Joe Biden certified as next US president
Donald Trump has vowed there will be an “orderly transition” on 20 January when Joe Biden is sworn into office – just hours after hundreds of his supporters stormed the US Capitol Building.
The New York Times reports that the president has discussed pardoning himself on several occasions, though it is unclear if the topic was broached after Wednesday’s attack on Congress. On Friday he will leave DC for a weekend at Camp David.
Mr Trump’s Twitter was suspended after he posted several tweets flagged for inciting violence, including calling rioters “great patriots”. He has been indefinitely banned from Facebook and Instagram.
Congress resumed its work certifying Mr Biden’s Electoral College win late on Wednesday night after the chaotic scenes on Capitol Hill, with debate stretching into the early hours of Thursday.
On Thursday, House members began circulating a draft of articles of impeachment, while a growing number of lawmakers voiced support for Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove the president from office.
Police confirmed afterwards that four people died and more than 50 arrests were made, as a result. President Trump, meanwhile, has been widely condemned.
Graham on 25th Amendment: All options on the table ‘if something else happens’
Oliver O’Connell7 January 2021 20:32
Lindsey Graham urges national security officials to stay put
Senator Lindsey Graham (R—SC) rebuked President Donald Trump’s conduct during the violent mobs that attacked the Capitol while calling for national security officials to “stay on” during the transition of power, saying in a press conference on Thursday: “We need you now more than ever.”
Oliver O’Connell7 January 2021 20:31
Report: Trump told aides he wants to pardon himself
The New York Times reports that Donald Trump has suggested to aides he wants to pardon himself in the final days of his presidency, citing two people with knowledge of the discussions.
It would be “one of the most extraordinary and untested uses of presidential power in American history”.
The report says that there have been several conversations on the matter since the election, but it is not clear whether the topic has been revisited since Wednesday’s attack on the Capitol.
Oliver O’Connell7 January 2021 20:18
Biden: Capitol rioters ‘domestic terrorists’ radicalised by Trump
President-elect Joe Biden called the violent pro-Donald Trump mob that stormed the US Capitol “domestic terrorists” who carried out the “culmination” of the outgoing president’s four-year “attack” on democracy.
The Independent’s Washington Bureau Chief John T Bennett reports.
Oliver O’Connell7 January 2021 20:11
Voices: Remember the Republicans who stood by Trump as the Capitol was mobbed
The images were stunning. The losing president delivered a dystopian speech filled with lies and ordered his supporters to head to the Capitol building. Lawmakers were evacuated as the insurrectionists easily pushed through Capitol police forces and desecrated the building. President Trump posted a video where he continued to spew election lies, appearing almost giddy about the day’s events. By nightfall, a fire engulfed the Capitol steps and Trump flags hung from its ledges after a day of deadly clashes.
Read more from Ahmed Baba in Washington, DC.
Oliver O’Connell7 January 2021 19:55
Pelosi: “In terms of the inauguration … I don’t trust whatever the president might have in mind, because … I think he’s a very dangerous man.”
The speaker also reiterated her preference for the president be removed via the 25th Amendment, and then said: “If he wants to be unique and be doubly-impeached, that’s up to him and his cabinet as to whether he should stay in office.”
“Impeached. Defeated. Impeached. Gone,” she added.
Oliver O’Connell7 January 2021 19:39
Pelosi: “I say I pray for the president every night and I do. Last night was the hardest night.”
Oliver O’Connell7 January 2021 19:33
Pelosi: Thirteen days
“He must be removed from office,” says Speaker Pelosi of the president.
“While it is only 13 days left, any day can be a horror show for America.”
Oliver O’Connell7 January 2021 19:28
Pelosi: This is an emergency of the highest magnitude
Calling the president a “very dangerous person” and describing the situation as urgent, Nancy Pelosi called out the secretary of state and the secretary of the treasury, asking why they won’t invoke 25th Amendment.
“Is it about success in business later?”
Oliver O’Connell7 January 2021 19:23
Pelosi: Invoke 25th amendment or I’ll impeach
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi: “I join the Senate Democratic leader in calling on the vice president to remove this president by immediately invoking the 25th amendment. If the vice president and cabinet do not act, the Congress may be prepared to move forward with impeachment.”
She adds: “That is the overwhelming sentiment of my caucus.”
Oliver O’Connell7 January 2021 19:18
