wednesday that “there’s a good chance that there will be a conviction in the Senate” of President Trump after he was impeached for the second time in the House.

“I think that Mitch McConnell and a few others recognize that that’s the quickest way to get him out of their hair so-to-speak,” Clyburn told CNN’s Erin Burnett. “So these articles will go over there. There will be people who will conduct the trial. Our managers will do a good job of that. They don’t have to do a good job, to tell you the truth. Just put up the videos and bring in the people who are the recipients of these phone calls. I think there will be enough on the record and so, he could very well get a conviction.”

On the timing of the impeachment trial, the Democratic lawmaker said that he wouldn’t want to see the proceedings interfere with President-elect Joe Biden’s first 100 days in office. 

“I do really feel that we ought to do what’s necessary for this man not to ever run again,” Clyburn said. “But we need to do what is necessary for people’s lives to get this stored as soon as possible. I wouldn’t want to see an impeachment trial postponed that for too long.”

More context: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has signaled that he’s in favor of impeachment, a GOP source says, but he’s made it clear that the Senate trial won’t start until Biden is sworn in.

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President-elect Joe Biden has made clear he’s not particularly enthusiastic for President Trump’s impeachment. And now, roughly three hours after the House vote was becoming clear, he is still silent on the historic action.

Aides said Biden is still planning to release a statement tonight on the Trump impeachment, but the timing certainly underscores that the Biden team has other priorities today.

The reality is that impeachment will now be one more thing Biden inherits from the Trump presidency.

Biden is still awaiting word on whether the Senate will be able to conduct an impeachment, alongside Cabinet confirmation hearings and Covid legislation he plans to outline in greater detail on Thursday evening.

Aides say Biden and his team are working behind the scenes with Senate Democrats – and House impeachment managers – to keep the impeachment trial as swift as possible, although it remains an open question tonight how successful that might be.

President Trump has been permanently banned from Snapchat, according to a statement by the platform. 

 “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 Snapchat spokesperson said.

“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,” the spokesperson added.

Some background: Facebook has suspended Trump’s account “indefinitely,” while Twitter has banned Trump completely.

On Tuesday, YouTube announced that it was suspending Trump’s channel for at least one week, and potentially longer, after his channel earned a strike under the platform’s policies.

President Trump was briefed by federal officials on Monday regarding possible threats to Washington, DC, and state capitols ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, an official said.

Trump cited the briefings in his video condemning violence tonight.

An official said the briefings played a role in his decision to record the video. 

Moments after President Trump released a new video Wednesday, denouncing the violence at the US Capitol building last week, CNN’s John King said it was a good message, but asked, “Where was that one week ago today?”

“Where was that one week ago today when thousands of his supporters acting on his words went to the United States Capitol and the leader of the House Republicans, Kevin McCarthy, others were calling him saying, ‘Mr. President, deliver a statement, go public, go on camera, tell your people to back down, tell your people to stand down, tell your people to go home.’”

King added that his message to his supporters was a “strongly worded statement” that left little ambiguity, but fell flat when compared to his past comments about the riot.   

“He says in this statement, ‘Like all of you I was shocked and deeply saddened by the calamity at the Capitol last week,’” King said. “No. He said nothing about it at the moment when people were begging him to stand down. Then he called them patriots and he said he loved them. He’s on the record. That’s on camera. In his statements. Those are his own words.”

King went on to say it was a responsible statement from the President, but reiterated that the sentiment was too late to have an impact.

“It would have been nice to get it a week ago,” King said. “It would have been nice to get it after Charlottesville. It would have been nice to get it at other moments where the President has encouraged his supporters. For this President to say it’s time to rise above the rancor and find common ground, he has often caused the rancor and disrupted any efforts at common ground. Again, it is a very welcome statement in a vacuum.”

Watch King’s remarks:

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House impeachment managers are just starting to lay out their strategy for the case they plan to bring against President Trump in the Senate and are wary about stepping on Joe Biden’s first days of his presidency.

Several managers told CNN that decisions have not been made over whether to seek witnesses and attempt to subpoena documents for the trial; doing so could prolong the trial.

With Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell indicating he’s in no rush to bring the Senate back early into session, House managers have more time to begin their strategy sessions, which will be led by Rep. Jamie Raskin.

Raskin told CNN that they are still assessing whether to seek witnesses.

One possible witness: Brad Raffensperger, Georgia secretary of state, given that the article of impeachment references Trump’s pressure campaign against the official to “find” the votes necessary to overturn Biden’s win in the state.

Asked if Raffensperger would be called as a witness, Rep. Madeleine Dean, the impeachment manager, said she didn’t “want to preview” the case and they were only just beginning organizational meetings.

Democrats, though, seem to be wary about starting the trial on the same day Biden is sworn into office. 

“Certainly not,” she said when asked if it would be a good idea to start on Jan. 20. “The president and vice president deserve [their day].. We have to restore a peaceful transfer of power which Donald Trump deliberately incited people against.”

FBI Director Chris Wray, Deputy Director David Bowdich, and other federal officials held a call Wednesday with nationwide law enforcement leaders to provide a briefing on the national threat picture relating to planned protests around the country, according to a person briefed on the call. 

The source said the FBI briefed their law enforcement partners on intelligence reporting indicating protesters planned to conduct “peaceful, armed demonstrations” in Washington, DC, and at state capitols around the country on Jan. 17 to protest the results of the 2020 election. The FBI indicated federal law enforcement is currently working to identify any suspected extremists who may pose a threat at the planned armed demonstrations. 

On the call, FBI officials said they remain concerned about the prospect of extremists appearing at planned rallies and conducting violence, the source said.

As previously reported, an internal FBI bulletin disseminated to law enforcement warned that “armed protests” were being planned at all 50 state capitols and the US Capitol in Washington in the days leading up to President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20.

An FBI spokesperson did not immediately respond to a CNN request for comment.

As President Trump made history tonight as the only US president to be impeached twice, one White House adviser said “everybody’s angry at everyone” inside the White House, with the President being upset because he thinks people aren’t defending him enough.

“He’s in self-pity mode,” the source said.

The view among many close to Trump is “his actions led to here, no one else,” adding, “he instigated a mob to charge on the Capitol building to stop decertification, he’s not going to find a lot of sympathetic Republicans.”

During the last impeachment effort, Trump allies in and out of the White House publicly defended him and sent out talking points throughout the impeachment proceeding. 

Today, it was the President who was left to fend for himself at the White House, releasing a statement first given to Fox News denouncing further violence, followed by a five-minute video that struck a very different tone than his first message following the attack on the Capitol last week. Aides scrambled to find a way to release the video, worried that even a contrite Trump might have his videos taken down. 

Also, there was no organized effort to send out talking points, unlike his first impeachment. 

Many White House staffers have left or resigned since the riots, including Trump’s once longtime confidante Hope Hicks. Another person close to the White House said “he’s been holed up in the residence, that’s never a good thing.

“He’s by himself, not a lot of people to bounce ideas off of, whenever that happens he goes to his worst instincts. Now that Twitter isn’t available God only knows what the outlet will be,” the source said.

One outlet Trump is focused on is wielding what power he has left: pardons. Multiple sources told CNN the next batch of pardons could come as soon as Thursday, in part to distract from the current narrative.

One of the sources also noted that Trump was planning to give New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick the Presidential Medal of Freedom honor tomorrow, but Belichick refused. Announcing some pardons could replace that, especially if there are some high-profile ones.

Moving forward: Another question that lingers is whether Trump will pardon himself and his children. 

One person close to Trump believes it’s a bad idea for him to pardon himself and his kids in the wake of the riots, but that he wants to exercise what remaining power he has.

President Trump in a video message Wednesday did not acknowledge his second impeachment, instead calling for peace and claiming that those who mobbed the Capitol last week are not his “true” supporters. 

“Mob violence goes against everything I believe in and everything our movement stands for,” Trump said in the video, without taking any responsibility for his own actions that led to last week’s events.

“No true supporters of mine could ever endorse political violence. No true supporter of mine could disrespect law enforcement or our great American flag. No true supporter of mine could ever threaten or harass their fellow Americans. If you do any of these things, you are not supporting our movement- you are attacking it. And you are attacking our country. We cannot tolerate it,” Trump said of those who mobbed the Capitol last Wednesday wearing his name on their shirts and waving MAGA flags.

Trump also claimed there was an “unprecedented assault” on free speech, referencing social media companies that have banned him in recent days.

Some context: The video comes in stark contrast to his first message about the riots which he released hours after the incursion.

He addressed the protesters in that video saying, “We love you” and “You’re very special.”

Later, he seemed to justify the actions in a tweet, writing, “These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away.”

Many social media companies have since banned the President from using their platforms and his personal Twitter account has been taken down permanently. 

Watch:

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Rep. Peter Meijer, just one of 10 Republicans to vote to impeach President Trump a second time, said it’s not too late for his colleagues to come clean with their constituents about President Trump’s loss to President-elect Joe Biden in the 2020 election. 

“It’s never too late to have folks tell their supporters, people who trusted them, tell them the truth,” Meijer told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. 

“We need to get past this big lie that this was a stolen election,” he continued.

“This wasn’t a landslide re-election for Donald Trump. This wasn’t a stolen election. None of those claims played out in court and it’s time we settle that once and for all because unless we come to that shared reality then we’re not going to be able to fully heal from this moment,” Meijer said.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi briefly addressed reporters before she signed the article of impeachment against President Trump, for a second time, following the bipartisan House vote.

“Today, in a bipartisan way the House demonstrated that no one is above the law, not even the President of the United States. That Donald Trump is a clear and present danger to our country and that once again we honor our oath of office to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, so help us God. And now, I sadly and with a heart broken over what this means to our country, of a president who would incite insurrection, will sign the engrossment of the article of impeachment,” Pelosi said.

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Lead impeachment manager Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Democrat from Maryland, told CNN it was still uncertain how many witnesses they would seek and how long of a trial it would be.

House Democratic impeachment managers are now meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

“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,” Raskin said.

Former FBI Director James Comey today said the evidence he has seen so far suggests the attack on the Capitol was an organized conspiracy.

“There’s no doubt there were at least some conspiracy,” Comey told CNN’s Jake Tapper this afternoon. 

“People wandering around exercising First Amendment rights don’t bring ropes and ladders and sledgehammers to a spontaneous event,” continued Comey. “This was a planned assault like going after a castle.”

Comey’s remarks came just moments after CNN reported emerging evidence was leading law enforcement officials to believe the attack was premeditated rather than a protest that spiraled out of control.

Among the evidence the FBI is examining are indications that some participants at the Trump rally at the Ellipse, outside the White House, left the event early, perhaps to retrieve items to be used in the assault on the Capitol.

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Evidence uncovered so far, including weapons and tactics seen on surveillance video, suggests a level of planning that has led investigators to believe the attack was not just a protest that spiraled out of control, a federal law enforcement official says. 

Among the evidence the FBI is examining are indications that some participants at the Trump rally at the Ellipse, outside the White House, left the event early, perhaps to retrieve items to be used for the assault on the Capitol. 

A team of investigators and prosecutors are focused on the command and control aspect of the attack, looking at travel and communications records to determine if they can build a case that is similar to a counterterrorism investigation, the official said. 

