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Tag: impeachment

  • Biden anxious over Trump’s impeachment

    Biden anxious over Trump’s impeachment

    U.S. President, Joe Biden told reporters on Friday that he is anxious to see how Republicans will vote in the impeachment trial for former President Donald Trump.

    “I’m just anxious to see whether what my Republican friends do if they stand up,’’ Biden said.

    Biden added that he was not going to speak with any of Republican Senators about how they should vote.

    On Thursday, impeachment managers wrapped up a two-day-long presentation of the case against Donald Trump and called on the U.S. Senate to convict the former president over the Capitol attack and disqualify him from any future public office.

    House managers, who act as prosecutors in the Senate trial, passed the floor to Trump’s lawyers, who will take the stage on Friday with up to 16 hours for opening arguments.

    The defense team, according to CNN, is expected within a single day to present the case for Trump’s acquittal, paving the way for the senators to debate and vote on the case

    The verdict may be passed as early as this weekend and is likely to be in favor of the former president, given a lack of a two-thirds majority in the chamber needed for conviction.

  • Why Trump’s conviction may fail – Clinton

    Why Trump’s conviction may fail – Clinton

    Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says an acquittal in former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial will only be possible if the jury includes his co-conspirators.

    “If Senate Republicans fail to convict Donald Trump, it won’t be because the facts were with him or his lawyers mounted a competent defence.

    “It will be because the jury includes his co-conspirators,” Clinton wrote further on the micro-blogging website, The Hill on Thursday.

    According to The Hill, the former U.S. top diplomat’s tweet came after the second day of arguments from House impeachment managers before the Senate.

    Representatives David Cicilline and Joaquin Castro attempted to “draw a direct line between” the rioters (who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6) and Trump where at least one person was reading a tweet from Trump attacking Vice President Mike Pence over a megaphone during the riot.

    Clinton, last month expressed solidarity toward the impeachment of Trump by saying it was essential to impeach him in the wake of the Capitol riots but warned that impeachment alone “won’t remove white supremacy from America”.

    In an opinion piece for The Washington Post, Clinton wrote that the attack on the Capitol was the “tragically predictable result” of white-supremacist grievances fuelled by Trump.

    She stressed that his departure from office, whether immediately or on Jan. 20, “will not solve the deeper problems exposed by this episode.”

    Impeachment managers also introduced never-before-seen footage of Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman apparently directing Senator Mitt Romney (Republican from Utah) away from the House side of the Capitol.

    “It was obviously very troubling to see the great violence that our Capitol Police and others were subjected to. It tears at your heart and brings tears to your eyes.

    “That was overwhelmingly distressing and emotional,” the 2012 presidential candidate later told reporters he had been unaware of his proximity to the rioters before viewing the footage.

    The upper chamber in the U.S. Congress is unlikely to secure the two-thirds majority necessary to convict Trump which would bar him from holding office again.

    However, only six Republicans voted that the trial itself was constitutional earlier this year. The Senate determined on Tuesday on a 56-to-44 vote that it has jurisdiction to try the former the president.

    A two-thirds majority will be needed for conviction, meaning that at least 17 of the 50 Senate Republicans have to break ranks and join their Democratic colleagues.

    Trump’s impeachment trial resumed on Wednesday as the U.S. Senate proceeds to hear arguments for and against convicting him of instigating last month’s violent attack on Congress.

    House managers, who are the first to take the floor, plan to use previously unseen security footage to show “extreme violence” of the Jan. 6 assault and make clear how close Trump’s loyalists came to lawmakers, the Washington Times said.

    Trump’s lawyers have urged the Senate to dismiss as unconstitutional and “self-evidently wrong” allegations that their client had a role in the attack on the Capitol by his loyalists who sought to prevent the congressional certification of his loss to Joe Biden.

  • U.S. Senate set for speedy Trump impeachment trial

    U.S. Senate set for speedy Trump impeachment trial

    As a second historic impeachment trial for former President Donald Trump draws near, Senators are looking forward to get it over within one week, media reports said.

    Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell are still trying to get a deal on the organisation of the trial, which is scheduled to start on Tuesday, The Hill reported.

    “I just can’t imagine that it’s going to go beyond a week… I don’t think there’s a lot of enthusiasm for this thing from anybody,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer.

    “What we’re hearing is that the Dems, at least the rank-and-file Dems, are saying they don’t want to drag it out. Most of them want to work on other stuff.

    “So it seems to be both sides mutually interested in a shorter trial,” Sen. John Thune, the number two Senate Republican told The Hill,

    While arguing that Trump’s impeachment trial is necessary, Senate Democrats are also focusing on President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 relief package.

    “It will be a short trial. It will be an open-and-shut and pretty straightforward set of evidence consisting of what he said in his tweets before to invite and implore these people to come to the Capitol,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal told CNN.

    A senior GOP senator predicted the trial could be done as soon as Friday or Saturday because “that’s what both sides want to do, probably.”

    The agreement sought by McConnell and Schumer would lay out a timeline for the first phase of the trial that includes opening arguments from both the House impeachment managers and Trump’s lawyers, according to The Hill.

    If the Senate doesn’t vote to call witnesses, the trial could then rapidly close with potential motions by Senators, deliberations on the charges, closing arguments and a vote on whether to convict Trump of high crimes and misdemeanours.

    Earlier, the House impeachment managers had invited Trump to testify, a request rejected by his lawyers.

    According to The Hill, Trump’s first trial lasted 21 days that marked the shortest presidential impeachment trial at the time.

    Former President Bill Clinton’s trial lasted 37 days, and the trial of former President Andrew Johnson in 1868 lasted 83 days.

    Last week, the House of Representatives delivered the article of impeachment against Trump, accusing him of inciting an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6 to stop Congress from verifying President Joe Biden’s win in the 2020 election.

    Trump is the only President in U.S. history to be impeached twice.

  • Trump’s impeachment trial stalled in U.S. Senate

    Trump’s impeachment trial stalled in U.S. Senate

    The second impeachment trial of former U.S. President Donald Trump may not begin until mid-February, to give him time to prepare a defense against charges of inciting insurrection.

    Republican senators sought the delay after Democrats earlier in the day said that the House of Representatives could send the impeachment charge – passed last week in response to the deadly storming of the Capitol by Trump supporters – to the Senate as early as Friday.

    Trump, a Republican, left office on Wednesday and flew to his Florida resort, hours before Democrat Joe Biden was sworn in.

    Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell asked Democrats to hold off on sending the charge until Jan. 28 and give Trump two weeks from that day to prepare a defence. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office did not immediately respond to a question about McConnell’s proposal.

    Democrats control the Senate by the narrowest possible margin, relying on Vice President Kamala Harris’s tie-breaking vote in a 50-50 chamber, and also need Republican cooperation to advance much of Biden’s agenda, as well as confirming Cabinet appointments.

    Trump is the only U.S. president to have been impeached twice, and his trial in the Senate will be the only one ever to have taken place after a president has left office.

    A source familiar with the planning told Reuters the House could transmit the article of impeachment as early as Friday and No. 2 Senate Democrat Dick Durbin said he expected it “in a day or two.”

    In Trump’s first impeachment trial, the Senate began the proceedings the day after the charges were sent from the House.

    But Republican senators said they had discussed the need to give Trump time for “due process,” as Senator John Cornyn put it.

    “From what I understand from today’s conversation, it does not get started until sometime mid-February,” Republican Senator Mike Braun told reporters.

