LIVE UPDATES: Trump Impeachment
Jim Jordan, one of the president’s congressional attack dogs, argued against the impeachment of Donald Trump for inciting a violent mob to attack the Capitol by condemning “cancel culture”.
“We should be focused on bringing the nation together. Instead, Democrats are going to impeach the president for a second time one week, one week before he leaves office. Why?” Jordan said. “They want to cancel the president.”
In reality, Democrats have said they want to impeach the president for a second time because Trump incited a violent mob to attack the Capitol, resulting in five deaths.
Moments ago, Pelosi argued Trump “must go” because he represents “a clear and present danger to the nation we all love”.
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Washington DC transformed into a fortress
As dawn broke over the Capitol this morning, it was an unimaginable sight.
Troop carriers disgorging the National Guard – being handed rifles and riot shields.
In the hallowed marble halls of Congress, soldiers slept. In one corner they huddled under a bust of the civil war president, Abraham Lincoln.
Impeachment 2.0 is different from last year’s iteration.
For a start, the congressional chamber where this is being heard is also the crime scene; where the Trump-supporting mob descended last week.
Last time around every Republican voted as a block to back the president. Not likely today.
A number have said they are going to vote to impeach, and tellingly there has not been a single Republican voice defending Donald Trump, merely a questioning of the process.
Airbnb announced today that it was cancelling all bookings in Washington for next week, as have some hotels, to stop potential rioters from coming to town.
The nation’s capital is being transformed into a citadel.
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Nancy Pelosi described January 6, when a violent mob stormed the Capitol, as a “day of fire.” George W Bush used the same phrase to describe the September 11 attacks.
“We know that the president of the United States incited this insurrection, armed rebellion, against our common country,” the Democratic speaker said.
Pelosi argued it was a vital necessity to impeach the president, but she said of the need to impeach, “It breaks my heart. It should break your heart. It should break all of our hearts.”
The speaker said she stood before the chamber today as “an officer of the constitution.” “Search your souls,” Pelosi said, “is the president’s war on democracy in keeping with the constitution?”
Pelosi: ‘It should break your heart’
More from Pelosi.
“The president must be convicted by the Senate 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,” she says.
Pelosi adds that it breaks her heart to be at yet another impeachment session.
“It should break your heart. It should break all of our hearts.”
She says this move is “not motivated by partisanship”.
“I stand before you as an officer of the Constitution, as a wife, a mother, a grandmother, a daughter – a daughter whose father proudly served in this Congress.”
She asks lawmakers for some soul searching. “Is the president’s war on democracy in keeping with the Constitution?”
Pelosi concludes: “My fellow Americans, we cannot espcae history. Let us fulfill our duty and honour the trust of our nation.”
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Pelosi: Trump ‘is a clear and present danger to the nation we all love’
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The article of impeachment, incitement of insurrection, is now being read on the House floor before the debate begins.
The article reads, in part, “In his conduct while President of the United States — and in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, provide, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed — Donald John Trump engaged in high Crimes and Misdemeanors by inciting violence against the Government of the United States …
“Donald John Trump, by such conduct, has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to national security, democracy, and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office, and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with self-governance and the rule of law. Donald John Trump thus warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States.”
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House speaker Nancy Pelosi went outside to thank the National Guard troops who are protecting the Capitol today, as members vote on the article of impeachment against Donald Trump.
The Democratic speaker also presented the troops with her challenge coin as a token of appreciation, per NBC News.
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Graham opposes impeachment despite distancing himself from Trump
Lindsey Graham has released a statement expressing opposition to the second impeachment of Donald Trump, claiming the resolution “will do great damage to the institutions of government and could invite further violence.”
“If there was a time for America’s political leaders to bend a knee and ask for God’s counsel and guidance, it is now,” the Republican senator said in the statement. “The most important thing for leaders to do in times of crisis is to make things better, not worse.”
Graham interestingly leveled criticism at fellow Republicans who are supporting the impeachment.
“As to Senate leadership, I fear they are making the problem worse, not better,” Graham said. “To my Republican colleagues who legitimize this process, you are doing great damage not only to the country, the future of the presidency, but also to the party.”
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The Republican proposal to amend the rule for debate on the article of impeachment has failed, by a vote of 221-205.
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Senate impeachment trial as soon as this week?
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Trump loyalist accuses Democrats of double standards
“Somehow when Republicans condemn all the violence – the violence this summer, the violence last week – somehow we’re wrong,” Jordan continues (he’s talking about the Black Lives Matter protests from the summer and the Capitol riot).
“Democrats can investigate the President of the United States… but will not look at an election that 80 million Americans, Republican and Democratic, have their doubts about.
“I do not know where all this goes and this is frightening for the country,” he concludes.
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New York City to cut business ties with Trump
New York City is terminating contracts with the Trump Organization following last week’s deadly riot at the US Capitol, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
“Inciting an insurrection against the United States government clearly constitutes criminal activity,” Mr de Blasio told MSNBC. “So, the city of New York will no longer have anything to do with the Trump Organization.”