The belief, early in the probe, will demand significant investigation. 

The presence of corruption prosecutors and agents is in part because of their expertise in financial investigations. 

By Wednesday morning, the FBI reported that it had received more than 126,000 digital tips from the public regarding the attack on the Capitol – more than three times the number of tips received on Monday.  

Among the thousands of tips the FBI received are some that appear to show members of Congress with people who later showed up at the Capitol riot, two law enforcement officials said. This doesn’t mean members of Congress and staff are under investigation, but the FBI is checking the veracity of the claims, the officials said. 

At least some of the arrests already made are part of a strategy used in counterterrorism investigations, to find even a minimal charge and try to take a person of concern off the streets. That helps ease the possible threat amid concern about possible attacks on the Inauguration, officials believe. 

The House voted earlier today to impeach President Trump for incitement of insurrection, exactly one week after a mob attacked the Capitol where lawmakers were convening to approve President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College win.

Ten Republicans joined Democrats in the historic vote to impeach Trump a second time — a contrast to the first impeachment vote, when every House Republican voted against both articles of impeachment. Four Republicans did not vote: Reps. Kay Granger (TX-12), Andy Harris (MD-1), Gregory Murphy (NC-3) and Daniel Webster (FL-11).

See the full list on how everyone else voted here.

Many Republicans have put themselves in box that will make it difficult for them to debate the big issues moving forward by aligning themselves closely with President Trump, CNN’s John King said after the House voted to impeach Trump for a second time.

“This is the party of Lincoln and the party of Reagan, that right now is still the party of Trump. Many people are trying to escape from that,” King said.

“But they’ve put themselves in a box because they’ve enabled him the last two months. Many of them have enabled him the last four years. They have ignored the facts. They have ignored the truth. They’ve attacked us. They have attacked institutions. And their reward for that was the United States government, the building they serve in, being attacked a week ago. How do they get out of this?,” King continued.

Ten Republicans, including the House’s No. 3 Republican, Liz Cheney of Wyoming, joined their Democratic colleagues to impeach Trump for “incitement of insurrection.” Several of their colleagues, including Republican Rep. Jim Jordan, defended Trump on the House floor. Jordan claimed that Democrats simply wanted to “cancel the President.” 

“We need a competitive two-party system. We need a good debate about all the big issues before us. But many of those Republicans simply don’t have the standing or credibility right now because of the box they’ve put themselves in,” King explained.

Watch King’s full remarks:

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The House has just voted to impeach President Trump for the second time – making him the only US president to ever be impeached twice.

The impeachment resolution the House voted on, which passed 232 to 197, charges Trump with a single article, “incitement of insurrection” for his role in last week’s deadly Capitol riot.

CNN’s Zach Wolf is answering your questions on what happens next.

Watch via the link below:

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said an impeachment trial can “begin immediately” if they can reach an agreement with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

“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 19,” Schumer said in a statement. “But make no mistake, there will be an impeachment trial in the United States Senate; there will be a vote on convicting the president for high crimes and misdemeanors; and if the president is convicted, there will be a vote on barring him from running again.”

Some context: McConnell has made clear in a statement to fellow senators that Trump’s impeachment trial won’t start until after Jan. 19.  

California GOP Rep. David Valadao explained on Twitter why he voted to impeach President Trump, saying the President encouraged “masses of rioters to incite violence.”

“President Trump was, without question, a driving force in the catastrophic events that took place on January 6 by encouraging masses of rioters to incite violence on elected officials, staff members, and our representative democracy as a whole,” he said in the video. 

“Speaker Pelosi has thrown precedent and process out the window by turning what should be a thorough investigation into a rushed political stunt. I wish, more than anything, that we had more time to hold hearings to ensure due process,” the video continued. “Unfortunately, Speaker Pelosi did not afford us that option.”

Valadao said that he voted based on the facts and that he had to “go with my gut and vote my conscience.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has made clear in a statement to fellow senators that President Trump’s impeachment trial won’t start until after Jan. 19.  

McConnell said in the statement that he believes “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.”

Read his full statement:

“The House of Representatives has voted to impeach the President. The Senate process will now begin at our first regular meeting following receipt of the article from the House.
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. The Senate has held three presidential impeachment trials. They have lasted 83 days, 37 days, and 21 days respectively.
Even if the Senate process were to begin this week and move promptly, no final verdict would be reached until after President Trump had left office. This is not a decision I am making; it is a fact. The President-elect himself stated last week that his inauguration on January 20 is the ‘quickest’ path for any change in the occupant of the presidency.
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. I am grateful to the offices and institutions within the Capitol that are working around the clock, alongside federal and local law enforcement, to prepare for a safe and successful inauguration at the Capitol next Wednesday.”

A senior Trump adviser offered a stinging assessment of the President’s second impeachment by saying Trump has destroyed everything he built politically because he could never tell the truth.

“In the end, it all came crashing down because he could never tell the truth,” the adviser said. “All because he couldn’t accept he lost,” the adviser added.

“This will be the story you tell your kids when you lecture them about telling the truth,” the adviser continued.

Rep Jim Jordan said the he was not surprised by the number of Republicans who voted to impeach Trump, but was hoping it would be less.

“It’s about where I thought it might be,” Jordan said walking off the floor. “I was hoping it would be less.”

Asked if he still considers Trump to be a leader of the Republican party even though he has now been impeached twice, Jordan said, “of course.”

“His support is strong because the American people appreciate that over the last four years he did more of what he said he would do than any President in my life,” Jordan said.

Asked if the 10 Republicans who voted with Democrats to impeach Trump would face primaries Jordan said, “I don’t know that.”

The House just voted to impeach President Trump for a second time for his role in last week’s deadly Capitol riot.

Ten Republicans joined their Democratic colleagues in voting in favor of the impeachment resolution.

They are:

Rep. Dan Newhouse of Washington Rep. John Katko of New York Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming Rep. Peter Meijer of Michigan Rep. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio Rep. Tom Rice of South Carolina Rep. David Valadao of California

What comes next: The next steps in the process are a little unclear. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell won’t agree to bring the Senate back early, according to Republican sources, and he communicated that to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer today.

That means a Senate trial won’t happen now until after Trump has left office and would most likely bleed into the early days of the Biden presidency, and when Democrats will control the Senate.

Here’s how each member in the House voted on Trump’s second impeachment.

The House has just voted to impeach President Trump for the second time – making him the only US president to ever be impeached twice. The resolution passed 232 to 197.

The impeachment resolution the House voted on charges Trump with a single article, “incitement of insurrection” for his role in last week’s deadly Capitol riot.

Ten Republicans, including the House’s No. 3 Republican, Liz Cheney of Wyoming, joined with Democrats to impeach Trump.

There is no such thing as a routine impeachment but this one is unprecedented in all sorts of ways.

The overall impeachment process laid out in the Constitution is relatively simple:

This impeachment process will feel entirely new and different from the one we saw in late 2019 around the Ukraine investigation, most notably because the Senate trial is expected to occur after Trump leaves office.

Here’s why that’s important:

New President Joe Biden will be asking the Senate to vote on his Cabinet nominees and act on legislation to address the Covid pandemic as well as relief for Americans hurt by the troubled economy.

In 2020, Senate business ground to a complete halt during the trial. This time, incoming Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is hoping to pursue a half-day schedule to conduct the trial part of the day and business the rest of the day.

The charges this time are much simpler to convey and understand, however. It should still take some number of days with Chief Justice John Roberts presiding and senators sitting in judgment. When both of the new Democratic senators from Georgia are seated, it will take 17 Republicans voting with Democrats to reach a two-thirds majority and convict Trump.

The swift effort to impeach him certainly puts Trump in the position of wanting to keep Republican senators on his side. In that regard, it would keep him in check during the last week of his presidency.

Remember: Impeaching Trump in the House does not remove him from office. Neither a second House impeachment nor even a Senate vote to convict Trump and remove him from office would prevent him from running again, in 2024 or beyond.

Rather, after two-thirds of senators present voted to remove Trump, a simple majority of senators present would have to approve an additional vote to bar him from the presidency in the future.

Barring him from further office could also cost him his more-than $200,000 per year pension if the Senate wants to take that way.

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President Trump will make a statement reacting to today’s impeachment proceedings soon, an official familiar with the matter tells CNN. It will likely be a video.

The House has just voted to impeach President Trump for the second time – making him the only US president to ever be impeached twice. The resolution passed 232 to 197.

The impeachment resolution the House voted on charges Trump with a single article, “incitement of insurrection,” for his role in last week’s deadly Capitol riot.

More on this: A White House official said aides to the President are concerned the video he is recording this evening will be removed by YouTube, as Trump has seen his presence on social media vanish in recent days as tech giants like Twitter and Facebook have cracked down on the President’s often false and irresponsible content. 

The official said the plan is to post the video on whitehouse.gov. But YouTube is used by the White House to post videos on the official government site. The official said news outlets would be wise to make a digital recording of the video as soon as possible, in the event it is pulled down by YouTube.

The Oval Office is under consideration as a location for recording the video. It could be posted sometime during the next couple of hours.

Enough lawmakers have cast votes to impeach President Trump again in a historic first, with at least 217 members having now cast votes to impeach the President, including at least nine Republicans.

The impeachment resolution charges Trump with a single article, “incitement of insurrection,” for his role in last week’s deadly Capitol riot.

Voting is ongoing.

As soon as the gavel comes down, Trump will become the only President in history to be impeached twice.

See the moment:

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CNN’s Dana Bash called out House Republicans who did not come out and admit that they were wrong for propagating false election fraud claims during the House impeachment debate.

“Those who did say that the election was stolen, those who propagated that, those who fed the lies of the President, ‘I’m sorry, I made a mistake,’ we heard that from nobody. And that’s frankly reprehensible,” CNN’s Dana Bash said.

“Especially given the fact that they all know better,” Bash added.

“I think they know the reality. I think that they know the truth. I think that, in their heart of hearts, understand that when the secretaries of states in swing states like Georgia or Pennsylvania or Arizona say ‘This election wasn’t stolen,’ and it was free and fair and honest that, that actually is the truth,” Bash continued.

Bash also highlighted how, aside from the backtracking from election fraud claims, Republicans didn’t acknowledge the live footage from last week’s attack which show rioters stating “the President told us to come here.”

Watch Bash’s full remarks:

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Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger, one of the Republicans who voted “yes” to impeach President Trump, told CNN he is at peace with his vote.

“I think this is one of those votes that that transcends any kind of political implication if the moment. This is one of those that you’re going to look back on when you’re 80 and this will be the one you talk about,” Kinzinger said. 

“I don’t know what the future is, you know, I don’t know what that means for me politically but I know I’m at real peace right now,” he added.

Kinzinger said he didn’t feel pressure from the party, but that his constituents were all over the place. Kinzinger said he didn’t know how many of his Republican colleagues would be joining him to vote for impeaching Trump.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is urging his colleagues to focus for the next seven days on the transition of power and the inauguration, not impeachment, according to a senator.

The letter came in an email earlier today as the House casts votes on impeachment.

Earlier on Wednesday, McConnell sent a note to Republicans, writing, “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.”

