The Riksdag before the court first tries to convince the vice president and the government to act even faster to remove President Donald Trump and warn that he poses a threat to democracy during the remaining days of his presidency.
House lawmakers return to the Capitol for the first time since the deadly pro-Trump riot to pass a resolution calling on Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to declare the president incapable of serving. Pence is not expected to take such action. The House would then go quickly to accuse Trump.
“We have to be very tough and very strong right now to defend the constitution and democracy,” he said. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., Author of both laws, in an interview.
Trump faces a single charge – “incentive of insurrection” – in the indictment that the House will begin debating on Wednesday, a week before Democrat Joe Biden is set to be inaugurated on January 20.
The unprecedented events, only the first US president to be twice accused, are developing in a nation that supports more unrest. The FBI has warned unpleasantly about potential armed protests in Washington and many states by Trump loyalists before Biden’s inauguration. In a dark shadow, the Washington Monument was closed to the public and the inauguration ceremony on the western steps of the Capitol will be restricted to the public.
All of this was complemented by the fantastic last minute of the Trump presidency as Democrats and a growing number of Republicans declare him unfit for office and could do more harm after encouraging a crowd that violently ransacked the US capital last Wednesday.
A Capitol police officer died of injuries sustained in the riot and police shot a woman during the violence. Three others died in what the authorities said were medical emergencies.
Late Monday, the entire Spanish-speaking Congress, all 34 members, unanimously agreed to support accusations and demanded Trump’s immediate removal.
“It is clear that every moment Trump remains in office, America is at risk,” said a statement from the election rally, led by Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Ca. It said Trump “must be held accountable” for his actions.
‘Vote your conscience’
Democrats are not the only ones who say Trump must go.
Rope. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., Encouraged the House’s GOP colleagues late Monday to “vote your conscience,” according to a person granted anonymity to discuss the private conversation. She has spoken critically about Trump’s actions but has not said publicly how she will vote.
Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania joined GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska over the weekend and asked Trump to “step down as soon as possible.”
Pence and Trump met late Monday for the first time since the Capitol attack and had a “good conversation” that promised to continue working for the rest of their terms, said a senior administrative official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private meeting . .
Pence has given no indication that he would invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office. No member of the government has publicly demanded that Trump be fired through the 25th Amendment process.
When security was tightened, Biden said on Monday that he was “not afraid” to take the oath of office outside the Capitol.
Regarding the riots, Biden said: “It is critically important that there will be a really serious focus on keeping the people who are rebelling and threatening life, damaging public property, causing great damage – that they are held accountable. ”
Biden said he has had talks with senators ahead of a possible lawsuit, which some have worried would obscure his administration’s opening days.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer examined ways to immediately convene the Senate for trial as soon as the House acts, even if Republican leader Mitch McConnell would have to agree. The president-elect proposed splitting Senate time, perhaps “spending half a day dealing with deportation, half a day getting my people nominated and confirmed in the Senate, and moving on to the package” for more COVID relief.
When Congress resumed, a troubled government swept. Another legislator, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., Announced Tuesday that she had tested positive for COVID-19 after protecting during the siege.
Many lawmakers may choose to vote by proxy rather than come to Washington, a process introduced last year during the COVID-19 crisis to limit travel health risks.
House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy has discouraged GOP lawmakers from using the proxy option. But during a conversation with House GOP lawmakers, he loosened his stern opposition to this week’s votes, according to a Republican granted anonymity to discuss the private conversation.
Among Trump’s closest allies in Congress, McCarthy said in a letter to colleagues that “persecution at this time would have the opposite effect of bringing our country together.”
He said he would examine any mistrust of the president. But House Republicans are divided and some may vote to accuse.
Democrats say they have votes for prosecution. The national proposal from rep. David Cicilline from Rhode Island, Ted Lieu in California, Raskin from Maryland and Jerrold Nadler from New York draw from Trump’s own false statements about his election defeat against Biden.
Judges across the country, including some Trump nominees, have repeatedly rejected cases questioning the election results, and former Attorney General William Barr, an ally of Trump, has said there were no signs of widespread fraud.
The law on persecution also describes Trump’s pressure on government officials in Georgia to “find” him more votes, as well as his White House rally ahead of the Capitol siege, where he encouraged thousands of supporters last Wednesday to “fight like hell” and march. to the building.
The mob overpowered police, broke through security lines and windows and fell through the Capitol, forcing lawmakers to disperse as they completed Biden’s victory over Trump in the Electoral College.
While some have questioned accusing the president so close to the end of his term, Democrats and others say he must be prevented from holding future public office.
There are precedents for prosecuting a national court after an official leaves the office. In 1876, under the Ulysses Grant administration, War Minister William Belknap was indicted by the House on the day he resigned, and the Senate convened a trial months later. He was acquitted.
(AP)
