House pushes for Trump’s removal after deadly Capitol riot

The House of Representatives voted tonight to approve a resolution calling for President Trump to be removed from office through the 25th Amendment in the wake of the violent siege of the US Capitol last week.

The resolution, brought forward by Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, called on Vice President Mike Pence “to immediately use his powers under section 4 of the 25th Amendment to convene and mobilize the principal officers of the executive departments in the Cabinet to declare what is obvious to a horrified nation: That the President is unable to successfully discharge the duties of his office.”

Pence rejected the call to invoke the 25th Amendment in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi earlier today.

The resolution amounts to a symbolic rebuke to the President as many lawmakers are furious and reeling from the deadly attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

What’s next: It comes as House Democrats are now moving rapidly toward impeaching the President for a second time as a result of the insurrection, which Trump incited after repeatedly making false claims that the election had been stolen from him and calling for his supporters to fight back.

House Democrats plan to vote Wednesday to impeach Trump, setting up an impeachment vote one week after rioters overran Capitol police and breached some of the most secure areas of the Capitol.

Republican Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler announced on Twitter that she plans to vote to impeach President Trump.

She noted that Trump “incited a riot aiming to halt the peaceful transfer of power” and that “hours went by before the President did anything meaningful to stop the attack.”

The Washington state lawmaker also called Trump’s eventual video asking rioters to go home “pathetic.”

Read her statement:

More on this: Earlier today, Rep. Liz Cheney, the third-ranking GOP leader in the House, Rep. Adam Kinzinger, Rep. Fred Upton and Rep. John Katko announced that they will also vote to impeach Trump.

The House will vote on the single article of impeachment tomorrow.

YouTube is suspending President Trump’s channel for at least one week, and potentially longer, after his channel earned a strike under the platform’s policies, the company said Tuesday evening.

A recent video on Trump’s channel had incited violence, YouTube told CNN Business. That video has now been removed.

YouTube declined to share details of the video that earned Trump the strike, but said that after the one-week timeout, it will revisit the decision.

Until now, YouTube had been the only remaining major social media platform not to have suspended Trump in some fashion. Facebook has suspended Trump’s account “indefinitely,” while Twitter has banned Trump completely.

“After careful review, and in light of concerns about the ongoing potential for violence, we removed new content uploaded to the Donald J. Trump channel and issued a strike for violating our policies for inciting violence,” a YouTube spokesperson said in a statement. “As a result, in accordance with our long-standing strikes system, the channel is now prevented from uploading new videos or livestreams for a minimum of seven days—which may be extended.”

YouTube also said it will be taking the extra step of disabling comments underneath videos on Trump’s channel.

Under YouTube’s policies, earning a second strike will result in a two-week suspension and three strikes will result in a permanent ban.

President Trump is not considering resigning, according to a source close to the President, adding that “he won’t do that.” 

Another senior White House adviser said “resignation means admitting failure. So, no.” This adviser said the current thinking is the Senate does not have enough time to convict Trump. So the President can make it to the end of his term without that kind of humiliation.

“We will get through the 20th and move on,” the adviser said.

Of course, Trump has been known to change his mind, and aides are often left scrambling to catch up with his current thinking and plans for his departure from the White House could still change. 

Unlike President Richard Nixon, who stepped down after seeing the writing on the walls with Republicans removing him, this person says Trump doesn’t believe the Senate has time to act before he leaves office and has no plans to follow Nixon’s lead. 

At the same time, Trump is also paying attention to how this is all playing out and who is coming out for and against him. “The President doesn’t look at numbers, he looks at names.” The source also described him as “sullen” since the riots happened.

As for post White House plans, Trump is expected to fly to his vacation home at Mar-a-Lago on Jan. 19. The source believes “he’s [Trump] going to be quiet for a while” and watch “the show” with the new Biden administration. 

The House is now voting on a resolution calling for President Trump to be removed from office through the 25th Amendment in the wake of the violent siege of the US Capitol last week.

It comes as House Democrats are gearing up to vote to impeach the President tomorrow with the support of some Republican lawmakers.

Remember: Vice President Mike Pence signaled earlier today in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that he would reject the call to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump. 

Rep. Fred Upton, a Republican from Michigan, said he will vote to impeach President Trump.

“Today the President characterized his inflammatory rhetoric at last Wednesday’s rally as ‘totally appropriate,’ and he expressed no regrets for last week’s violent insurrection at the US Capitol. This sends exactly the wrong signal to those of us who support the very core of our democratic principles and took a solemn oath to the Constitution. I would have preferred a bipartisan, formal censure rather than a drawn-out impeachment process. I fear this will now interfere with important legislative business and a new Biden Administration. But it is time to say: Enough is enough,” he said in a statement.