The Trump Organization has contracts to run the Central Park Carousel, two ice-skating rinks in Central Park and Ferry Point Golf Course in the Bronx. The contracts are worth $17m (£12.4m) annually, according to Reuters.
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Rep. Jim McGovern (D): "We are debating this historic measure at an actual crime scene and we wouldn't be here if it weren't for POTUS ... the signal [of Trump's speech last Wednesday] was unmistakable: these thugs should stage a coup so Donald Trump could hang on to power." pic.twitter.com/WpcucZmOmS
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Congresswoman Nancy Mace of South Carolina takes the stand for her first speech as a representative. She begins by saying everyone must be held accountable for what happened.
She quotes Rev Martin Luther King Jr, saying: “The time is always right to do what is right.”
If Congress is “serious about healing divides,” she continues, “then both sides need to recognise, number one, that our words have consequences. That there is violence on both sides of the aisle, we’ve contributed to it.”
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The Capitol rioter who was photographed wearing a sweatshirt that said “Camp Auschwitz” has been arrested, according to multiple reports.
The rioter was identified as Robert Keith Packer of Virginia.
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Steny Hoyer, the House majority leader, rejected Republicans’ arguments that a swift impeachment would only further divide the country, after the president incited a violent mob to storm the Capitol.
“There are consequences to actions, and the actions of president of the United States demand urgent, clear action by the Congress of the United States,” Hoyer said.
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Top Democrat Nancy Pelosi arrives
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, the top Democrat in Congress, has just been spotted arriving for today’s impeachment session.
She gave no comment to reporters as she spoke on the phone while walking in.
She was also seen passing through the new metal detectors that were installed yesterday, which led to outrage among some Republicans.
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If these actions are not worthy of impeachment, what is?’
Democrat Steny Hoyer, the House Majority Leader. He says he disagrees with Republican Tom Cole’s lack of urgency.
“There are consequences to actions, and the actions of the President of the United States demand urgent, clear action by the Congress,” Hoyer says.
He brings up the remarks from Congresswoman Liz Cheney.
“Representative Cheney from Wyoming, a conservative Republican, said this: ‘The president of the US summoned the mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack.'”
Hoyer adds that Cheney is not “some irresponsible new member”, she is the daughter of the former vice-president, Dick Cheney.
“She knows of what she speaks,” he says. “She characterised it as the biggest betrayal of any president of the United States in our history.”
He asks: “If these actions are not worthy of impeachment, then what is an impeachable offence?”
Tom Cole, the top Republican on the House rules committee, made a process argument against the second impeachment of Donald Trump.
“This is not the type of robust process we’ve followed for every modern impeachment,” Cole said on the House floor.
He called for “healing” after a violent mob stormed the Capitol, arguing another impeachment would only further divide the nation.
It’s worth noting that last week, Cole supported an objection to counting Arizona and Pennsylvania’s electoral votes for Joe Biden after the violence at the Capitol.
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Steny Hoyer, the House majority leader, told NBC News that the chamber would immediately send the impeachment article to the Senate if it passes the House.
.@LeaderHoyer told me Democrats would send impeachment articles to the Senate immediately.
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‘We are debating at an actual crime scene’
“We are debating this historic measure at an actual crime scene and we wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the president of the United States,” says Democratic Congressman Jim McGovern.
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‘I saw Evil’
Speaking on the House floor, Jim McGovern, the Democratic chairman of the rules committee, noted that today’s vote is taking place at “an actual crime scene” after a violent mob stormed the Capitol.
McGovern recounted how Donald Trump incited the crowd to attack the Capitol, by encouraging a group of his supporters at a rally to march down Pennsylvania Avenue as Congress certified Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election.
“I saw evil,” McGovern said of the rioters.
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Army reminds soldiers of ‘apolitical standards’
“We defend the rights of every American and we protect the roles of our institutions of democracy. We remind all soldiers and civilians to uphold the Army’s apolitical standards,” the letter begins.
“The nation expects all members of the US Army to follow the law and do the right things the right way, whether we are in or out of uniform.
“To maintain the sacred trust of the American People it is important that all those who represent the Army, in any capacity, remain models of professionalism, character and integrity.”
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Grun Kibben, the House chaplain, reflected on the gravity of the day and the grief of the past week in her opening prayer this morning.
“We stand before you to give account for our role in today’s momentous decisions and our deepest desire to carry out responsibilities to govern, protect and preserve this nation while yet unsettled by the events of this past week,” Kibben said.
The president’s likely impeachment comes exactly one week after he incited a violent, pro-Trump mob to storm the Capitol, resulting in five deaths.
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House begins session
The House of Representatives has opened its session, and Democrats are getting ready to impeach President Trump over last week’s deadly attack on Congress.
The Democrats have a majority in the House, so the vote later on Wednesday on whether to impeach Mr Trump for the second time is expected to pass.
Here’s what we can expect as the day progresses
There’ll be an hour of debate on the rule of the session, split between the two parties. Then, lawmakers will vote on the rule.
We’ll then move into two hours of debate on the impeachment article itself.
The final vote on impeachment should last around an hour. We’re expecting that to begin around 1600EST/2100GMT.
They have just gone into a short recess. But there’s lots to come, so stay tuned.