McConnell has rejected calls by Democrats to bring the Senate back immediately to convict President Trump in his final days in office.

Rep. Cori Bush, a freshman Democrat from Missouri, used her brief speaking time today in the House during the impeachment debate to excoriate President Trump.

“Madam Speaker, St. Louis and I rise in support of the article of impeachment against Donald J Trump. If we fail to remove a white supremacist president who incited a white supremacist insurrection, it’s communities like Missouri’s first district that suffer the most,” Bush said during her speech.

She continued: “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.”

GOP Rep. Anthony Gonzalez said he plans to vote to impeach President Trump. There are now at least nine Republicans that publicly support impeachment.

The House is voting now on the impeachment resolution.

See Rep. Gonzalez’s statement:

So far, at least nine Republicans have voted or said they will vote for impeachment:

Rep. Dan Newhouse of Washington Rep. John Katko of New York Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming Rep. Peter Meijer of Michigan Rep. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio Rep. Tom Rice of South Carolina

CNN’s Manu Raju reports:

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One day after Rep. Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat from New Jersey, alleged that members of Congress led tours of rioters on a reconnaissance mission the day before the attack on the Capitol, 31 members of Congress sent a letter to the acting House Sergeant of Arms, acting Senate Sergeant of Arms, and acting chief of the US Capitol Police asking them to investigate the matter further. 

Democratic Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, one of the co-signers of the letter, confirmed to CNN that she saw groups of tours of people in MAGA apparel one or two days before the attack.

“I had seen what appeared to be tour groups of folks dressed in MAGA attire, in the halls, in the tunnels” Scanlon told CNN. “I don’t know exactly what day it was. It was just surprising to see that happen because since Covid the building’s been shut down. There aren’t supposed to be any tours. So I kind of assumed it must be a new member who didn’t know the rules or something. But, I mean, I can verify that it happened. There were people who were roaming around in the halls, apparently under the guidance of congressional staff.”

Scanlon told CNN she saw a group of six to eight people.

“Many of the Members who signed this letter, including those of us who have served in the military and are trained to recognize suspicious activity, as well as various members of our staff, witnessed an extremely high number of outside groups in the complex on Tuesday, Jan. 5,” the letter stated.

It says the tours were “unusual” and “concerning” and were reported to the Sergeant at Arms on Jan. 5. The letter said the groups “could only have gained access to the Capitol complex from a member of Congress or a member of their staff.”

President Trump has yet to grasp the magnitude of the damage being done to his standing in American history and the nation’s place on the world stage resulting from his second impeachment and actions surrounding the Capitol siege, a senior Trump adviser said.

Based on conversations the adviser has had with Trump since Jan. 6, the adviser said the President is “clueless what any of this means internationally or historically.” 

Trump has told aides and advisers he does fear what the violence at the Capitol has done to his businesses.

The adviser said there is a real possibility that Trump could end up “broke” based on his accumulation of debt and the stain on the Trump brand.

That is something the President fears, the adviser added.

Making his closing argument, Democratic Majority Leader Rep. Steny Hoyer leaned on the words of the House’s third ranking Republican, Rep. Liz Cheney, who is the only Republican in leadership to have called for impeachment of President Trump.

“This impeachment ought to be put in the perspective of what the Republican chair of the Republican conference said it was,” said Hoyer, referring to Cheney.

“She said the President… summoned the mob, assembled the mob and lit the flame of that attack,” he continued. “There has never been, she said, a greater betrayal by a President… of his office and his oath to the Constitution.”

Hoyer went on to deliver a lengthy argument in favor of impeachment, returning multiple times to Cheney’s condemnation of the President.

“This attack was not from abroad,” said Hoyer, drawing a contrast to 9/11 attacks in which the Capitol was initially a target. “It was, as Liz Cheney said, summoned, assembled and inflamed by the President.”

Cheney on Monday, told her colleagues the impeachment would be a “vote of conscience” opening the door for a number of other Republicans to also announced they would vote to impeach. Since then several House Republicans have called for her to step down from her leadership position.

Meanwhile, House Republican Whip Rep. Steve Scalise made his closing argument in opposition to impeachment on the House floor, speaking just before Hoyer. 

Scalise, himself the victim of political violence in the 2017 Congressional baseball shooting, cited his experience but said lawmakers must seize this opportunity to cool the national political climate.

“Our nation still mourns the unacceptable violence and anarchy that took place in this Capitol last week,” he said. “Emotions are still high, but in this moment we need to be focused on toning down the rhetoric and helping heal this nation as we move towards a peaceful transition of power to President-Elect Joe Biden next week.”

“I’ve seen the dark evil of political violence firsthand and it needs to stop,” he said. “…I oppose this rushed impeachment brought forward without a single hearing.”

Watch more:

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The debate has ended, and the House is voting now on an impeachment resolution that would make Trump the first President in United States history to be impeached for a second time for his role in last week’s Capitol attack.

Voting is expected to take between 60 to 90 minutes to complete. 

The impeachment resolution charges Trump with a a single article, “incitement of insurrection.”

The resolution is expected to pass with a swift and bipartisan vote. So far, at least seven Republicans said they will vote for impeachment:

Rep. Dan Newhouse of Washington Rep. John Katko of New York Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming Rep. Peter Meijer of Michigan

GOP Rep. Peter Meijer tweeted that he plans to vote to impeach President Trump, becoming the seventh Republican to publicly support impeachment.

“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,” Meijer tweeted.

See his full statement:

When asked about when the House would send the article of impeachment over to Senate, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said:

Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy today condemned President Trump’s conduct as impeachable, but urged lawmakers to reject the article of impeachment drafted by Democratic leadership saying they posed a danger to free speech for lawmakers and Americans. 

“The President of the United States deserves universal condemnation for what was clearly, in my opinion, impeachable conduct,” said Roy, speaking from the House floor. “…It was foreseeable and reckless to serve a false belief leading to violence and rioting loyal supporters whipped into a frenzy.”

But Roy then went on to urge his colleagues to reject the article of impeachment under consideration, saying they are “flawed and unsupportable” because impeaching Trump over his rhetoric could pose a danger to free speech for lawmakers.

“If the House approves the articles as written, the language will be used to target members of this body under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, it will used to suggest any statements we make will be subject to review by our colleagues and send us down the perilous path of cleansing political speech in the public square,” said Roy. 

“We must end tearing apart our nation by social media and soundbites,” he concluded. “Let us stop. Let us debate. Let us sit down and lead this nation together.”

Watch the moment:

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell sent a note to his Republican colleagues this afternoon on impeachment, writing “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.”

Earlier, McConnell rejected calls by Democrats to bring the Senate back immediately to convict President Trump in his final days in office.

McConnell’s office made that clear to Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer’s aides on Wednesday, according to Republican officials.

Chad Wolf, who resigned as Homeland Security acting secretary two days ago, said Wednesday that President Trump bears some responsibility for the events at the US Capitol last week.

“He’s the President. What he says matters,” Wolf told CNN. “People listen to him — particularly supporters of his, I would say, really listen to him — so there is responsibility there.”

However, it is for Congress to determine if it was an impeachable offense, Wolf said. He told CNN there is also personal responsibility for the rioters who entered the Capitol. 

Some context: Wolf stepped down as acting secretary on Monday after a government watchdog and federal judges cast doubt on his legitimacy to lead the department, including in a court ruling last Friday blocking Trump administration asylum limits.

He served in an acting capacity for 14 months in the top role, a position that now will be filled by Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Pete Gaynor for the remaining days of the Trump administration.

The day after the attack on the Capitol, Wolf urged Trump and all other elected officials to condemn the violence in a sharply worded statement, while vowing to stay in his position until President-elect Joe Biden takes office.

“I was disappointed that the President didn’t speak out sooner on that. I think he had a role to do that. I think, unfortunately, the administration lost a little bit of the moral high ground on this issue by not coming out sooner on it,” he said Wednesday of condemning the violence.

Wolf told CNN he would like to see more from the President in terms of calling for nonviolent protests.

“[I]f you’re going to protest, you do that in a very nonviolent way. I’d like to have him speak, have him say that and just that,” Wolf said. “And have that be the message that carries the day.”

The fence line securing the US Capitol complex is currently expanding after a small but vocal group of anti-fascist demonstrators approached the barricades.  

New eight-foot metal fencing is currently going up on 3rd St. NW. It expands the security perimeter by about 250 yards.  

Earlier today, a group of over a dozen protestors marched with large banners to the fence line, chanting and yelling at police with bullhorns.  

Capitol police carrying a large number of flexible handcuffs moved quickly to push the demonstrators back to 3rd St.  An officer announced on a loudspeaker that the demonstrators were assembled without a permit and needed to leave.

The demonstrators eventually folded their banners and left.  

The street is now lined with dozens of officers. Lined behind them for reinforcement are National Guard troops carrying semiautomatic rifles.  

 After the protesters left, utility vehicles carrying the fencing arrived fencing arrived.  

States across the country are increasing security measures at their capitol buildings ahead of what the FBI warned are “armed protests” being planned at all 50 state capitols.

Online chatter about more violent demonstrations “is off the charts right now,” one official told CNN. Facebook has seen online signals indicating the potential for more violence following last week’s insurrection, a company spokesperson said.

Here’s how some states are preparing for potential unrest:

Multiple layers of security are also in place around the US Capitol as the House debates on impeaching President Trump. Heightened security is also planned for President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on January 20.

Today, National Guard members are surrounding the entire grounds of the Capitol. They were just issued weapons, many of them carrying semi-automatic rifles.

California GOP Rep. Young Kim, who narrowly won her seat in November, said she supports censuring President Trump but opposes impeaching him.

“I believe censuring the president is a better option. This would be a strong rebuke of his actions and rhetoric and unite our country and chamber, rather than divide it,” she said.

Read her full statement:

“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.
The election is over. I announced my intention to certify the electoral votes before these events with the hope that we can move forward, deescalate our rhetoric, and work together to heal our wounds. This violence and division must stop. 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.
 I believe censuring the president is a better option. This would be a strong rebuke of his actions and rhetoric and unite our country and chamber, rather than divide it. That is why yesterday I joined several of my colleagues in introducing a strong resolution censuring the president for his actions on January 6.
Words matter. Both of our parties must set better examples for our constituents, the nation, and the world. We must condemn violence in all forms and be able to peacefully debate issues and have disagreements without being disagreeable or making personal attacks on one another. As Americans, we are better than this violence and must move forward. The first Koreans came to the United States on this day in 1903 in search of a better life, and now 118 years later I am one of the first Korean American women to serve in Congress. I know we are the land of opportunity that welcomed me and my family into its fabric and allowed me to realize my American dream by receiving an education, starting a business, raising a family and now giving back to the community I call home as a member of the House of Representatives. This is the America we all know and love. I will do my part and look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for the betterment of America and the people of California’s 39th Congressional District.”

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said he fully supports lawmakers impeaching President Trump. 

“To those of you who think, well he’s only got one week left, this is not about time. It’s about doing what’s right, it’s about setting a higher bar for the presidency of this country, it’s about standing up for the Constitution and the rule of law,” Murphy said during a news conference Wednesday. 

