Donald Trump Impeachment LIVE Updates: US President Donald Trump was impeached by the US House for a historic second time Wednesday, charged with "incitement of insurrection" over the deadly mob siege of the Capitol in a swift and stunning collapse of his final days in office. Ten Republicans fled Trump, joining Democrats who said he needed to be held accountable and warned ominously of a "clear and present danger" if Congress should leave him unchecked before Democrat Joe Biden's inauguration Jan. 20.
Trump is the only U.S. president to be twice impeached.
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.
Jan 14, 2021 02:50 (IST)
Trump 'clueless what any of this means internationally or historically,' senior adviser says
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.
Jan 14, 2021 02:28 (IST)
Voting Starts: 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. 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:
Jan 14, 2021 02:25 (IST)
7 Republicans say they'll vote for impeachment: Republican 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.
Jan 14, 2021 01:52 (IST)
McConnell says he has 'not made a final decision': Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said in a note to his fellow Republican senators that he is undecided on whether President Donald Trump should be convicted if the House votes to impeach him.
McConnell said in the letter Wednesday: “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.”
Jan 14, 2021 00:58 (IST)
Trump Says There Must be No More Violence: President Donald Trump says he opposes violence in a statement read on the House floor as members debate impeaching him for his role in fomenting the violent insurrection at the Capitol last week. Trump's message was read Wednesday by GOP Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio.
Trump says in a statement: “In light of reports of more demonstrations, I urge that there must be NO violence, NO lawbreaking and NO vandalism of any kind.” Trump adds: “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.”
Trump is on the verge of being impeached for a second time in a fast-moving House vote, just a week after he encouraged loyalists to “fight like hell” against election results and then a mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol. Five people died, including a U.S. Capitol Police officer. The president falsely claimed widespread voter fraud cost him the election won by Democrat Joe Biden.
Jan 14, 2021 00:43 (IST)
At least 6 Republicans will vote to impeach Trump: Rep. Dan. Newhouse of Washington has added his name to the short list of Republicans supporting the impeachment of President Donald Trump. He said on the House floor that the article of impeachment is flawed, but he will not use process as an excuse to vote no. He says, “There is no excuse for President Trump's actions.” Newhouse now joins other Republicans who have said they will vote to impeach Trump. At least six have said they will break ranks.
These are the Republicans who say they will vote for impeachment (so far):
McCarthy says Trump bears riot responsibility: House Minority Leader Republican Kevin McCarthy said 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, a close Trump ally, 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.
Jan 14, 2021 00:08 (IST)
Voting on Trump's impeachment will begin 1.30 AM (IST): US lawmakers will vote to charge US President Donald Trump just one week after he incited a mob of loyalists to storm the Capitol and stop Congress from affirming President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s victory in the November election. The vote will take place after the House undertook an emotionally charged debate on Wednesday over impeaching President Trump for a historic second time.
Lawmakers walked among armed National Guard patrols in the halls of the US Capitol on Wednesday, as downtown Washington was fenced off and boarded up while Congress weighed a historic second…
Jan 13, 2021 23:49 (IST)
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell won't agree to bring the Senate back early, according to Republican sources, and he communicated as much to Senator 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.
As the US House of Representatives neared a vote on Wednesday to impeach President Donald Trump, Republican leaders in the Senate weighed whether to launch a trial on Friday to consider removing him…
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday demanded the impeachment of Donald Trump in the final week of his presidency, calling him a "clear and present danger" to America for inciting an "armed…
Jan 13, 2021 23:29 (IST)
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 has 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.
Indian-American Congressman Dr Ami Bera said on Wednesday that he will vote to impeach outgoing President Donald Trump, who "will sit in the dustbins" of the American history for his role in inciting…
Jan 13, 2021 23:22 (IST)
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.
Jan 13, 2021 23:18 (IST)
Pelosi Calls Trump a "Clear And Present Danger" | 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.
Jan 13, 2021 23:12 (IST)
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.
Jan 13, 2021 23:03 (IST)
House Begins Debate | The House is now debating 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.