“The Congress must hold President Trump to account and send a clear message that our country cannot and will not tolerate any effort by any President to impede the peaceful transfer of power from one President to the next. Thus, I will vote to impeach,” Upton added.

Earlier today, Rep. Liz Cheney, the third-ranking GOP leader in the House, Rep. Adam Kinzinger and Rep. John Katko announced that they will also vote to impeach Trump.

Democrats in the House of Representatives this evening released the final text of their resolution to impeach Trump, charging him with “incitement of insurrection.”

The House will vote on the single article of impeachment tomorrow.

Some House Democrats think their party leaders made a strategic mistake by calling for a vote on tonight’s resolution, calling on Vice President Mike Pence to use the 25th Amendment — given that the measure doesn’t carry the force of law and Pence wasn’t going to go that route anyway.

The argument is that Democrats wasted a day to move ahead with impeachment when they’re saying President Trump needs to be removed immediately. 

“Total waste of time,” one House Democrat told CNN.  

Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Democrat from Maryland, has introduced his resolution urging Vice President Mike Pence to enact the 25th Amendment on the House floor.

Pence signaled earlier today in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that he would reject the call to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove President Trump.

In his letter, he noted that he did not “yield to political pressure to exert pressure beyond my constitutional authority to determine the outcome of the election, and I will not now yield to efforts in the House of Representatives to play political games at a time so serious in the life of our Nation.”

Pence also wrote that invoking the 25th Amendment “in such a manner would set a terrible precedent.”

He urged Pelosi and all members of Congress to “lower the temperature and unite our country as we prepare to inaugurate President-elect Joe Biden.”

President Trump has continued discussing issuing pardons for himself and his children since the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol, multiple sources familiar with the matter tell CNN.

One source familiar with the conversations says there is a belief that a Trump “pardon of family and kids, is more likely and more urgent because a pardon could stave off prosecution.” 

However aides and allies are concerned over the public perception of a pardon following the Jan. 6 attack, which led to the deaths of five people.

Sources tell CNN there is dissent inside the West Wing from those appalled by the attack, many of whom are pushing up against a President whose main concern is protecting himself and his family.

The riot at the Capitol raises the potential of new legal exposure for the President, his allies and family members who participated in the rally should investigators pursue whether their words and actions could be subject to criminal prosecution.

On Tuesday, Trump defended his remarks from Jan. 6, saying they were “appropriate.”

The White House did not provide a comment.

The source familiar with White House conversations said that Trump might issue a blanket pardon to cover himself and his children up until the time he leaves office, adding, from Trump’s point of view, “it makes sense to just cover it all.”

Even before last week, the President had told advisers he thinks that he and his family have been unfairly targeted and that he’s concerned legal pursuits could continue under the Biden Justice Department, according to a source close to Trump.

Since his first year in office, Trump has discussed pardoning himself and his children, but the attack on the Capitol creates a new dynamic surrounding the messaging and “public relations” of such pardons, according to the person familiar with White House conversations.

Read more here.

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03:14 - Source: cnn

On the eve of the vote on impeachment, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has named impeachment managers.

The lead manager will be Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Democrat from Maryland.

Here are the other impeachment managers:

Vice President Mike Pence declined to support efforts to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove President Trump in a letter he penned to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

“But now with just eight days left in the President’s term, you and Democratic Caucus are demanding that the Cabinet and I invoke the 25th Amendment. I do not believe that such a course of action is in the best interest of our Nation or consistent with our Constitution,” Pence wrote.

He also noted that he did not “yield to political pressure to exert pressure beyond my constitutional authority to determine the outcome of the election, and I will not now yield to efforts in the House of Representatives to play political games at a time so serious in the life of our Nation.”

Pence also wrote that invoking the 25th Amendment “in such a manner would set a terrible precedent.”

He urged Pelosi and all members of Congress to “lower the temperature and unite our country as we prepare to inaugurate President-elect Joe Biden.”

Pence went on to pledge to work in good faith “to ensure an orderly transition of power.” 

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01:37 - Source: cnn

In a letter from a bipartisan coalition of 25 House members, lawmakers urge President Trump to “address the nation and unequivocally denounce domestic terrorism, condemn harmful propaganda, urge anyone considering mobilizing to stay home, and affirmatively state that you are no way supportive of violent messages of any kind.”