“It gives me no pleasure to say so but the President must be impeached. And he must be removed from office. And I would hope the Senate would take up the matter with all speed so that President Trump’s actions become a cautionary example for future leaders that our Constitution is larger than they are. Otherwise, our democracy already shaken could crumble,” he said. 

Murphy, a Democrat, praised Republican Rep. Liz Cheney for supporting Trump’s impeachment.

“I don’t think I’ll often find myself in agreement with Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney, the third highest member of the House Republican leadership but I do here and I give her a huge shout out for being on the right side of this from moment one, never equivocated,” he said.

“Representative Cheney said of President Trump’s last actions last week and I quote her, ‘there has never been a greater betrayal by a president of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution,’ and that he hits it on the head,” Murphy added.

A lectern of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, which was seen being held by a rioter as a pro-Trump mob stormed the US Capitol last week, was set up for an enrollment ceremony tonight in the House of Representatives.

Adam Johnson, of Florida, was arrested in the state Friday and booked into the Pinellas County Jail just days after he was allegedly caught on camera carrying the House speaker’s lectern.

In opposing the impeachment resolution, Texas Republican Rep. Lance Gooden said, “And I also want to thank my Democratic colleagues for finally joining Republicans in condemning mob violence after six months of refusing to acknowledge it.” 

Facts First: This accusation is false. Numerous Democrats — including President-elect Joe Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and other senior members of the party’s congressional caucus — condemned rioting and looting last year while also supporting peaceful protests against racism and police brutality. 

Republicans are entitled to argue that Democrats should have issued such condemnations more forcefully or frequently, but it’s just inaccurate to say they didn’t issue the condemnations at all. 

The Justice Department appears to be hitting up against the potential limits of the law, as they try to keep people detained who came to Washington last week for a coup attempt.

A judge is already asking for more from the Justice Department on why he should keep one defendant locked up who brought guns and ammo to Washington and wrote in text messages about shooting House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and DC Mayor Muriel Bowser.

One of the more serious cases so far, against Cleveland Meredith Jr., who is accused of threatening Pelosi and bringing hundreds of rounds of ammo and guns to Washington, DC, is where this came up today. 

Prosecutors had asked for Meredith’s detention. Meredith’s lawyer countered that keeping him locked up because of perceived “dangerousness” alone is not enough under the law. 

“Congress restricted the government’s ability to request detention,” Meredith’s lawyer wrote in a court filing Wednesday afternoon, citing the Bail Reform Act limitations that reasons defendants can be kept in jail must be because they are a flight risk, potentially obstructive or charged with crimes of violence, a drug offense, or an offense that could merit a life sentence or death. 

His lawyer argued Meredith should be released while he awaits his trial.

Meredith has not yet been indicted, and was arrested last week on a criminal complaint alleging that he illegally possessed weapons and made the threats.

He was set to have a judge decide whether he should be detained today. That is now being postponed until tomorrow, and DOJ is getting another opportunity to argue for why he should remain in jail.

Meredith is still detained.

He has no prior convictions on his record, his lawyer also argues.

Democratic Rep. Jason Crow, a veteran, called on his Republican colleagues to show a fraction of the courage of US troops by voting to impeach President Trump despite their fear of consequences.

“I have dedicated my life to the defense of our nation. And Donald Trump is a risk to all that I love,” Crow said.

“Some of my Republican colleagues are afraid of the consequence of an impeachment vote but this Congress sends our men and women to war every day. I’m not asking you to storm the beaches of Normandy but show a fraction of the courage we ask of our troops every day. Leadership is hard. It’s time to impeach,” Crow said.

See the moment:

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Heightened airport security measures around inauguration in some cases include a second screening of passengers boarding flights, the Transportation Security Administration acknowledged to CNN.  

The second check at the boarding gate is in addition to the standard screening procedures done at TSA checkpoints.   

“This is a routine practice and represents one of the multiple layers of security that we employ,” agency spokesperson Carter Langston told CNN when asked about an account of TSA officers stopping passengers at the gate of a Washington-bound flight to check identification and bags.  

“It may occur with greater frequency due to recent and upcoming events, but it is a routine practice,” Langston said.   

The screening of DC-bound passengers is in addition to a heightened security and police presence at the three Washington-area airports that has included armored vehicles and a notable number of visible officers in terminals. 

TSA told CNN on Monday that the agency is on “high alert.”  

The developments come after rowdy incidents on airplanes and in airports as the rioters who ransacked the Capitol building traveled to and left Washington.   

The Federal Aviation Administration has warned individuals who “interfere with, physically assault, or threaten to physically assault aircraft crew or anyone else on an aircraft face stiff penalties including fines of up to $35,000 and imprisonment.”   

Steven D’Antuono, a senior Federal Bureau of Investigation official in the nation’s capital, said Tuesday that officials are “actively looking at” adding rioters to the federal No Fly List. 

Rep. Anna Eshoo, a Democrat from California, called President Trump a “traitor to our country” during her speech on the House floor this afternoon.

Eshoo said:

“future generations are not going to know the names of each member in the chamber today, in voting, but they will know what we did and why. We must impeach the President, because he incited a mob that attacked the Capitol of the United States. The tabernacle of our democracy.”

She added that Trump is “incapable of honoring his oath and our constitution, and he has proven to be dangerous.”

“I will vote to impeach this traitor to our country,” Eshoo said.

Watch the moment:

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A historic debate is currently underway in the US House of Representatives over whether to impeach President Trump.

Democrats are charging him with “incitement of insurrection” for his role in last week’s deadly Capitol attack. 

Rep. Jamie Raskin, one of the Democrats leading the charge, said House members “could’ve died” during the Jan. 6 insurrection.

He mentioned that the mob had erected a gallows outside the Capitol building and were heard chanting “Hang Mike Pence.” He added that some of those who stormed the building got into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office and were heard yelling, “Where’s Nancy?”

While many Republicans condemned the President’s behavior, they argued that impeaching him would be divisive so close to his expected departure from office.

House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy – a staunch ally of the President – said he believes Trump is responsible for the deadly Capitol attack last week but impeaching him would be a “mistake.”

“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. These facts require immediate action of President Trump,” McCarthy said. 

So far, six Republicans have announced they will vote for impeachment. They are:

Rep. Dan Newhouse of Washington Rep. John Katko of New York Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming

Republican leaders are expecting about 10 to 20 House Republicans to vote for impeachment but sources tell CNN there are many more members who “want to vote to impeach but they legitimately fear for their lives and their families’ lives,” CNN’s Jamie Gangel reports.

“Liz Cheney, these Republicans who have announced, they are showing courage at the same time as I have been told by Republican sources that members, Republican members, have said they are not going to vote for impeachment because they are still scared of Donald Trump,” Gangel told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer.

“I was told that the White House is continuing to pressure these members, that Trump has not stopped and that members ‘fear for their lives and for their families’ lives,’” she continued. “After what we saw on January 6th, a week later, that says a lot that the White House is still pressuring people.”

As a sixth House Republican came forward to say they will vote to impeach him, President Trump issued a statement through his press office, but first given to Fox News, calling for no violence “amid reports of more demonstrations.” 

Lawmakers and senior aides have been pleading with Trump to issue a statement saying as much while bracing for more members of his own party to vote against him. Kevin McCarthy just specifically called on Trump to issue a statement similar to this one. 

Trump is watching coverage of the debate on his impeachment in the West Wing right now, according to a source.

“In light of reports of more demonstrations, I urge that there must be NO violence, NO lawbreaking and NO vandalism of any kind. That is not what I stand for, and it is not what America stands for. I call on ALL Americans to help ease tensions and calm tempers,” the statement said.

Republican Rep. Dan Newhouse, of Washington, tweeted his statement where he indicated that he will vote in favor of impeaching President Trump.

“Turning a blind eye to this brutal assault on our Republic is not an option,” Newhouse stated.

Newhouse now joins other Republicans who have said they will vote to impeach Trump. At least six have said they will break ranks. 

Newhouse just spoke on the House floor as well.

These are the Republicans who say they will vote for impeachment (so far):

Rep. Dan Newhouse of Washington Rep. John Katko of New York Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming

Republican Rep. Dan Newhouse explained why he will vote in favor of impeaching Trump, saying, “There is no excuse for President Trump’s actions.”

“Others, including myself, are responsible for not speaking out sooner — before the President misinformed and inflamed a violent mob,” Newhouse said.

Newhouse said Trump did not act to stop the insurrection at the Capitol. 

“There is no excuse for President Trump’s actions. The President took an oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Last week, there was a domestic threat at the door of the Capitol, and he did nothing to stop it. That is why with a heavy heart and clear resolve, I will vote yes on these articles of impeachment,” he said. 

Rep. Newhouse’s remarks draw applause:  

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GOP Rep. Liz Cheney, the number three House Republican, responded to calls for her to resign after she came out in support of impeaching President Trump.

“I’m not going anywhere” Cheney told reporters at the Capitol Wednesday.

“This is a vote of conscience. It’s one where there are different views in our conference. But our nation is facing an unprecedented, since the civil war, constitutional crisis. That’s what we need to be focused on. That’s where our efforts and attention need to be.”

Earlier today, Rep. Jim Jordan, a staunch Trump ally on Capitol Hill, told reporters he thinks Cheney should be ousted from her leadership position after she said she’d support impeaching the President.

Cheney announced Tuesday she would vote in favor, issuing a scathing statement that charged there had “never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution.”

House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy said that President Trump is responsible for the deadly Capitol attack last week but said impeaching him would be a “mistake.”

“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. These facts require immediate action of President Trump,” McCarthy said. 

He called the attack “undemocratic, un-American and criminal.” 

McCarthy said that impeaching Trump would divide the country further and called for Congress to focus on uniting Americans.

“I believe impeaching the President in such a short time frame would be a mistake. No investigations have been completed. No hearings have been held,” he said.

See it here:

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Rep. Jamie Raskin said that House members “could’ve died” during the Jan. 6 insurrection.

He mentioned that the mob had erected a gallows outside the Capitol building and were heard chanting “Hang Mike Pence.” He added that some of those who stormed the building got into Nancy Pelosi’s office and were heard yelling, “Where’s Nancy?”

The Maryland Democrat added, “it’s 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.”

Watch:

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House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy dismissed claims that supposed left-wing activists, namely Antifa, were responsible for the riots at the US Capitol.

The FBI told reporters Friday there’s “no indication” that Antifa disguised themselves as Trump supporters to join the ranks of the mob.

Read a fact-check here.

Democratic Rep. David Ciccilline urged his fellow lawmakers to support the impeachment of Trump and stand for the republic instead of this President.

After recounting the storming of the US Capitol that followed a Trump rally in Washington, DC, he asked his fellow lawmakers who planned to vote against impeachment: “Is this the kind of country you want to live in? What are you going to tell your children and grandchildren when they ask what you did in this moment? Did you stand for the republic or for this President?”

Ciccilline, who co-wrote the impeachment article, added:

“Heed the words of Abraham Lincoln, the first Republican President who told our country that a House divided against itself cannot stand. This great House, in which he served, cannot and will not endure if we do not stand together now. The President and the terrorists who stormed these halls last Wednesday did not succeed in toppling our republic. We must ensure they never do.”

See his remarks:

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Rep. Jeff Van Drew, a Republican from New Jersey, said that impeaching President Trump for a second time would “fracture” the country again.  