    Trump has hired South Carolina-based lawyer Butch Bowers to represent him in his Senate impeachment trial, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

  • Bayelsa Assembly breaks silence on impeachment moves against Gov. Diri

    Bayelsa Assembly breaks silence on impeachment moves against Gov. Diri

    The Bayelsa House of Assembly says there are no plans to impeach Gov. Douye Diri, describing the speculations as a distraction.
    The House Committee Chairman on Information, Mr Tari Porri, representing Ekeremor Constituency 1, dismissed the rumour that the sixth assembly has concluded plans to impeach the governor.
    Porri was reacting to reports that the legislature was at dispute with the executive over the disbursement of N38 billion refunds from the Federal Government.
    He stated this during a newsmen briefing in the conference room of the Bayelsa Speaker, in Yenagoa on Tuesday.
    According to him, this is the second time such alleged impeachment plot against the incumbent governor of Bayelsa is making the rounds.
    Porri said the state legislature had recorded such alleged impeachment in the past.
    “The 6th Assembly under Speaker Abraham Ingobere have shown that they don’t know what those behind the alleged plot are talking about.
    “The 6th Assembly have no reason to impeach the governor, we have never contemplated on that before.
    “We strongly believe that those peddling such rumour never mean well for our dear state.
    “Under the leadership of Hon. Abraham Ingobere, we have never thought of such for a man who have started most of his promises to his people,” he said.
    The spokesman flayed such rumours, assuring that the assembly is working with the govenor to deliver the dividends of democracy to the people.
    The information committee chairman explained that the constitution had spelt out a process before impeachment could be carried out.
    Porri said the 19 PDP members and their five APC colleagues are working in synergy with the governor and the leadership of the Bayelsa Assembly.
  • Impeachment: Biden reminds Senate of ‘other urgent business’ of state

    Impeachment: Biden reminds Senate of ‘other urgent business’ of state

    U.S. President-elect Joe Biden on Wednesday evening said he hoped the Senate would find a way to balance its “constitutional responsibilities on impeachment” with ‘other urgent business’ of state.

    Biden’s remarks came in a statement shortly after the House of Representatives led by Nancy Pelosi impeached outgoing President Donald Trump for allegedly inciting the Jan. 6 breach of Congress by his supporters.

    Trump denies the allegation, and in a video message on Wednesday, “unequivocally condemned” the incident, saying no true supporter of his would engage in such acts of violence.

    Biden said: “Today, the members of the House of Representatives exercised the power granted to them under our Constitution and voted to impeach and hold the president accountable.

    “It was a bipartisan vote cast by members who followed the constitution and their conscience.

    “The process continues to the Senate. This nation also remains in the grip of a deadly virus and a reeling economy.

    “I hope that the Senate leadership will find a way to deal with their constitutional responsibilities on impeachment while also working on the other urgent business of this nation.”

    He emphasised that there was too much “urgent work,” to be done, including confirmation of his appointees and revival of the struggling economy.

    The next step is for the House to send the article of impeachment to the Senate, which is currently on break until Jan. 19, a day before Biden’s inauguration.

    Two-thirds majority votes are needed for the Senate to convict Trump, but Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said that was unlikely before he leaves office.

    In a statement on Wednesday evening, McConnell pointed out that even if the Senate reconvened on the matter this week, it would not be able to reach a final decision before Jan. 20

    He said: “Remember, Inauguration Day is 20 January. The Senate can still convict Trump after his departure, though.

    “In light of this reality, I believe it will best serve our nation if Congress and the executive branch spend the next seven days completely focused on facilitating a safe inauguration and an orderly transfer of power to the incoming Biden administration.”

  • Trump breaks silence over impeachment moves by House of Reps

    Trump breaks silence over impeachment moves by House of Reps

    Outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump said there was tremendous anger in the country about impeachment moves by the House of Representatives.

    But he quickly added that he did not want violence.

    He was reacting for the first time to the impeachment move by the House, the second time in his tumultuous four years at White House.

    He sounded unapologetic about the speech at a White House rally, in which he clearly asked his hordes of supporters to march on the U.S. Capitol.

    Denying he triggered the mayhem in the US Capitol, Trump claimed that his rally speech to the MAGA supporters who stormed their way in, killing a police officer, was ‘totally appropriate.’

    ‘They’ve analysed my speech, my words and my final paragraph, my final sentence and everybody just thought it was totally appropriate,’ he claimed.