Read a passage from the letter:

“In times of crisis and unrest, the nation relies on its elected leaders to do everything in their power to keep the American people safe and restore the peace. As bipartisan Members of the Senate and House, we ask that you please address the nation and unequivocally denounce domestic terrorism, condemn harmful propaganda, urge anyone considering mobilizing to stay home, and affirmatively state that you are no way supportive of violent messages of any kind. We must, as one nation, stand up against extremism in all its forms.
During these perilous times, we further call upon you to clearly reaffirm your commitment to a peaceful transfer of power to President-elect Biden on January 20th. These actions will directly help to prevent an escalation in violence and ensure the country can begin to heal.”

Some of the shifting seen from some lawmakers appears to be the result of briefings from federal authorities on Monday and Tuesday, which has emphasized how much worse the events last Wednesday were than perhaps lawmakers realized.

After Capitol Police were overrun by the crowd of pro-Trump rally-goers, the immediate task became trying to save lives, federal law enforcement officials said.

Metropolitan Police officers, many wearing minimal gear, arrived to join the Capitol Police and helped turn the tide. They were soon joined by federal agents from the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Surveillance videos and other information investigators have reviewed have shown a more dire situation, as lawmakers and staff were taken into hiding, one federal law enforcement official said. And that information is being briefed to members of Congress.

“It was armed combat in that building,” the federal law enforcement official said. “The (Metropolitan Police Department) saved those people’s lives; it could have been so much worse.”

A White House official says they expect as many as 20 or more Republicans to vote for impeachment in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, though they do not have a firm figure. 

Another GOP source close to situation says to expect between 10 and 25 House GOP members to defect from President Trump, and vote for the article of impeachment.

The source notes that it is a big range and a lot of uncertainty as to how the final vote will break down, and Trump advisers are reminding lawmakers how popular Trump remains in the party.

A separate source on the Hill tells CNN that the number will likely be less than 20.

What we know: Rep. Liz Cheney, the third-ranking GOP leader in the House, Rep. Adam Kinzinger and Rep. John Katko announced today that they will vote to impeach Trump.

The House plans to vote on the article of impeachment tomorrow.

DC Mayor Muriel Bowser called on other Republican lawmakers to speak out against President Trump, saying that she is worried about the future of the country – even beyond Inauguration Day on Jan. 20.

“I’m worried about DC, I’m worried about states around our country. But I’m also worried beyond that,” she told CNN on Tuesday, calling the people who mobbed the US Capitol “domestic terror groups.”

Bowser urged Republicans to “be better than Trump” and speak to his followers.

“Let them know that our allegiance as Americans is to our Constitution, to the freedoms that our Constitution promises, but not to any single individual. And we are, in my view, in a very dangerous time in our country if we don’t have leaders who speak up and do that,” she said.

The mayor went on to say that people need to be held accountable, specifically for the officer that was killed in the Capitol riot, adding that the strike force being put together by federal officials to understand how the mob was planned is a good idea.

“I think the strike force is a good idea to build the very serious case – the very serious cases – that are going to find the conspiracy and the organization behind this. That’s going to be important for us to stop the radicalization of young, White men across our country,” Bowser said.

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06:32 - Source: cnn

Reports that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell may be open to impeachment in the House could point to a “potential earthquake” in the upper chamber, Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff said.

CNN reported today that McConnell had indicated to associates that he believed impeaching President Trump could make it easier to rid the Republican Party of the President and Trumpism. McConnell has not said if he will vote to convict or whether he’d hold a trial in the Senate.

“These reports that Mitch McConnell may be open to the impeachment charges as well is a potential earthquake in the Senate,” said Schiff, who was one of the lead investigators in the first impeachment of Trump.

Schiff also praised Rep. Liz Cheney, the No. 3 House Republican, for her own statement in favor of impeachment, and said he expected many Republicans to follow her. 

“These things have a way of gathering momentum,” he said. “I wouldn’t be surprised now to see a considerable number of Republicans join in supporting the impeachment resolution.”

Three Republican lawmakers in the House had indicated they would vote for impeachment, as of 6:30 p.m. ET today.

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07:18 - Source: cnn

The House just released the final version of the sole impeachment article being filed against President Trump. 

The measure is titled “Impeaching Donald John Trump, President of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors.”

The House will vote on the single article of impeachment on Wednesday.

Here’s an excerpt from the bill:

“Wherefore, Donald John Trump, by such conduct, has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to national security, democracy, and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office, and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with self-governance and the rule of law. Donald John Trump thus warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States.” 

Read the article of impeachment here.

Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger said he will vote to impeach President Trump, in a statement released on Twitter. 

“There is no doubt in my mind that the President of the United States broke his oath of office and incited this insurrection. He used his position in the Executive to attack the Legislative,” the statement said.

Some background: Rep. Liz Cheney, the third-ranking GOP leader in the House, and Rep. John Katko also announced today that they will vote to impeach the President. The House plans to vote on the article of impeachment tomorrow.

Read Kinzinger’s statement:

A federal law enforcement official says the top priority in the investigation is understanding the planning of the Capitol attack, which is why acting US Attorney Michael Sherwin has assigned a team specifically to the issue. 

Despite the intelligence from the FBI’s Norfolk office that showed online discussions of “war” and even specific details about tunnels in the Capitol complex, the official says the FBI did what it could with the information, which is among dozens of other reports that came in during the days before the Jan. 6 Trump rally.

They shared it with the US Capitol Police and other agencies, but none of the intelligence prompted those officers to harden the protective perimeter of the complex. The US Capitol Police reports to Congress and is separate from Executive Branch law enforcement agencies.

On the day of the attack, the federal law enforcement official, some of the suspected extremists who were on the law enforcement radar did turn up. Now the FBI and other agencies are combing through communications and other records to determine the planning that went into the mob invasion.   

“We need to understand the command and control aspects of this,” the law enforcement official told CNN.

The House of Representatives today observed a moment of silence for two fallen US Capitol Police officers.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi lead the House in the moment of silence to honor US Capitol Officers Brian Sicknick and Howard Liebengood, who were both on duty when a mob of Trump’s supporters stormed the US Capitol last week.

Sicknick had died “due to injuries sustained while on-duty.” Sicknick joined the USCP in July 2008, and most recently served in the Department’s First Responder’s Unit.

Prosecutors in the US Attorney’s office plan to open a federal murder investigation into Sicknick’s death, a law enforcement official told CNN.

Liebengood, 51, was among those who responded to the storming of the Capitol last week. He died while off duty, the Capitol Police said Sunday. The announcement did not state the officer’s cause of death.

He was assigned to the Senate Division and has been with the Department since April 2005.

Liebengood’s father, Howard S. Liebengood, was an aide to former Senate Minority Leader Howard Baker and served as the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms from 1981-1983.

CNN’s Diane Ruggiero, Jeremy Diamond and Paul LeBlanc contributed to this report.

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00:51 - Source: cnn

Wyoming’s Liz Cheney, the third-ranking GOP leader in the House, announced in a statement today that she will vote to impeach President Trump, saying that he “summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack.”

“There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution,” she said in the statement.

Read her full statement:

“On January 6, 2021 a violent mob attacked the United States Capitol to obstruct the process of our democracy and stop the counting of presidential electoral votes. This insurrection caused injury, death and destruction in the most sacred space in our Republic. 
Much more will become clear in coming days and weeks, but what we know now is enough. The President of the United States summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack. Everything that followed was his doing. None of this would have happened without the President. The President could have immediately and forcefully intervened to stop the violence. He did not. There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution. 
I will vote to impeach the President.”

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Vice President Mike Pence kicked off what is likely to be his final weekly coronavirus call with the nation’s governors on Tuesday with a farewell message and an effort to inspire confidence in the next administration. 

Pence did his part to impress upon the governors that there will be a smooth transition to the Biden administration, despite weeks of stonewalling. He said the task force met with Biden officials during their meeting Monday. 

“We are in the midst of a transition to a new administration and I want to say to all the governors on the call that we are working diligently with President-elect Joe Biden’s team. Our task force met with them yesterday,” he said, suggesting that they had been in contact for “many weeks,” despite evidence to the contrary. 

On the matter of personal protective equipment, Pence also reiterated there’d be a seamless transition. 

“We want to build confidence for you in this administration, the next administration, get your supplies out, get your PPE out to your health care providers… We just want you to have confidence, we have your back,” he said, adding, “We’ve got your back, the next administration will have your back.”

Amid concerns about the pace of vaccinations, Pence said that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations for immunizations “are not binding,” praising governors for “great innovations in delivery and scope” and telling them they had the administration’s “full support.”

He also claimed that there is “not a supply issue at this moment in time.”

“We actually have more vaccine today in reserve than has been ordered by states to be administered and we want to clear that up,” he said. 

Republican Rep. John Katko announced today that he will vote to impeach President Trump.

Katko is the first Republican to sign on to the Democrats’ effort to impeach Trump for his role in spurring on his supporters in last week’s storming of the US Capitol. 

