as House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) commends Capitol
Police and law enforcement for their work after Pro-Trump
demonstrators stormed the Capitol in the House chamber on January
6, 2021 in Washington, D.C. Pool/Getty Images/AFP
Donald Trump became the first US president in history to
be impeached twice when the House of Representatives voted
Wednesday to charge him with inciting last week’s mob attack on
Congress.
The Senate will not hold a trial before January 20, when
Democrat Joe Biden assumes the presidency, meaning the real estate
tycoon will escape the risk of being forced to leave early. He
will, however, depart in disgrace — and likely due to face a Senate
trial later.
The only question in the House had been how many Republicans
would join the Democratic majority.
In the end, 10 Republicans broke ranks, including the party’s
number three in the House, Representative Liz Cheney.
Holed up in the White House, Trump had no immediate reaction but
he earlier issued a brief statement insisting that he opposed
violence among his supporters.
“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.
“I call on all Americans to help ease tensions and calm tempers.
Thank You.”
Reflecting the fear of upheaval, armed National Guards deployed
across the capital and central streets were blocked to traffic.
In the Capitol building itself, guards in full camouflage and
carrying assault rifles assembled, some of them grabbing naps early
Wednesday under the ornate statues and historical paintings.
Trump survived the first impeachment almost exactly a year ago
when the Republican-controlled Senate acquitted him of abusing his
office to try and get dirt on Biden’s family before the
election.
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This time, his downfall was triggered by a speech he delivered
to a crowd on the National Mall on January 6, telling them that
Biden had stolen the presidential election and that they needed to
march on Congress and show “strength.”
Amped up on weeks of election conspiracy theories pushed by
Trump, the mob then stormed into the Capitol, fatally wounded one
police officer, wrecked furniture and forced terrified lawmakers to
hide, interrupting a ceremony to put the legal stamp on Biden’s
victory.
One protester was shot dead, and three other people died of
“medical emergencies,” bringing the toll to five.
Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told the chamber that
Trump “must go.”
“He is a clear and present danger to the nation that we all
love,” she said.
And Democratic lawmaker Ilhan Omar branded Trump a “tyrant,”
saying that “for us to able to survive as a functioning democracy
there has to be accountability.”
But Nancy Mace, a newly-elected Republican congresswoman said
that while lawmakers “need to hold the president accountable,” the
speed of the impeachment “poses great questions about the
constitutionality.”
The top Republican in the House, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy,
said that while Trump deserves censure, hurriedly impeaching will
“further divide this nation.”
McConnell open to impeachment
Trump, who has been stripped of his social media megaphones by
Twitter and Facebook, and finds himself increasingly ostracized in
the business world, is struggling to impose his message — let alone
any kind of resistance.
His refusal to accept any responsibility for the horrifying
scenes on January 6 — including his insistence Tuesday that his
speech was “totally appropriate” — has infuriated allies and
opponents alike.
The main question now is to what extent former Republican allies
in the Senate will turn on their party’s figurehead. Last year,
they acquitted Trump overwhelmingly after the House impeached him
for abuse of office.
Powerful Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell has made clear
there is no time before Trump’s January 20 exit to hold an
impeachment trial, given that the Senate is in recess until January
19.
However, he said Wednesday that he was open to the possibility
of voting to convict Trump in a trial, which could still be held
after Biden takes over.
“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 said.
The New York Times reported Tuesday that McConnell is signaling
privately that he believes Trump did commit impeachable
offenses.
This presents a potentially fatal shift in the ground under
Trump’s feet, because it could lead other Republican senators to
join in convicting Trump with the goal of turning the page in the
turbulent relationship between the party and former reality TV host
and real estate magnate.
Meanwhile, the increasingly toothless Trump’s social media woes
deepened late Tuesday when video-sharing giant YouTube said it was
suspending his official account for at least a week, out of concern
his videos could incite violence.
He is also being cut out by the business world, threatening his
financial future once he leaves the White House.
The latest blow to the Trump empire was when the mayor of his
native New York City, Bill de Blasio, announced Wednesday a
termination of contracts to run a golf course, two ice-skating
rinks and a carousel in Central Park.
“New York City doesn’t do business with insurrectionists,” de
Blasio, a Democrat, tweeted.
AFP