“We’ve been here before. We’ve done this before. This has failed before. We fractured our nation using the same process before. Congress must be the glue that starts unifying everyone,” Van Drew said. 

For context: Van Drew is a former Democrat who flipped to the Republican Party in 2019. He said the “final sign” for him to switch parties was being told to vote in favor of Trump’s first impeachment.

“Nearly half the country supports our current president. This takes their voice away. We must be bigger and better than the most base of instincts that have been driving our political discourse. It is destroying us,” he said. 

WATCH HIS REMARKS HERE:

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Rep. Cedric Richmond, a Democrat from Louisiana, noting that it would likely be his last floor speech before he leaves the House, said today that some of his fellow lawmakers “may well be co-conspirators” of President Trump in inciting the riot last week.

“President Trump put the domestic terrorists on notice by saying, stand back, and stand by. He then summoned them to DC, directed them to march on the Capitol. And then he sat back and watched the insurrection,” he said. 

Richmond continued: “Some of my colleagues, some of which may well be co-conspirators in their latest attempt to placate and please this unfit president suggest that we shouldn’t punish him in order to unify the country. That is the climax of foolishness.” 

Richmond said that during Trump’s first impeachment Republicans said Congress didn’t need to impeach him “because he learned his lesson.” 

“Simply put, we told you so,” he said.

As his time expired, he closed with a sign-off: “Richmond out.”

Some context: Louisiana Rep. Cedric Richmond will join President-elect Joe Biden’s White House, departing the New Orleans-area House of Representatives seat he has held since 2011. Richmond will serve as senior adviser to the President and director of the White House Office of Public Engagement. 

Watch:

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Republican Rep. Debbie Lesko argued against impeaching President Trump, saying there is no point in going through proceedings to remove the President when he has just one week left in office.

“At a time when our country needs unity, it is concerning that my Democratic colleagues have chosen to begin impeachment proceedings against a president with just seven days left in office,” she said during debate over the article.

Lesko said, “I’ve heard my colleagues on the other side of the aisle say they have to impeach the President because he is too dangerous to stay in power. Yet they know that it is impossible for the Senate to remove him before his term expires. So what is the point?”

She said that Congress has certified the count of the Electoral College and acknowledged that Joe Biden will be the next president.

“President Trump has indicated he will peacefully transfer power to President-elect Biden next week. So why pursue impeachment just one week before he leaves office?” Lesko said.

Watch:

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell won’t agree to bring the Senate back early, according to Republican sources, and he communicated as much to Sen. Chuck Schumer today.

That means a Senate trial won’t happen now until the early days of the Biden presidency.

McConnell spokesperson Doug Andres confirmed as much on Twitter just moments ago.

Remember: President Trump will stay in office and likely finish out his term because it takes a Senate conviction to remove him even after he’s been impeached.

“Donald Trump is a living, breathing, impeachable offense. It is what it is,” Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries said in his argument in favor of impeachment. 

Jeffries also said that the President incited the deadly Capitol mob and called him “a clear and present danger” to the American people.

“Violence will not win. Insurrection will not win. Sedition will not win. Terror will not win. Lawlessness will not win. Mob rule will not win. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever. Democracy will prevail,” Jeffries said.  

Criticizing the impeachment proceedings against President Trump, GOP Rep. Jim Jordan said Democrats are trying to “cancel the President.”

“It’s always been about getting the President no matter what. It’s an obsession, an obsession that is now broadened,” he said. “Stop and think about it. Do you have a functioning First Amendment when the cancel culture only allows one side to talk? When you can’t even have a debate in this country?”

He warned that the cancel culture will eventually “come for us all.”

Instead of impeachment, the focus should be on “bringing the nation together,” the lawmaker from Ohio added.

“In seven days there will be a peaceful transfer of power just like there has been every other time in our country, but Democrats are going to impeach President Trump again. This doesn’t unite the country. There is no way this helps the nation deal with the tragic and terrible events of last week that we all condemn.”

Hear Rep. Jordan’s remarks:

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A source familiar with the matter says Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will not weigh in publicly until the House has officially impeached the President.

As CNN’s Manu Raju and Jeff Zeleny have noted, Senate Republicans are in the dark about what will happen next. The expectation is McConnell will send a message to his conference once the House vote is complete laying out the potential timeline.

McConnell is facing a delicate balance – a number of his GOP colleagues have made clear they oppose impeachment and the Kentucky Republican famously loathes anything that divides his conference.

But the source says McConnell is also keenly aware of the moment in history – and the moment for the Republican Party. On the latter issue, the Kentucky Republican knows Trump remains very popular with his base, but is at by far his weakest point.

There’s also nothing left Trump can deliver for McConnell, who largely kept any criticism of Trump to himself the last four years as he pursued career ambitions in terms of overhauling the federal judiciary.

Some context: McConnell’s shift against Trump has been apparent for those watching him closely. He cut off contact with Trump weeks ago and has made clear he has no plans ever to speak to him again.

He carefully crafted his Senate floor remarks on Jan. 6 lambasting the efforts not only of Trump, but also of members of his own conference to push objections to President-elect Biden’s electoral victory.

He did the same when the Senate returned to session after the attack on the Capitol.

His anger over not only what transpired, but Trump’s lack of contrition, led him almost immediately to the conclusion on Trump’s culpability, the source said.

What happens next in terms of the timeline of a trial, as we’ve reported, is still unclear. But make no mistake about where McConnell is positioning himself here. It’s not subtle.  

Discussions are underway about raising the terrorism threat level, according to two sources familiar with the discussions, though one source cautioned no changes are expected as of now. 

The National Terrorism Advisory System – which replaced color-coded alerts of the Homeland Security Advisory System – falls under the Department of Homeland Security. Advisories are pushed out in the event of an imminent or elevated threat to the public. 

One of the officials said the discussions began following last week’s insurrection and was based on information that a similar attack by “armed militias” could happen at the Capitol or elsewhere 

The latest advisory issued stemmed from an Iran-related terrorism threat to the United States last January. It’s since expired.

According to the DHS website, decisions about issuing an advisory, and what form it takes, are informed by “intelligence assessments and risks to the public and critical infrastructure.” 

The secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, along with federal entities, decides whether a NTAS alert should be issued. 

DHS did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made the case for the impeachment of President Trump on the House floor, saying that those who attacked the US Capitol last week were not patriots, but “domestic terrorists” that were sent by the President’s words.

“Those insurrectionists were not patriots. They were not part of a political base to be catered to and managed. They were domestic terrorists and justice must prevail,” Pelosi said.

“But they did not appear out of a vacuum. They were sent here, sent here by the President with words such as a cry ‘to fight like hell.’ Words matter. Truth matters. Accountability matters,” Pelosi continued, adding that “the President saw the insurrectionists not as a foes to freedom, as they are, but as the means to a terrible goal, the goal to his personally clinging to power. The goal of thwarting the will of the people. The goal of ending in a fiery and bloody clash, nearly two and a half centuries of our democracy.”

Democrats are charging Trump with “incitement of insurrection” for his role in last week’s deadly Capitol attack. 

See the moment:

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi started the House debate over the article of impeachment against President Trump by saying that Trump is “a clear and present danger” to the country.

“We know that the President of the United States incited this insurrection, this armed rebellion against our common country. He must go, he is a clear and present danger to the nation that we all love,” Pelosi said.

She added that President Trump has “repeatedly” lied about the outcome of the election in November and cast doubt on democracy.

“I believe the President must be convicted by the Senate, a constitutional remedy that will ensure the republic will be safe from this man who is so resolutely determined to tear down the things we hold dear and that hold us together,” Pelosi continued. 

Watch Pelosi’s remarks:

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Republican leaders are expecting about 10 to 20 House Republicans to vote for impeachment but sources tell CNN there are many more members who “want to vote to impeach but they legitimately fear for their lives and their families’ lives,” CNN’s Jamie Gangel reports.

“Liz Cheney, these Republicans who have announced, they are showing courage at the same time as I have been told by Republican sources that members, Republican members, have said they are not going to vote for impeachment because they are still scared of Donald Trump,” Gangel told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer.

“I was told that the White House is continuing to pressure these members, that Trump has not stopped and that members, quote, ‘fear for their lives and for their families’ lives,’” she continued. “After what we saw on January 6th, a week later, that says a lot that the White House is still pressuring people.”

Gangel went on to talk about Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s role in the impeachment process, saying his silence “is deliberate”.

“He is deliberately being quiet. He is leaking out this information that he favors impeachment. Let’s see what he does at the end of the day. But the fact that he leaked out to reporters that he wants to move in this direction shows a split with Donald Trump, a split in the Republican party,” she said.

“I was told that unlike Kevin Mccarthy, who thinks Trump may just fade away, that Mitch Mcconnell thinks that the Republican party needs a clean break to move ahead.”

As the House is set to impeach President Trump for a second time, CNN’s John King said Republicans face a fork in the road for the party’s future. 

“As…we’re writing the final chapter of the Trump term, we’re also writing a beginning chapter of the future of the Republican Party. And this is a day of choosing,” King said.

King brought up how Reps. Jim Jordan and Paul Gosar said that Rep. Liz Cheney should be removed as chair of the House Republican Conference after she announced she’d vote for impeachment.

“Republicans have to choose today … They have to choose about their future. No one man can perpetuate a fraud and can perpetuate a lie, not even the President of the United States,” King said.

King said that more Republicans could’ve stood up and denounced President Trump’s baseless election fraud claims. 

“In some ways, truth is winning. In some ways, facts [are] winning. But there are a lot of open raw wounds,” King added.

Democrats in the House of Representatives are charging President Trump with “incitement of insurrection” for his role in last week’s deadly Capitol riot.

Susan Cole, House reading Clerk, is reading the article of impeachment now on the House floor.

This is the full article of impeachment that the House will vote on later today:

The House is debating now on an impeachment resolution that would make Trump the first President in United States history to be impeached for a second time.

Democrats are charging Trump with “incitement of insurrection” for his role in last week’s deadly Capitol riot. 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will open the two-hour debate.

What will come next: The House will vote on the single article of impeachment. The final vote will begin between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. ET.

As with all important votes in times of coronavirus, these things are a bit fluid in terms of timing. The resolution is expected to pass.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has not told his members yet when the trial may be in the Senate, according to multiple GOP sources. Even if Trump is impeached today, Trump will stay in office and likely finish out his term because it takes a Senate conviction to remove him even after he’s been impeached.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has not told his members yet when the trial may be, according to multiple GOP sources. 

McConnell also has not yet publicly said whether he will agree to reconvene the Senate and begin a Senate trial immediately. That has prompted speculation within the Senate that McConnell could move quicker — to bring the Senate back — and convict Trump before he leaves office.

McConnell has yet to inform his members about the latest in his thinking. In a memo a few days ago, he suggested the trial wouldn’t start until Joe Biden becomes president, saying all 100 senators would need to consent to change the Senate’s schedule

But since then, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer has called on McConnell to use emergency authority to reconvene the Senate if the two of them agree to bring the chamber back. McConnell has not ruled that out publicly.

House Democrats are signaling they plan to send the article of impeachment over to the Senate immediately, meaning a trial could presumably start as soon as McConnell wants.