“It cannot be ignored that President Trump encouraged this insurrection – both on social media ahead of January 6th, and in his speech that day. By deliberately promoting baseless theories suggesting the election was somehow stolen, the president created a combustible environment of misinformation, disenfranchisement, and division,” he said.

Read the full statement:

The US Capitol Police have initiated immediate road closures surrounding the Capitol “until further notice,” according to a notice sent to Capitol Hill offices.

“Due to the Capitol Complex being closed, the following road closures are in effect until further notice,” the note reads. DC Police also issued traffic alerts on Twitter this afternoon. 

Capitol Police Acting Chief Yogananda Pittman said in a written statement on Monday, “There will be no public access to the Capitol Grounds during the Inauguration, and the event will go on as scheduled.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has indicated that he believes that impeaching Donald Trump will make it easier to get rid of Trump and Trumpism from the party, according to a source with knowledge of the matter.

The silence has been deliberate — and left open his option of supporting impeachment.

Another person with direct knowledge says there’s a reason McConnell has been silent on impeachment as other Republicans have pushed back: He’s furious about what happened Jan. 6, even more so that Trump has shown no contrition.

One source said McConnell “hates” Trump for what he did last week following the attacks on the Capitol that left at least five people dead including a Capitol Hill police officer.

McConnell has been steadily moving his conference away from Trump for weeks. While he knows they all aren’t there with him, but believes the party needs to turn the page.

McConnell has made no commitments on voting to convict Trump, and wants to see the article itself before voting.

Trump and McConnell still have not spoken since last Wednesday’s riot, and in fact haven’t spoken since McConnell’s floor speech acknowledging Joe Biden as President-elect in December.

Another source tells CNN that McConnell couldn’t get Trump on the phone when he refused to sign the stimulus bill over the Christmas week.

McConnell has since told others in the wake of the stimulus circus he won’t talk to Trump again.

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President-elect Joe Biden is not trying to stop the impeachment proceedings of President Trump, but he is trying to keep them from consuming his agenda and overshadowing the early days of his presidency.

With that in mind, CNN has learned, Biden called Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday to discuss the possibility of “bifurcation” – doing impeachment proceedings alongside confirming his nominees and approving a sweeping Covid relief package.

The two men spoke frankly about a potential impeachment trial for Trump, people familiar with the call said, as both of them noted it would be far different from the trial they sat through in 1999 for President Bill Clinton.

McConnell told Biden that the Senate parliamentarian would have to rule whether the Senate could work on legislative business other than impeachment, people familiar with the call said, adding that McConnell did not offer his own view. 

Biden raised this idea publicly on Monday as he received his second Covid-19 vaccine, saying he had been speaking with lawmakers. He did not reveal that McConnell was among them.  

After next Wednesday, of course, McConnell becomes the Senate Minority Leader. But for the next eight days, McConnell is running the Senate schedule.

The New York Times first reported the Biden-McConnell call.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has told associates that he thinks President Trump committed impeachable offenses when he incited a deadly mob to attack the US Capitol last week and that he’s “pleased” Democrats are working to impeach the President, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

Citing conversations with people familiar with his thinking, the Times reported that McConnell, who will soon lose his position as majority leader, believes Democrats’ impeachment push “will make it easier to purge (Trump) from the party.”

The newspaper said the Kentucky Republican “has indicated that he wants to see the specific article of impeachment” House Democrats, as well as at least one House Republican, are expected to pass on Wednesday.

“But (McConnell) has made clear in private discussions that he believes now is the moment to move on the weakened lame duck, whom he blames for causing Republicans to lose the Senate,” the Times reported.

A source familiar with the relationship between the two men told CNN that McConnell is furious with Trump. The source said McConnell “hates” Trump for what he did last week following the attacks on the Capitol that left at least five people dead including a Capitol Hill police officer. 

Trump and McConnell still have not spoken since last Wednesday’s riot, a separate source familiar with the matter confirmed to CNN.

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01:40 - Source: cnn

DC Attorney General Karl Racine today said his office would investigate remarks made by President Trump and a number of pro-Trump Republicans in the lead-up to the Capitol riot to see if their words had violated any laws. 

“Whether they rise to the level of incitement, we’re going look at all of our law books and the facts including the recording of the President Trump’s comments,” Racine told CNN’s Jake Tapper, adding that the President’s remarks, were at the least “reckless” and “unpresidential.”

In a speech Wednesday, Trump ginned up the crowd of his supporters gathered on the National Mall, telling them “we’re going to walk down to the Capitol” and that “you’ll never take back our country with weakness, you have to show strength.”

