Impeachment: Republicans begin to turn against Trump

A Democrats’ race to remove President Donald Trump from office is gathering momentum as some of his fellow Republicans begin to break ranks.

The third-largest Republican in the House of Representatives, Liz Cheney, has said she will vote to impeach Mr. Trump in the wake of the U.S. Capitol riot last week.

Earlier today, the president took no responsibility for the violation of Congress by his supporters.

He will be replaced by Joe Biden, a Democrat, on January 20.

The House plans to vote on Wednesday to charge Mr. Trump with inciting insurgency, which would make him the first US president to be impeached twice.

Ms Cheney, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, has pledged to support impeachment, the first time a leader of the president’s own party has done so since Richard Nixon’s tenure. She said in a statement: “There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution.”

The Wyoming representative added that Mr. Trump had “called this crowd, gathered the crowd, lit the flame of this attack.”

Two other members of the Republican House, John Katko and Adam Kinzinger, said they would also vote for impeachment.

Republican House Leader Kevin McCarthy, a Trump ally who has spoken out against the impeachment, has reportedly decided not to ask grassroots members of the party to vote against the measure.

According to the New York Times, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell told confidants he was happy Democrats wanted to impeach the president because he believes it will help rid the Republican Party of Mr. Trump.

Mr McConnell also told associates he believed the president had committed uneasy crimes, the Washington Post reports.

On Tuesday evening, Republican Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania introduced a resolution to censor Mr. Trump – a congressional reprimand less harsh than impeachment.

The measure accuses Mr. Trump of “attempting to illegally overturn” the November presidential election results and of “endangering an equal branch of government.”

On Tuesday, the House of Representatives passed a resolution by 223-205 votes calling on Vice President Mike Pence to help oust Mr. Trump using the 25th Amendment.

But earlier today, Mr Pence had already rejected the Democrats’ resolution urging him to invoke Section 4 of the amendment. This provision would allow the cabinet to remove the president if he is deemed incapable of performing his duties.

In a letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Mr. Pence said: “Under our Constitution, the 25th Amendment is not a means of punishment or usurpation.

“To invoke the 25th Amendment in this way would set a terrible precedent.”

Mr Pence’s refusal to participate means Democrats will proceed with an impeachment vote.

They could also use an impeachment trial to stage a vote preventing Mr. Trump from running again. The president has indicated that he plans to campaign in 2024.

If Mr. Trump is impeached by the House, he would have a Senate trial to determine his guilt.

The New York Times also reported on Tuesday that as many as 20 Senate Republicans were prepared to condemn the president.

A two-thirds majority of the upper house would be needed to convict Mr. Trump, meaning at least 17 Republicans would have to vote for the conviction.

In his first public appearance since last Wednesday’s riot, Mr Trump showed no contrition for remarks he made to supporters at a rally before a crowd stormed theaters of Congress.

“What I said was entirely appropriate,” Mr. Trump said before a trip to the US-Mexico border wall in Texas. “I don’t want violence.”

He also told reporters: “This indictment is causing enormous anger, and you are doing it, and it is really a terrible thing that they are doing.”

Mr Trump said the “real problem” was the rhetoric Democrats used during the Black Lives Matter protests and violence last year.

The impeachment case centers on Mr. Trump’s remarks at a rally outside the White House shortly before his supporters attempt to storm the House of Representatives.

Mr Trump had repeated unsubstantiated allegations of electoral fraud, urging the crowd to march on Congress as he certified Mr Biden’s electoral victory.

He called on them to “make your voices heard peacefully and patriotically”, but also to “fight like hell”.

In the time it took Air Force One to bring Donald Trump back from the Texas border on Tuesday, the political ground collapsed beneath his feet.

Signals from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that he is “happy” with Democratic efforts suggest that the political calculation is changing for Republican leaders in Congress.

A growing number believe that the president’s unrepentant actions last week threatened not only American democracy, but their personal safety as well.

And even before the riot on Capitol Hill, Mr. Trump was increasingly seen as a political liability with waning power. His scorched earth challenge to election results likely cost Republicans two Senate seats in Georgia, and there is little evidence that Mr. Trump increases the party’s electoral chances when his name is not on the ballot. to vote.

Mr McConnell, among others, may question whether a clean break with Trump is better for their political future, even if it means working with Democrats to get the job done.

So far, 170 people involved in the deadly attack have been identified and 70 people indicted, the FBI revealed on Tuesday.

Hundreds more should be charged and those convicted of sedition and conspiracy could face up to 20 years in prison, the agency said.

Rioters are urged to transform into police. A social media campaign is underway by members of the public to identify the rioters from photographs taken last week.

He also said that investigations concluded that two homemade bombs found near political party offices in Washington contained explosive igniters and timers.

Meanwhile, it was reported that the day before the riots, the FBI issued an internal report warning that extremists were planning to travel to Washington DC to commit violence.

The document, from an FBI office in Virginia, showed plotters sharing maps of the tunnels under the Capitol complex, according to US media.