McConnell’s office is not yet answering questions.

Where McConnell stands: McConnell has indicated that he believes that impeaching President 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.

Another person with direct knowledge told CNN there’s a reason McConnell has been silent on impeachment as other Republicans have pushed back: He’s furious about last week’s attack on the US Capitol by the President’s supporters, even more so that Trump has shown no contrition. His silence has been deliberate as he leaves open the option of supporting impeachment.

DC Police Chief Robert Contee said on Wednesday that more than 20,000 National Guard members could be expected in the District for President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, though he noted the final numbers will be provided by the United States Secret Service.

Multiple defense officials tell CNN that the total request for National Guard is close to 30,000 guardsmen to support US Capitol Police, Park Police and Washington Metropolitan Police Department but officials believe that the actual number needed is closer to 20,000.  The officials added that there is no concern that there will be any shortage of Guard forces to meet requirements from the 50 States and the District of Columbia. 

Asked if he’s ever seen this much law enforcement reinforcement coming to the District, the newly-installed Chief Contee, who is a veteran of the Metropolitan Police Department and lifelong DC resident, answered, “not at this level, no.”

Contee told reporters he remains concerned amid a “major security threat” ahead of the inauguration and planned demonstrations in the District this weekend.

“I’ve been concerned before today and will be through this weekend, and beyond,” Contee said on Wednesday, while praising DC Mayor Muriel Bowser’s security posture, including discouraging people from coming to DC for the inauguration. “There’s a major security threat, and we are working to mitigate those threats,” he added.

In an interview with CNN’s Manu Raju, Rep. Jaime Herrera-Beutler, a Republican from Washington, said “I’m not in fear at all,” over whether her vote to impeach President Trump would have consequences.

“This decision was not, like, a fear-based decision for me,” she said.

Beutler announced last night that she would vote to impeach Trump citing “indisputable evidence,” over his role in the Capitol riot.

“This is definitely the most, I think, consequential vote I’ve ever taken as a member,” she told CNN, “and see, more than anything, I just, I just want people to know this isn’t about choosing sides, this is about choosing truth.”

Beutler added that she’s preparing to deliver a statement on the House floor on her vote to impeach.

She’s one of five House Republicans who’ve broken rank so far in announcing their intent to impeach President Donald Trump.

The death of a Georgia man who was charged as part of the Capitol insurrection has been ruled a suicide, officials say.

Police in suburban Atlanta responded Saturday morning to a call and found Christopher Stanton Georgia dead.  

The Fulton County Medical Examiner office performed an autopsy on Monday and has ruled his death a suicide. 

Two rifles were recovered from his home according to an incident report from the Alpharetta Police department. 

Georgia was charged with unlawful entry of the US Capitol, as well as violating a citywide curfew according to court documents filed in Washington. 

House Republican leaders believe they will lose about a dozen votes over the impeachment of President Trump, GOP sources familiar with the matter tell CNN. 

It’s not certain yet, but that’s the thinking right now, those sources tell CNN. 

Manu Raju reports from Capitol Hill: Division is playing out in the hallways

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GOP Rep. Dan Newhouse said that he has “a lot to think about” when asked if he has decided how he’s going to vote on impeachment today in the House.

He called it “a big decision,” and said he wants to hear the debate play out.

Some context: We expect just a handful of Republicans to vote with Democrats to impeach Wednesday. One aide put that estimate at no more than 20.

Rep. Jim Jordan, a staunch Trump ally on Capitol Hill, told reporters he thinks Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney should be ousted from her leadership position after she said she’d support impeaching the President.

“I think she’s totally wrong,” he said. “I think there should be a conference and have a second vote on that,” he added.

Some context: Cheney, the No. 3 House Republican, announced Tuesday she would vote in favor of impeachment, issuing a scathing statement that charged there had “never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution.”

The number of Republicans who will ultimately vote for impeachment remains unclear, with estimates ranging from 10 to as many as 20. So far, five Republicans have said they will vote to impeach Trump, including Cheney. They are:

Rep. John Katko of New York Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming

As lawmakers debate on President Trump’s impeachment on the House floor inside, multiple layers of security are in place around the Capitol. Fencing, steel barriers and armed National Guard members surround the grounds, CNN correspondent Brian Todd reports.

Here’s a look at what is in place:

“You can’t really walk in this area unless you have some kind of ID saying you should be here. Just foot traffic around here is highly restricted,” Todd said.

This comes as members of Congress continue to speak out about the vulnerable position the violent Capitol breach put them in, as well as concerns they have about their security going forward ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20.

In addition to National Guard members inside the Capitol, there are now metal detectors installed outside the House floor for all members and staff to go through.

CNN’s Brian Todd reports on the scene outside the Capitol:

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will open debate on the impeachment resolution, her spokesperson says.

Her remarks are expected around 12:15 p.m. ET.

Where things stand now: The House is currently voting on the rules governing the impeachment article.

Once the House passes the rule, the House will then proceed to a two-hour debate on the impeachment resolution.

Democrats are charging Trump with “incitement of insurrection” for his role in last week’s deadly Capitol attack. 

You can read the full resolution here.

Following an FBI warning about “armed protests” being planned at all 50 state capitols, Michigan has stepped up its security. Attorney General Dana Nessel says she is “”apoplectic” because she’s gravely concerned about the situation and does not think that the state capitol is safe.

Michigan’s Capitol Commission banned the open carry of firearms inside the Capitol building in Lansing, beginning Jan. 11. The move was a response to the US Capitol riot as well as the spring incidents in which heavily armed demonstrators jammed inside the Michigan state Capitol to protest pandemic-related lockdowns. In addition, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, was the target of an alleged domestic terror plot by members of right wing militia groups.

“I think Michigan was definitely ground zero,” Nessel said. “I think it was a dry run and people saw how very easy it was to essentially take over a state capitol building. And the lesson that they drew away from that was, ‘why not try it at the nation’s capitol? If we can do it in Lansing, Michigan, maybe we can do the same thing in Washington, DC.’ And they were right,” she told CNN. 

Nessel added that she expects the same people that were involved in the events at DC “to be back in Lansing.”

Watch the full interview on CNN:

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is signaling he is in favor of impeachment, a GOP source familiar with McConnell’s thinking tells CNN.

Ultimately, however, it is up to McConnell to say where he stands on impeachment. His silence so far has been deliberate, and he is very careful with what he says.  

A separate Republican source said they expect about 10-20 House Republicans to vote for impeachment. The source went on to say that the White House is putting huge pressure on members, and that members are saying “they want to vote to impeach but they legitimately fear for their lives and their families’ lives.”

This person points out that a week after Jan. 6th, President Trump is still trying to intimidate members, adding that people should be careful about numbers being put out by the White House on how many GOP members they expect to vote for impeachment.

This person believes the White House is exaggerating numbers so that when the number of Republicans voting against Trump falls short they can claim victory with Trump to try to make him feel better.  

Additionally, GOP staffers – including those of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy – are upset at members not voting for impeachment and are raising it with their bosses, a source familiar with the matter tells CNN.

And as members push back on impeachment by citing the process, one Republican source told CNN:

“Saying it is rushed is a lame excuse…. This is not about process. We know what happened. We were there. We saw it. We were the targets of it.”

Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner intervened when other officials tried restoring President Trump’s social media presence on sites that are often havens for extremists, such as Gab, following an unprecedented ban from several major platforms.

According to an outside adviser and an administration official, Kushner and deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino blocked efforts by other aides, including the personnel chief Johnny McEntee, to get the President on fringe social media platforms after he was suspended in some fashion from almost every major one, including Twitter, Facebook and, now, YouTube.

Those officials had initially attempted to use other Twitter accounts, including those run by campaign officials, to tweet in Trump’s name.

The White House did not immediately respond to a CNN request for comment.

In the context of impeachment: Trump’s avenues for responding to the impeachment are similarly limited. Ordinarily, aides would look to Twitter for the President’s first response to being the only president in history to be impeached twice. So, too, would Republican members of Congress fear what might appear on Trump’s feed if they decided to break with him and vote for his impeachment.

But Trump’s account has been permanently suspended – and with it his principal weapon for ensuring GOP loyalty.

The White House said in a statement this week it opposes impeachment, and Trump railed against the proceedings on Tuesday.

“It’s causing tremendous anger and division and pain far greater than most people will ever understand, which is very dangerous for the USA, especially at this very tender time,” he said during his visit to Texas.

On the day he will be impeached for a history-making second time, President Trump lacks a comprehensive legal strategy, has nothing on his public schedule and is without his preferred social media methods of responding — in part because his son-in-law put a stop to efforts establishing his presence on fringe platforms after he was banned from Twitter.

It amounts to near-invisibility for the President at the most perilous moment of his presidency, which is ending in tumult and dramatic rebuke from members of his own party.

Aides expect Trump to mostly watch the proceedings on television throughout the day. But without Twitter, a campaign rally, a team of lawyers or Republicans willing to defend his actions, Trump is set to weather the historic shaming in subdued fashion.

That’s a distant cry from the first time he was impeached, when aides organized a campaign rally in the aptly named Battle Creek, Michigan, to coincide with the House vote.

At the rally, which occurred at the same time members were impeaching him, his press secretary emerged in the crowd to hold up a placard displaying the vote total.

“We got every single Republican (to vote) for us!” Trump crowed when he saw the final tally, adding at another point: “It doesn’t really feel like we’re being impeached.”

That is not how it feels this time. A handful of Republicans are poised to vote to impeach him, including Rep. Liz Cheney, the No. 3 House Republican.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell meanwhile has said to believe impeachment will help oust Trump from the GOP for good. According to a person familiar with his reaction, Trump was particularly incensed Tuesday night by Cheney’s announcement, which said he’d betrayed the office of the presidency.

While other Republicans oppose impeachment because they say it is “divisive,” they are not defending Trump on the merits of what he is being impeached for: inciting an insurrection.

Rep. Jim McGovern, chair of the House Rules Committee, closed his remarks today by saying “we will never have unity without truth and also without accountability.” 

He chided some GOP members for what he said were hypocritical pleas of unity. 

“Some of my Republican friends have been trying to lecture us about unity here today — unity after they voted to overturn a free and fair election in the United States of America, but also preaching unity and not acknowledging that for four years many of them gave oxygen to Donald Trump’s conspiracy theories,” McGovern said. 

He said Republicans who vote for impeachment are showing courage.

“This week in Congress we saw the best of us and the worst of us. Some of my colleagues have shown that they will defend this President no matter what he does. … But some are standing up and doing the right thing under tremendous pressure. I’m proud of that. I honor them for their courage,” he said. 

He encouraged all House members to vote for impeachment. 

“This impeachment resolution outlines the truth of what Trump did. It is time that this Congress now holds him accountable for his words and for their devastating impact,” McGovern said. 

Watch:

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A source familiar with the relationship between the two men said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is furious with President Trump right now. 

The source said McConnell “hates” Trump for what he did last week following the attacks on the Capitol that left at least five people dead including a Capitol Hill police officer. 

Remember: While Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer has urged McConnell to reconvene the Senate and hold an impeachment trial this week, it is unlikely this will happen.