Today, in his first public remarks to reporters after the insurrection, however, Trump insisted his speech inciting the riot at the Capitol was “totally appropriate” while at the same time calling for “no violence.” 

Racine today said his office would also review remarks made by other Trump allies who spoke just before the mob made its way to the Capitol Building. 

“We’ll also take a look at the comments of others, including Don [Trump] Jr., Rudy Giuliani, and Congressman [Mo] Brooks,” said Racine. “All of their comments were inflammatory at the least and merit a full investigation.”

Racine said his office would parse the remarks carefully in an attempt to differentiate between words that were merely inflammatory, and those that may have reached the legal standard of incitement.

He said they will “focus on the timing of the remarks.”

“Exactly what else was being said by the speakers and the crowd, how close the crowd was to the Capitol, what exactly was the direction and instruction? What did the crowd itself think they were being urged to do?” Racine added.

“All of those facts will be relevant,” he said.

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06:07 - Source: cnn

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is furious with President Trump right now, said a source familiar with the relationship between the two men.

The source said McConnell “hates” Trump for what he did last week following the attacks on the Capitol that left at least five people dead including a Capitol Hill police officer. 

Trump and McConnell still have not spoken since last Wednesday’s riot, a separate source familiar confirms to CNN. 

Steven D’Antuono, an FBI assistant director out of Washington, on Tuesday said the Norfolk, Virginia, FBI office warning last week about extremists who might come to Washington to attempt to start “war” had been shared quickly with the joint terrorism task force and other federal, state and local authorities.

“That was a thread on a message board that was not attributable” to a single person, he said at a news conference Tuesday.

The Washington Field Office of the FBI received that information and briefed it “within 40 minutes” to federal and state law enforcement partners, including in the joint terrorism task force.

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00:45 - Source: cnn

A man found with several guns and bombs near the US Capitol last week while it was being attacked will remain in jail while he awaits trial on weapons charges, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.

The man, Lonnie Coffman of Alabama, was charged in one of the most alarming cases to emerge so far from last week’s events. He allegedly brought several guns, extra rounds of ammunition and nearly a dozen homemade explosives to the US Capitol area on the day of the attack. Investigators found the items in Coffman’s car and arrested him when he returned to his vehicle, according to court documents. 

Magistrate Judge G. Michael Harvey of the DC District Court said he was alarmed by the “small armory” allegedly found in the car, and said Coffman would “pose a danger to the community” if released.

“It’s hard to understand why any one person would have the need for so much firepower. It raises significant concern… about what your intentions were on that day,” Harvey said at a virtual hearing.

Prosecutors have not accused Coffman of participating in the attack on the Capitol building. His lawyer, Tony Miles, said at a hearing on Tuesday that Coffman was “innocent” of the charges and questioned the strength of the case. He also noted that Coffman was an Army veteran who fought in Vietnam. 

Investigators found handwritten notes in Coffman’s truck that included a quote about the need “to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution,” according to court records. 

The notes also included the names of a Democratic member of Congress that he singled out for being Muslim, and an Obama-appointed judge. The handwritten notes also contained references to right-wing conspiracy websites.

The FBI is acknowledging for the first time that it is considering keeping those who attacked the Capitol last week from boarding planes by adding them to the federal no-fly list.

When asked by CNN’s Evan Pérez, FBI Washington Field Office Assistant Director in Charge Steven D’Antuono said that the bureau would consider adding rioters to the no-fly list, which is administered by the Transportation Security Administration.

“As for the no-fly list, we look at all tools and techniques that we possibly can use within the FBI and that’s something we are actively looking at,” said D’Antuono.

On Tuesday, congressional leaders intensified calls to keep rioters off planes after they said they remained mostly in the dark from the agencies that oversee the list. “We cannot allow these same insurrectionists to get on a plane and cause more violence, and more damage,” Sen. Chuck Schumer said during a Tuesday afternoon news conference.

The top Democrat and Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee told TSA Administrator David Pekoske in a letter they were concerned “little is being done to disrupt the travel of terrorists who just attacked the seat of the U.S. Government and wish to do so again.”

Chairman Bennie Thompson, a Democrat, and ranking Republican member John Katko wrote they were concerned that many of the same groups that planned and carried out Wednesday’s attack intend to return to Washington, DC, to cause further disruption and violence in the coming days, including at the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.

Some context: The no-fly list is derived out of the Terrorist Screening Database kept by the FBI. Much of how it works, including what qualifies a person for inclusion, is classified.

