The United States House of Representatives will meet on Wednesday to consider the articles of impeachment for President Trump.
Democratic leaders want to remove President Trump from office, and they don’t want him to be able to run again in four years, so they are rushing to get Republican support to impeach him (again) with less than two weeks remaining of his presidency.
Trump was widely blamed for instigating the violent protest last week that breached the Capitol while a joint session of Congress was taking place to confirm the Electoral College vote for Joe Biden. The chaos led to five deaths. Two were reportedly not related to attacks or violence, while one was a Capitol police officer who was allegedly beaten by protestors. A woman was shot in the neck by police.
Eighty-two people were arrested. The FBI has released dozens of photos seeking the public’s help to identify some of the protesters.
The full political effects from the incident have likely not been fully felt by Trump, who said he will not be attending the 20 January inauguration. Biden responded he doesn’t want him there.
The question now is how many Republicans are willing to turn on a president who received 74.2 million votes. (Biden received 81.2 million.) Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican that was seen as a top ally for Trump during his first impeachment, abandoned the president during a floor speech after the protesters were cleared out on Wednesday.
“Trump and I, we’ve had a hell of a journey. I hate it to end this way. Oh my God, I hate it. From my point of view, he has been a consequential president. But today, the first thing you’ll see. All I can say is, count me out, enough is enough.”
TREND FORECAST: Two days later, surrounded by security guards, Graham was called out by Trump supporters as a “traitor to the country” as he walked through the Washington National Airport. (Click here for video.)
We note this because we forecast this is the beginning of the formation of a new political party to replace the failing Republican Party. As we had noted in 2016, we identified Donald Trump as the most likely candidate to defeat Hillary Clinton since he was considered an outsider while the party candidates were considered un-motivating establishment members who lacked the “populist” appeal.
Back Peddlers
Republican senators who said earlier they would challenge some of the state’s election results stood down after the unrest. Senator Kelly Loeffler – the Georgia Republican who Trump ardently campaigned for but lost the election – had announced she was going to challenge the Presidential election results in Georgia, but the riot changed her mind.
“I cannot now in good conscience object to the certification of these electors,” she said. “The violence, the lawlessness, and siege of the halls of Congress are abhorrent and stand as a direct attack on the very institution my objection was intended to protect: the American democratic process.”
Representatives David Cicilline, Ted Lieu, and Jamie Raskin wrote up the articles of impeachment, and more than 150 fellow Democrats signed on. Lieu took to Twitter on Saturday and said his colleagues would introduce the articles on Monday. He said there are videos of Trump inciting “the mob” and also of the mob attacking the Capitol.
“This isn’t a close call,” he said.
Judd Deere, a White House spokesman, told Reuters that impeaching Trump with 12 days “remaining in his presidency would only serve to further divide the country.” Graham and House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy also asked Democrats to just let the Trump term play out.
Who’s to Blame?
Trump’s supporters say the president never incited violence, and what happened at the Capitol was the result of millions of Americans who felt the president never got his day in court. They still question how a candidate like Biden, who represents the establishment in Washington, could somehow influence 80 million Americans to vote. They also say Trump called for calm and told his supporters, “This is not who we are.”
Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s attorney, said Trump ended his speech at the rally saying, “Go peacefully and patriotically.”
CNN reported late Saturday that a source said Vice President Mike Pence did not rule out invoking the 25th Amendment, which was never used before and allows the vice president and majority of the Cabinet to seize control from a president. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer urged Pence to take the action.
Reports indicated Pence is angry about the way Trump has treated him for not refusing to accept the Electoral College certification. Trump tweeted, “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our country and our Constitution.”
USA Today reported Senator Jim Inhofe told a local news outlet last week he never saw Pence “as angry as he was today.” The paper reported Trump’s rebuke was remarkable because Pence had been considered a loyal ally and competent vice president.
Todd Belt, a presidential expert at George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management, said it was rumored Trump would step down before the inauguration so Pence could pardon him, but that is seen as less likely now.
It is generally agreed Trump could still be impeached if he is found guilty after leaving office, which, given the new Democrat-controlled body, would only require 17 Republican votes.
TRENDPOST: As this issue’s cover illustrates, this is a new America: a DIVIDED STATES OF AMERICA.
While the breaching of the Capitol building was riotous, as we viewed it, there are serious, lingering unanswered questions, such as, “How could an un-armed mob swarm the building?” It was not as though there were scores of heavily-armed, fit military squads that broke through. Rather, it was a cross-section of flag-waving, everyday people, some dressed like clowns and others just average.
In fact, leading up to the 6 January rally, the mainstream media ran stories on how the police and Pentagon were prepared for the worst of what was yet to come.
Instead, as videos show, the Capitol police opened the gates and doors to let the mobs into the building.
In any event, it also illustrates the low level of preparedness of America’s military institutions, which, by far, have the largest defense and police budgets in the world.
If they were unable to secure the Capitol with weeks to prepare, what would America’s response be to a planned military attack on Washington or a terrorist attack?