Under a 2004 resolution, if both the Minority and Majority Leader agree they can bring the Senate back. Without McConnell approving bringing back the Senate early, it looks like the fastest timeline for a trial to get underway would be the beginning of next week. Note: The House can still transmit the articles and it could be as soon as today. They can still do that even though the senate isn’t in session.

The House is voting now on the rules governing the impeachment article that they will vote on later today.

Remember that voting in the House takes time because of coronavirus protocols.

What comes next:

As with all important votes in times of coronavirus, these things are a bit fluid in terms of timing. The resolution is expected to pass.

Republican Rep. Tom Cole, ranking member of the House Rules Committee, closed this morning’s debate by calling this impeachment push a rush to judgment.

“Mr. Speaker, in closing, I oppose this rule and oppose the majority’s actions today. After the traumatic events of last week, the majority should be taking steps to unite us. Instead they are only dividing us further. They’re rushing to judgment in my opinion and bringing up impeachment after failing to follow any meaningful process whatsoever.”

Cole further criticized the process being undertaken by the House.

“No hearings have been held. No witnesses heard, no process or opportunity to respond was provided to the president. No members had an opportunity to review or amend this article before it came to the floor.” 

Instead, he said, the House should “celebrate the peaceful transition of power to a new president rather than impeaching an old president.” 

He closed by urging his colleagues to vote no on impeaching Trump.

Hear Rep. Cole’s closing remarks:

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House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said he’s expecting 10-20 Republican defections on impeachment today.

He also said he still wants to send the article of impeachment immediately to the Senate but defers to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The House can still transmit the articles this week — and possibly even today — even though the Senate isn’t in session. 

Some background: While Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to reconvene the Senate and hold an impeachment trial this week, it is unlikely this will happen.

Under a 2004 resolution, if both the Minority and Majority Leader agree they can bring the Senate back. Without McConnell’s approval to bring back the Senate early, it looks like the fastest timeline for an impeachment trial to get underway would be the beginning of next week.

McConnell has indicated, however, 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.

Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar urged Republicans to vote to impeach President Trump, saying the rioters at the Capitol were “specifically incited by the President of the United States.”

“For us to be able to survive as a functioning democracy, there has to be accountability,” Omar said. “I stand ready to fulfill my oath of office, and I challenge my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to do the same,” she added.

She called the riots a “violent attempt to interrupt our democratic process.”

“It was a targeted blow at the most essential process that makes us a democracy,” Omar said. “The president, not only incited an insurrection against our government, but has in word and deed led a rebellion. We cannot simply move past this or turn the page,” she added.

Watch her statement:

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01:32 - Source: cnn

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Democrat from Texas, came out strongly in favor of impeaching President Trump, calling him “an insurrectionist.”

In a fiery speech on the House floor, she said:

She accused the President of provoking his supporters in the speech he gave before the deadly Capitol riot last week where he urged them to “take the nation back with strength.”

“The President provoked these domestic terrorists with words, with actions and conduct, that portray and have contempt and hostility to the national value of equal justice under the law. Telling domestic terrorists, nearly all of them were white supremacist, many of them, who support him politically, who stormed the Capitol to derail congress from completing its constitutionally required duty of counting and verifying the votes…. He must be impeached,” she continued. 

Watch:

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01:02 - Source: cnn

Speaking against impeaching President Trump, GOP Rep. Jason Smith called the impeachment proceedings “reckless” and urged lawmakers to put “people before politics.”

“President Trump will be leaving in seven days. Let’s try to heal this nation. Let’s listen to the American people. This is the people’s House. Let’s operate for the people. This country is hurting. The people are hurting. Our colleagues are hurting. This is a reckless impeachment. This will only bring up the hate and fire more than ever before. Have a conscience. Put the people before politics. Unify this country,” he said.

The Missouri representative called the week since the storming of the US Capitol “devastating” and stressed the importance of getting the facts on what went wrong

Responding to Smith’s speech, Democratic Rep. Jim McGovern said the riots at the US Capitol would not have happened “if it weren’t for the occupant in the White House.”

Watch the moment:

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01:39 - Source: cnn

The House is currently meeting to vote to impeach President Trump for a second time.

The House convened around 9 a.m. ET, and lawmakers are currently having their first debate, which revolves around the rules governing the impeachment article. This debate is expected to last about an hour.

Here’s what we expect to happen next:

As with all important votes in times of coronavirus, these things are a bit fluid in terms of timing. The resolution is expected to pass.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer was asked by a reporter this morning if the House will send the article over immediately to the Senate and Hoyer said “yes.” He didn’t give any specifics on timing.

Hoyer told reporters late last night that the article won’t be held back by the House and the “presumption is within a very short time” it will be transmitted to the Senate.

Some context: With the Senate out of session, that would very likely mean the trial would start in the first days of Biden’s term unless Mitch McConnell agrees to bring the chamber back.

His office has not commented on Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer’s proposal to bring the chamber back early, but the expectation is that the trial won’t begin before Trump leaves office.

In a new detention memo, prosecutors say a man who had texted he wanted to kill House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and brought guns and hundreds of rounds of ammo to Washington last week also wrote about shooting DC Mayor Muriel Bowser.

The new details about Cleveland Meredith Jr., revealed in a court filing seeking his detention on Wednesday, highlight how the man had been discussing “war time” against lawmakers as the congressional confirmation of Joe Biden as the President-elect neared.

Meredith is currently detained and set to appear in court Wednesday afternoon.

“The defendant sent a text stating, ‘We’re gonna surround DC and slowly constrict.’ Apparently under the impression that law enforcement was monitoring his communications, the defendant later sent a text stating, ‘I’m harmless … I won’t fire until ordered SIR!’”

He was one of the early people charged by Justice Department prosecutors in federal court. There are now around two dozen known federal criminal defendants related to the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Rep. Judy Chu, a Democrat from California, called the Pro-Trump attackers that stormed the Capitol “terrorists” who were radicalized by Donald Trump.

“We were attacked by terrorists, but this time the terrorists were radicalized right here in the United States. Worse, they were radicalized by the President, who intentionally lied to his supporters that the election was stolen, and then told them when to come to D.C., where to protest and who to direct their anger at,” Chu said.

She said the need to remove Trump from office “could not be more urgent.”

“He is too dangerous to remain in office. Donald Trump must be held accountable. He must be impeached,” Chu said.

The House is currently debating the rules governing impeachment article.

Watch:

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01:02 - Source: cnn

GOP Rep. Tom Cole, ranking member of the House Rules Committee, said impeachment would “divide us further” in the last days of President Trump’s administration. 

While the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol attack “will live in my memory as the darkest day during my time of service as a member of this House,” Cole said he “can think of no action that is likely to further divide the American people than the action we’re contemplating today.”

“Our meeting today does not arise in a vacuum and comes in what I hope and pray is the end of a tumultuous period for our country,” Cole said. 

Cole said House Democrats are heading toward impeachment “erratically.”

“Instead of moving forward as a unifying force, [the] majority in the House is choosing to divide us further,” he added. 

The House is currently holding a debate on the rules governing the impeachment article.

Rep. Cole calls for House to slow impeachment proceedings: 

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02:25 - Source: cnn

Democratic Rep. Jim McGovern, chairman of the House Rules Committee, opened the House session this morning with some remarks about what happened on Jan. 6 and President Trump and his allies’ roles in inciting a mob to storm the Capitol.

The House is currently holding a debate on the rules governing the impeachment article.

“On Wednesday, January 6th, Congress gathered here to fulfill our constitutional duty, tallying the electoral college victory of President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris after a free and fair election. This is largely a ceremonial role for the Congress. One that sends the message to the world that democracy in the United States persists,” McGovern said.

McGovern continued: “But at a rally, just a mile and a half down Pennsylvania avenue, Donald Trump and his allies were stoking the anger of a violent mob. A member of this very body proclaimed on that stage, today is the day American patriots start taking down names and kicking ass. Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani called for trial by combat. Then Donald Trump told the crowd, we’re going to have to fight much harder. You’ll never take back our country with weakness.” 

“Even though, according to his own administration, that this election was the most secure in our history, Donald Trump repeated his big lie that this election was an egregious assault on democracy,” he added.

See it here:

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02:17 - Source: cnn

The US House of Representatives has just convened and will now begin consideration of President Trump’s impeachment.

The impeachment resolution the House will vote on today charges Trump with a single article, “incitement of insurrection,” for his role in last week’s deadly Capitol riot.

The first debate is expected to last about an hour and will revolve around the rules governing the impeachment article.

After that, the House will vote on the rule.

Remember: Voting in the House takes time because of coronavirus protocols and now lawmakers also have to pass through metal detectors to get onto the House floor.

Trump is now staring at the shameful distinction of being impeached by the House of Representatives twice in just over a year – the only president in US history to be impeached twice.

Even if he’s impeached today, Trump will stay in office and likely finish out his term, because it takes a Senate conviction to remove him even after he’s been impeached.

A rioter who stormed the US Capitol last week wearing a sweatshirt emblazoned with the phrase “Camp Auschwitz” was arrested Wednesday morning in Virginia, according to a law enforcement official. 

CNN was first to report that the man in the sweatshirt was identified as Robert Keith Packer. A law enforcement official told CNN that Packer was picked up in Newport News, Va.

An image of Packer, whose sweatshirt bore the name of the Nazi concentration camp where about 1.1 million people were killed during World War II, inside the Capitol 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.

Charging documents were not immediately available.

CNN is pursuing more information.

The overall impeachment process laid out in the Constitution is relatively simple: A President commits “high Crime or Misdemeanor,” the House votes to impeach and the Senate conducts a trial.

Those overall contours are constant. But there’s no such thing as a routine impeachment.

The one President Trump faces now, after inciting a riotous mob to attack the Capitol, is unprecedented in all sorts of ways, which means the process will feel entirely new and different from the one we saw in late 2019 around the Ukraine investigation.

Specifically, this House impeachment vote is likely to be done this week, and the Senate trial will occur after Trump leaves office.

Here are some other key differences:

What Trump is accused of doing: There was a lot of debate during Trump’s first impeachment and trial about whether the pressure he exerted on the President of Ukraine amounted to “high Crimes and Misdemeanors” or simply a set of policies. This time, while there’s an argument he committed treason, Democrats in the House have alleged Trump “engaged in high Crimes and Misdemeanors by inciting violence against the Government of the United States.”

The Article argues that Trump incited his supporters by repeatedly denying the election results in the lead-up to the counting of the electoral votes, that he pressured Georgia’s secretary of state to “find” additional votes for him, and in doing so he “gravely endangered the security of the United States and its institutions of Government,” “threatened the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the peaceful transition of power, and imperiled a coequal branch of Government.” Read the entire thing here. It’s short.

The House’s timeline: Getting from Trump’s misdeed to impeachment proceedings in the House took 86 days in 2019. It’s going to take just a week in 2021. The House can essentially impeach at will. While there are precedents in place around instigating the impeachment process and utilizing House committees to investigate whether impeachable offenses occurred, none of that is necessarily required. And Democrats, moving quickly, aren’t going to burden themselves by dragging this out.

And why bother with an investigation when this time Trump did it on TV? In that first effort, the details of Trump’s pressure on Ukraine leaked out over the course of weeks and built into Democratic support to launch and conduct an investigation and, ultimately, to impeach him.