    The House in the impeachment article accused Trump of inciting insurrection.

    “I want no violence,” Trump told reporters as he left for a trip to the border wall in Alamo, Texas.

    However, he dodged a question about whether he would resign.

    “This impeachment is causing tremendous anger and they’re doing it, and it’s really a terrible thing that they’re doing for Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer to continue on this path.

    “I think it’s causing tremendous danger to our country, and it’s causing tremendous anger, I want no violence.’

    Trump would become the first U.S. president to be impeached twice if the House of Representatives votes in favour of impeachment on Wednesday.

  • US Capitol chaos: Pelosi, other democrats commence plans to impeach Trump

    US Capitol chaos: Pelosi, other democrats commence plans to impeach Trump

    US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has shared with lawmakers plans to remove President Donald Trump from office before starting an impeachment process.

    The House of Representatives would vote on a resolution calling on Vice-President Mike Pence to remove Mr Trump’s presidential powers.

    House Democrats would then introduce a charge of “incitement of insurrection” against Mr Trump over his role in the violent storming of the Capitol.

    The first vote could happen on Monday.

    On Sunday, Ms Pelosi wrote to lawmakers outlining plans for a resolution to formally request that Vice-President Pence invoke the 25th Amendment.

    The move would allow Mr Pence to become acting president and remove Mr Trump from the White House.

    Her letter said that this would be the first step, and that House Democrats would then “proceed with bringing impeachment legislation to the floor”.

    “In protecting our constitution and our democracy, we will act with urgency, because this president represents an imminent threat to both,” Ms Pelosi said.

  • Biden reacts to Trump’s decision to skip his inauguration, massive call for impeachment

    Biden reacts to Trump’s decision to skip his inauguration, massive call for impeachment

    US President-elect Joe Biden welcomed Donald Trump’s announcement on Friday that he won’t attend the January 20 inauguration, calling it a “good thing.”

    “I was told on the way over here that he indicated he wasn’t going to show up at the inauguration,” Biden told reporters in Wilmington, Delaware.

    “One of the few things he and I have ever agreed on,” Biden said. “It’s a good thing, him not showing up.”

    “He’s been an embarrassment to the country,” Biden said.

    “He’s not fit to serve,” the president-elect added of Trump, who is facing the possibility of being impeached next week for inciting his supporters to storm the US Capitol.

    “He exceeded even my worst notions about him,” Biden said. “He’s one of the most incompetent presidents in the history of the United States of America.”

    Biden said Vice President Mike Pence would be welcome at his inauguration.

    Biden’s remarks came after Trump tweeted earlier Friday that he would not attend the inauguration.

    “To all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th,” Trump tweeted.

    Only congress can decide Trump’s impeachment

    Meanwhile, the President-elect on Friday strongly indicated he does not back moves to impeach President Donald Trump, saying the quickest way to get him out of office is through the transition in two weeks.

    “The quickest way that will happen is us being sworn in on the 20th,” said Biden, who will take the oath of office on January 20.

    “What actually happens before or after, that is a judgment for the Congress to make. But that’s what I am looking forward to: him leaving office.”

    Biden was addressing reporters in his hometown of Wilmington two days after Trump encouraged a mob of supporters to march on Congress.

    Democratic leaders in Congress have growing momentum for attempting to impeach Trump for the second time in his presidency. There is little support so far among Republicans, although they too have loudly condemned Trump’s behavior.

    This was Biden’s first extended reaction to the talk of impeaching Trump or trying to persuade Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th amendment removing the president from office.

    Biden’s hesitancy to support his party on impeachment reflects the fact that he already faces a mammoth task in working to heal divisions in US society.

    “We’re going to do our job and Congress can decide how to proceed,” Biden said.

    “The idea that I think he shouldn’t be out of office yesterday is not an issue. The question is what happens with 14 days to go, 13 days left to go?”

  • Democrats inch toward second Trump impeachment after Capitol siege

    Democrats inch toward second Trump impeachment after Capitol siege

    Congressional Democrats, on Friday, weighed impeaching President Donald Trump for a second time, two days after his false claims of election fraud helped encourage a mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol.