The FBI and other intelligence services can nominate individuals for the list or the selectee list, which designates an individual as the subject of additional security screening at the airport.

When a person checks in for a flight, his or her reservation information is checked against the TSA’s Secure Flight database, which includes determining whether the traveler is on the no-fly list or selectee list.

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00:56 - Source: cnn

Sen. Rob Portman, a Republican from Ohio, said President Trump bears “some responsibility” for the attack on the US Capitol last week that left at least five people dead including a Capitol Hill police officer. 

In a statement, Portman said:

“Both in his words before the attack on the Capitol and in his actions afterward, President Trump bears some responsibility for what happened on January 6. We are now hearing from the FBI and others about the threat of additional violence in Washington, DC and at state capitols around the country between now and President-Elect Biden’s inauguration on January 20. These reports are deeply concerning. Violence is never the answer, and we must take all threats seriously. The orderly and peaceful transfer of power on January 20 is a hallmark of our democracy. 
Today, I call on President Trump to address the nation and explicitly urge his supporters to remain peaceful and refrain from violence. If our nation experiences additional violence and destruction at the hands of his supporters in Washington DC and state capitols around the country, and he does not directly and unambiguously speak out now when threats are known, he will bear responsibility.”

President Trump has taken no responsibility for his actions that led to his supporters storming the Capitol last week. Instead, in a speech in Alamo, Texas, today, Trump discussed Democratic efforts underway to remove him from office saying, “The 25th Amendment is of zero risk to me but will come back to haunt Joe Biden and the Biden administration – as the expression goes, be careful what you wish for.”

Gen. Mark Milley and the entire Joint Chiefs of Staff, which comprise the chiefs of staff of each military branch, issued a statement to the military force Wednesday condemning the invasion of the US Capitol last week and reminding service members of their obligation to support and defend the Constitution and reject extremism.

“We witnessed actions inside the Capitol building that were inconsistent with the rule of law. The rights of freedom of speech and assembly do not give anyone the right to resort to violence, sedition and insurrection,” the wrote in the statement.

As CNN reported earlier today, the statement is considered a significant step because the chiefs have sought to stay out of anything that may have political overtones. But given what has happened, the Chiefs felt it was important to make a statement given the gravity of events surrounding the inauguration.

“As Service Members, we must embody the embody the values and ideals of the Nation. We support and defend the Constitution. Any act to disrupt the Constitutional process is not only against our traditions, values, and oath; it is against the law,” the statement said.

In addition, the statement referenced the certification of the election by the Congress next week and said “President-elect Biden will be inaugurated and will become our 46th Commander in Chief.”

President Trump began remarks at the border wall sending what sounds like a warning to Congress saying, “The 25th Amendment is of zero risk to me but will come back to haunt Joe Biden and the Biden administration – as the expression goes, be careful what you wish for.”

Trump began remarks at the wall in Alamo, Texas, discussing the violent riots at the Capitol Wednesday, once again taking no responsibility for his actions that led to his supporters storming the Capitol. 

Before even discussing the actual events, or condemning the actions of his supporters, Trump started focused on himself, saying, “Before we begin I’d like to say that free speech is under assault like never before.”

“The impeachment hoax is a continuation of the greatest and most vicious witch hunt is causing tremendous anger and division and pain far greater than what most people will ever understand. Which is very dangerous for the USA especially at this very tender time,” Trump added. 

Trump then discussed the attack claiming, “As I have consistently said throughout my administration, we believe in respecting American’s history and traditions, not tearing them down. We believe in the rule of law, not in violence or rioting. Because of the pandemic — horrible, horrible invisible enemy.” 

Trump at the end of his remarks on the subject called for “peace and calm” and also “respect for law enforcement and the great people within law enforcement,” adding it was the “foundation of the MAGA agenda.”

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01:05 - Source: cnn

Steven D’Antuono, an FBI assistant director out of Washington, said agents are still investigating whether participants in the riot were looking to take hostage members of Congress. 

He noted the FBI is pursuing information about a person or people who helped to plant pipe bombs outside the Republican and Democratic headquarters last week. He said the bombs were real — and had timers.

“We don’t know exactly why they didn’t go off,” he said Tuesday.

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00:48 - Source: cnn

Following last week’s attack on Capitol Hill, and concerns among members that some colleagues have been ignoring House rules and bringing firearms into the Capitol building, the US Capitol Police have set up metal detectors outside the House floor.

CNN has confirmed that all House members, staff and aides will need to be screened before being allowed on the floor, a Democratic aide tells CNN. Separately a US Capitol Police source confirmed the measures are in place as well. 