Jan 13, 2021 22:58 (IST)
McConnell Hasn't Told Republicans When Senate Trial May Be | US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has not told his members yet when the trial may be, according to multiple GOP sources. McConnell's office is not responding to questions about timing yet.
Jan 13, 2021 22:52 (IST)
US Prez Instigated an Attempted Coup: Democrat | "The president of the United States instigated an attempted coup in this country," Democratic Representative Jim McGovern said on the House floor before a procedural vote on moving forward with impeachment.
Jan 13, 2021 22:46 (IST)
In an interview with CNN, Representative 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.
Jan 13, 2021 22:40 (IST)
GOP Representative 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.
Jan 13, 2021 22:28 (IST)
Things happening outside the US Capitol 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. They were just issued weapons, many of them carrying semi-automatic rifles, reports CNN.
- Other military police, police from other jurisdictions, the Capitol Hill police and the Washington Metropolitan police are in the area with the National Guard.
- Traffic is completely shut off around the Capitol. A roadblock is up on Independence Avenue along with an 8-foot fence around the southwest corner of the Capitol grounds that has been up since after the riots last week.
- There are also squad cars in some sections of the city and dump trucks blocking roads. In other places, there are steel barriers.
Jan 13, 2021 22:17 (IST)
Pelosi Likely to Open Debate Soon | House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will open debate on the impeachment resolution, her spokesperson says. Her remarks are expected around 10:45 PM (IST). The House is currently voting on the rules governing the impeachment article.
Jan 13, 2021 22:11 (IST)
McConnell Likely in Favour of Impeachment | Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is signaling he is in favor of impeachment, a GOP source familiar with McConnell's thinking tells CNN. "Unlike Kevin McCarthy, he doesn't think Trump will just fade away, thinks the party needs to make a clean break to save itself," this source said. 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.
Jan 13, 2021 21:36 (IST)
House Rules Committee Chair Calls Out Some Republicans For Pleas of Unity |Representative 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.
Jan 13, 2021 21:29 (IST)
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, reports CNN.
Jan 13, 2021 21:22 (IST)
House Voting on Rules | The House is voting now on the rules governing the impeachment article that they will vote on later today.
Aibnb said on Wednesday it will ban bookings in Washington around the time of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration after local authorities asked people to stay away following the attack on the US…
File photo: US President Donald Trump walks down the West Wing colonnade from the Oval Office to the Rose Garden to deliver an update on the so-called "Operation Warp Speed" program, at the White House in Washington, on November 13, 2020. (REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo)
Accused of stoking the mob assault on Congress on January 6, Trump broke his silence from the White House only to issue a brief statement insisting on his opposition to violence. "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," he said. The US House of Representatives voted to impeach him for his role in an assault on American democracy that stunned the nation and left five dead.
The impeachment comes just seven days before he is due to leave office and President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in on January 20. A vote of the House majority to impeach would trigger a trial in the still Republican-controlled Senate, although it seems such a trial would take place in time to expel Trump from the White House.
Democrats moved forward on an impeachment vote after Vice President Mike Pence rejected an effort to persuade him to invoke the 25th Amendment of the US Constitution to remove Trump. "I do not believe that such a course of action is in the best interest of our Nation or consistent with our Constitution," Pence said in a letter Tuesday evening to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Despite the letter, the House passed a resolution late Tuesday formally calling on Pence to act. The final vote was 223-205 in favor.
As the House prepared for the impeachment vote on Wednesday, there were signs that Trump's once-dominant hold on the Republican Party was beginning to ebb. At least seven House Republicans, including Liz Cheney, a member of her party's leadership team, said they would vote for his second impeachment - a prospect no president before Trump has faced. "There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution," Cheney, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, said in a statement.
Trump "summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack" on the Capitol, she said. Four other Republican House members, Jaime Herrera Beutler, John Katko, Adam Kinzinger and Fred Upton, also said they supported impeachment.
In a break from standard procedure, Republican leaders in the House have refrained from urging their members to vote against impeaching Trump, saying it was a matter of individual conscience. The New York Times reported that the Republican majority leader of the U.S. Senate, Mitch McConnell, was said to be pleased about the impeachment push, another sign that Trump's party is looking to move on from him after the attack on Congress.
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