With Trump’s time in office set to expire at noon on Jan. 20, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also gave Trump and Vice President Mike Pence the option of avoiding impeachment if either Trump resigned or Pence mobilized the Cabinet to use the 25th Amendment to remove him from office.

When those two offramps were ignored, Democrats in the House moved quickly toward impeachment and the first post-presidential impeachment trial in US history.

Impeaching Trump in the House requires only a simple majority and Democrats hope to gain at least some support from Republicans.

Read the full story here.

Overnight, the perimeter surrounding the vice president’s residence, the US Naval Observatory, was fortified with a chain link fence reinforced with concrete barricades.  

That level of physical security barriers around the vice president’s residence is unprecedented, with the exception of similar actions in the immediate aftermath of the Sep. 11 attacks. 

The move comes one week after President Trump incited riots at the US Capitol, and hours before he is expected to become the first US president to be impeached twice. It also comes amid concerns that additional protests could take place in both Washington and around the country in the coming days. 

Additionally, there are significant road closures around the White House and additional fencing with concrete barricades have gone up around the White House complex. Similar security measures were taken over the summer amid protests for racial justice.

Republican Rep. Ken Buck said that he will vote against impeaching President Trump and that the process is “absolutely polarizing.”

“It’s a bad idea. You impeach a president after hearings and great deliberation. You don’t impeach a president in the heat of the moment,” Buck said. 

President Trump’s actions do not constitute an impeachable offense, Buck told CNN’s John Berman.

He also said he has sent a letter to President-elect Joe Biden asking him to request that the House not go forward.

“What could be more unifying is to hold a commission of our committee hearing or put this in the Judiciary Committee and find out what actually happened,” he said.

Buck said the “level of vitriol” between Democrats and Republicans has been building for five years now, adding, “to say that there’s one speech or one incident that caused this group of people to storm the Capitol is just not accurate. What I’m trying to suggest to you is that both sides are at fault…,” at which point, Berman stopped him.

“What on Earth did any other side do than the side that invaded the US Capitol?” Berman asked.  

“It wasn’t as if the President gave one speech and all of a sudden, people went from perfectly calm and thoughtful demeanor to this violent action that occurred, which is absolutely shameful. I’m not trying to excuse it. But the actions that have led up to this are typical of this impeachment,” Buck said. 

Watch:

Members of the National Guard were deployed to the US Capitol ahead of the House’s vote today on impeaching President Trump for a second time.

Photos from inside the building showed some National Guards members preparing for the day: Some were seen picking up weapons while other were seen resting on the floor.

Here’s a look at the scene from in and around the Capitol:

Members of Congress and staffers will have to walk through metal detectors in order to get onto the floor of the US House of Representatives, a senior Democratic aide told CNN Tuesday. The House is set to convene at 9 a.m. ET to debate and hold a vote on impeaching President Trump.

The development comes after multiple House Democrats told CNN they are worried about some of their Republican colleagues ignoring House rules regarding firearms. There have been multiple conversations about the need for every member of Congress and their guests to start going through metal detectors.

Capitol Police had set up metal detectors outside of the House floor as of Tuesday afternoon and all House members, staffers and aides will have to go through them, the aide said. A US Capitol Police source confirmed the measures are in place.

Acting House Sergeant-at-Arms Timothy Blodgett said in a memo to all members of Congress and their staffers that the metal detectors were being installed to ensure compliance with police regulations banning guns and incendiary devices from the chamber.

“Members are reminded that pursuant to the firearms regulations that Members received on opening day, firearms are restricted to a Member’s Office,” the memo stated. “Thank you in advance for your (cooperation) with the United States Capitol Police and Sergeant at Arms staff during the screening process.”

Read more here.

House Democrats and at least a handful of Republicans —including the House’s No. 3 Republican — will vote in favor of the impeachment of President Trump just one week after a deadly mob overran Capitol Police, ransacked the US Capitol and put the lives of Vice President Mike Pence and lawmakers in danger.

The number of Republicans who will ultimately vote for impeachment remains unclear. So far, five Republicans have said they will vote to impeach Trump.

Republican Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney coming out in support of impeachment yesterday ignited the first signal that the Republican Party might try to be something else after Trump. And, she didn’t just say she backed impeachment. She put the blame of the events last week squarely on Trump’s shoulders.

“The President of the US 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,” she wrote.

The divide, the differences, the revisionism that we could see in upcoming months and years is just beginning.

Little cracks are playing out across Capitol Hill right now. Staff for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy are calling on their boss to explain himself. The communications director for Sen. Ted Cruz, resigned. Those who disavow Trump both before and because of this moment won’t necessarily win this ideological contest that is going to play out in the days and years ahead.

Some are going to get on this bandwagon late, many months and years after they walked in lockstep with the President. And, many may never disavow him at all. Trump’s support is still strong. There’s a reason that his followers took him seriously when he tweeted, when he made promises, when he gave instructions.

We still expect just a handful of Republicans to vote with Democrats to impeach today. One aide put that estimate – even after Cheney – at no more than 20.

Here are the Republicans who will vote to impeach:

Rep. John Katko Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler Rep. Adam Kinzinger Rep. Fred Upton Rep. Liz Cheney

Before President Trump came to Washington, only two Presidents had been impeached in the near two-and-a-half century history of the United States.

But Trump is now staring at the shameful distinction of being impeached by the House of Representatives twice in just over a year – a sequence that will leave a deep scar in Washington for a generation – not least because despite his aberrant behavior, Trump retains strong support among Republican lawmakers because of his near mystical hold on the party’s populist base.

Democrats introduced a resolution to impeach Trump on a charge of incitement of insurrection on Monday morning.

The single charge points to Trump’s repeated false claims that he won the election and his speech to the crowd on Jan. 6 before pro-Trump rioters breached the Capitol. It also cited Trump’s call with the Georgia Republican secretary of state where the President urged him to “find” enough votes for Trump to win the state.

But the compressed calendar as Trump enters his last nine days in office – and the reticence of Republicans in the Senate, who are faced one again with a loyalty test they have always failed when choosing between Trump’s base and the Constitution – seems certain to thwart Democratic efforts to quickly eject Trump from power.

This means the drama surrounding Trump’s fate, and the possibility of another Senate trial, could outlast his presidency and his turbulent term could cast a toxic shadow over President-elect Joe Biden’s first days in office.

Read the full article here.

Multiple House Republicans announced Tuesday evening they would support the impeachment of President Trump for his role inciting last week’s riot as congressional Republicans made their clearest break with Trump to date after he showed no remorse for the US Capitol mob.

While the vast majority of House Republicans are expected to oppose the article of impeachment today, there are predictions ranging anywhere from as many as 10 to even 20 or more Republicans who could vote to impeach, according to Republican sources, with some estimates trending upward after the first Republicans came out in favor of impeachment Tuesday.

The first impeachment backers included the House’s No. 3 Republican, Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, in a remarkable rebuke with a President who has been unassailable in the House GOP conference throughout his four-year term. While House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is opposed to impeachment, House Republican leaders are not lobbying their members to oppose it, and Cheney told the conference Monday it was a “vote of conscience.”

In another potentially significant blow to Trump, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has indicated that he believes that impeaching 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.

The scurrying away from Trump in the hours before the House will vote to impeach him Wednesday is the fiercest pushback the President has faced from Republicans since he was a GOP primary candidate who party leaders believed would fade away.

The GOP strategy on impeachment is a marked departure from the approach in 2019 when Republican leaders pushed their members to fall in line and no GOP House lawmakers defected. It shows the splintering of the GOP and how the party is deeply divided over how to respond to Trump after he incited last week’s deadly Capitol riot.

Rep. John Katko of New York was the first Republican to publicly state he would vote to impeach Trump, saying in a statement Tuesday he supported impeachment because the President needed to be held accountable for his actions.

Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger, another rare Trump critic in the House GOP conference, also announced Tuesday evening that he would support impeachment.

Trump’s impeachment for the second time in 13 months — which would make him the first President in history to be impeached twice — appears to be a foregone conclusion. The only question is how many House members vote in favor of removing the President from office eight days before President-elect Joe Biden will be sworn in.

Republicans tried to offer an alternative to impeachment, such as a censure vote, arguing it could win more bipartisan support than an impeachment occurring just one week after the riots. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told her caucus Monday that censure was a nonstarter, and Democrats are not considering any off ramps to avoid a second impeachment.

The House is meeting today to vote to impeach President Trump a second time. Lawmakers will convene at 9 a.m. ET.

Here’s how we expect the day to play out:

As with all important votes in times of coronavirus, these things are a bit fluid. But the bottom line is this: This will pass.

Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington tested positive for Covid-19 after sheltering in place with members of Congress who did not wear masks during the violent attack on the US Capitol last week. 

“The callousness, the cruelty, the idiocy…is really beyond belief,” Jayapal said. 

“What really enrages me is the way in which we were in a secure location, locked down, over a hundred people in that room, and Republicans refused to wear a mask,” she said to CNN’s Alisyn Camerota.

She said she experienced some mild flu-like symptoms, including a fever, chills and a sore throat. 

She is confident that she was infected on Wednesday because she got a test on Tuesday before the Capitol riot and tested negative at the end of the day, she said.

She’ll be voting by proxy today on impeachment, she added. 

Jayapal said she “gives credit” to GOP Rep. Liz Cheney, the party’s third-ranking House leader, for announcing that she will vote to impeach President Trump. 

“The GOP is cleaving before us as we see it. And, you know, hopefully, when people see her, that will give others some strength to also do the same thing,” she said. 

Watch the interview:

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told reporters late last night that the article won’t be held back by the House and the “presumption is within a very short time” it will be transmitted to the Senate.

Asked if the House would hold back the articles, Hoyer said emphatically: “No.”

With the Senate out of session, that would very likely mean the trial would start in the first days of Biden’s term, unless Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell agrees to bring the chamber back.

His office has not commented on Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer’s proposal to bring the chamber back early, but the expectation is that the trial won’t begin before Trump leaves office.

Democrats formally introduced their impeachment resolution Monday, charging President Trump with “incitement of insurrection” as they race toward making him the first president in US history to be impeached twice.

Today’s vote underscores Democrats’ fury toward Trump and his supporters after months of false rhetoric about the election being stolen whipped the President’s most ardent followers into a deadly mob last Wednesday that ransacked the Capitol, forced lawmakers to evacuate both the House and Senate – and could have been worse.

The single impeachment article points to Trump’s repeated false claims that he won the election and his speech to the crowd on Jan. 6 before the rioters breached the Capitol. It also cited Trump’s call with the Georgia Republican secretary of state where the President urged him to “find” enough votes for Trump to win the state.

“In all this, President Trump gravely endangered the security of the United States and its institutions of Government,” the resolution says. “He threatened the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the peaceful transition of power, and imperiled a coequal branch of Government. He thereby betrayed his trust as President, to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.”

The resolution, which was introduced by Democrats David Cicilline of Rhode Island, Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Ted Lieu of California, also cited the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, noting that it “prohibits any person who has ‘engaged in insurrection or rebellion against’ the United States” from holding office.

You can read the full article of impeachment against Trump here.