    Democratic leaders, including House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, called for immediate impeachment proceedings if Vice President Mike Pence and Trump’s cabinet refused to take steps to remove Trump from power.

    “The president’s dangerous and seditious acts necessitate his immediate removal from office,’’ they said in a statement on Thursday evening, accusing Trump of inciting an “insurrection”.

    As calls for his ouster mounted on Thursday, Trump released a video in which he denounced the violence that left five people dead.

    The Republican president came the closest yet to conceding his loss in the Nov. 3 presidential election, promising to ensure a smooth transition to a “new administration”.

    President-elect Joe Biden, a Democrat, is set to be sworn in on Jan. 20.

    Trump’s words were in stark contrast to his speech on Wednesday when he exhorted a crowd of thousands to descend on the Capitol as Congress met to certify Biden’s election victory.

    Rioters stormed the building, overwhelming police and forcing authorities to transport lawmakers to secure locations for their own safety.

    A Capitol police officer died from injuries sustained in the assault, the force said late on Thursday.

    A woman protester was fatally shot by the authorities, and three people died from medical emergencies.

    The FBI offered a reward of up to $50,000 for information on people responsible for placing pipe bombs in the headquarters of the two main U.S. political parties.

    The agency released a picture of a suspect wearing gloves and a hoodie, carrying an object.

    With less than two weeks left in Trump’s term, it was not clear whether enough time remained to complete the impeachment process.

    Pelosi has not announced a decision, though she made clear at a news conference that rank-and-file Democrats in her caucus wanted action following Wednesday’s siege.

    If impeached in the House, Trump would theoretically face trial in the Republican-controlled Senate, which is scheduled to be in recess until Jan. 19.

    Aides to Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, have not said what he would do if the House approved articles of impeachment.

    The Democratic-led House impeached Trump in December 2019 for pressuring the president of Ukraine to investigate Biden, but the Republican-held Senate acquitted him in February 2020.

    Only two other presidents in history have been impeached and none has ever been impeached twice.

    Democrats will control the Senate after sweeping two runoff elections in Georgia on Tuesday, but the new senators, Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock will not be sworn in until the state certifies the results.

    The state deadline to do so is Jan. 22, though it could come sooner.

    In Thursday’s video, a flat-toned Trump struck a conciliatory note seldom seen from him during his presidency, calling for “healing”.

    As recently as Thursday morning, however, Trump was still claiming the election had been stolen, and he stopped short of acknowledging his loss.

    Since November, Trump has baselessly denounced the election results as “rigged” due to widespread fraud.

    The Trump campaign and its allies filed dozens of lawsuits challenging the vote counts but almost all were rejected in state and federal courts.

    Election officials have said there is no evidence to back Trump’s claims.

    Pelosi and Schumer called on Pence and Trump’s Cabinet to invoke the U.S. Constitution’s 25th Amendment, which allows them to strip the president of his powers if he cannot discharge the duties of his office.

    Pence opposes the idea, according to an adviser.

    At least two Republicans, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan and U.S. Representative Adam Kinzinger said Trump must go.

    The Wall Street Journal editorial page, seen as a leading voice of the Republican establishment, on Thursday evening called on Trump to resign.

    Several high-ranking Trump administration officials have resigned in protest over the invasion of the Capitol, including two Cabinet members – Elaine Chao, the Transportation Secretary and McConnell’s wife, and Betsy DeVos, the Education Secretary.

    At a news conference to introduce his pick for attorney general, Biden blamed Trump for instigating the attack but did not comment on his possible removal.

    Congress certified Biden’s election victory early on Thursday after authorities cleared the Capitol.

    More than half of House Republicans and eight Republican senators voted to challenge some states’ election results, backing Trump.

    The president has isolated himself among a small circle of diehard advisers and lashed out at those he perceives as disloyal, including Pence – whom Trump wanted to try to block Congress from certifying Biden’s win – according to sources.