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01:08 - Source: cnn

DC US Attorney Michael Sherwin and Steven D’Antuono, an FBI assistant director out of Washington, vowed on Tuesday to leave no stone unturned as they treat the investigation of Capitol rioters similar to terrorism.

Sherwin said he gave his prosecutors “marching orders” to pursue significant sedition and conspiracy cases as well related to the insurrection.

The Justice Department has already charged 70 cases, and Sherwin said he believes that number will grow into the 100s, and already arrested individuals may face more serious crimes.

The FBI is tracking money, travel records, movements of people and communications in addition to following tips from the public and footage and photos from the scene on Jan. 6.

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01:49 - Source: cnn

Tom Donohue, CEO of the US Chamber of Commerce, called President Trump’s actions in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol riot “absolutely unacceptable and completely inexcusable.”

“It is for the Vice President, the Cabinet and the Congress to decide whether or not to invoke the 25th Amendment or pursue impeachment or other measures, and we entrust them to use these tools judiciously, if needed, to ensure our nation’s well-being and security,” he added.

The powerful business group also warned that said some lawmakers could lose financial support over their efforts to thwart the peaceful transfer of power but declined to single them out.

“We will take into account the totality of what candidates and elected officials do, including the actions of last week, and importantly, the actions in the days ahead in determining whether or not we support them,” chamber executive vice president Neil Bradley said.

“I actually want to be very clear: There are some members, who by their actions, will have forfeited the support of the US Chamber of Commerce. Period. Full Stop,” he added.

The US House of Representatives is expected to vote Wednesday on whether to impeach Trump on charges he incited an insurrection.

The Department of Justice has opened 170 subject files — meaning individuals identified as persons who potentially committed crimes — on rioters from the Capitol, Acting DC US Attorney Michael Sherwin said at a news conference today.

He said they have already opened “over 70 cases” and expect the number of individuals charged “will grow to the hundreds in the next coming weeks.”

On the types of cases that DOJ is charging, Sherwin said, the “gamut of cases” and misconduct that they’re looking at “is really mind-blowing.”

“We’re looking at everything from simple trespass to theft of mail, to theft of digital devices while inside the Capitol, to assault on local officers, federal officers both outside and inside the Capitol, to the theft of potential national security information or national defense information to felony murder and even civil rights excessive force investigations,” he said.

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01:29 - Source: cnn

Rep. Brad Schneider, a Democrat from Illinois, was among the members forced to take shelter as rioters took over the Capitol on Wednesday.

He told CNN he is extremely frustrated by the lack of information coming from Capitol Police as to what went wrong and what changes will be made as a result of the insurrection. 

“I am frustrated, extremely frustrated that we have not had those briefings, not just us but to the American people. What happened, where it broke down, what we know, what we’re learning from that, you get more briefings, from a local robbery than we’ve gotten on this,” Schneider said.

“I have been a part of conversations and reports within the Democratic caucus. We have not had a full briefing. We can’t have a classified briefing, at least I’m not, I don’t have the technology to be a part of a classified briefing, so I haven’t been a part of that,” he added.

Schneider expressed admiration for the rank and file Capitol Police officers, who he believed did the best they could under difficult circumstances, but he was quick to point out it was a position they did not need to be in.  

“What happened on Wednesday, was preventable. It was predictable first. There was reports, you just have to look at social media I saw a report today that the FBI was concerned about effectively quote unquote a war in the Capitol. It was preventable. There were steps that I believe that Capitol Police, others could have taken to keep the crowd away, and have fallback positions, so that even if they broke the first barrier, they could have stopped him at the secondary or even the third, and it should have been just managed much better. We’re hearing more and more reports about slow response, poor communications,” he said. 

Schneider is not alone in his concern. Many members believe they are not getting nearly the level of information they need from Capitol Police and, according to a high level Democratic aide, the frustration is growing. 

“For every suspicious package on the Hill I will get 10 emails in real time. Then when it comes to this biggest security breach in recent time, we hear very little,” the aide said. 

Specifically, the complaint is that there is little real time information being shared from Capitol Police and this staff member doesn’t feel there is a level of coordination when it comes to updates and alerts – it’s basically radio silence. Aside from a briefing that was hastily arranged Monday night, there has been no chief of staff briefing from Capitol Police for the members.

Schneider also expressed concern that some Capitol Police officers may have been involved or helped the rioters. He said that radicalization in the ranks of the military and law enforcement has been a problem for some time and one that needs to be addressed. 

“I have heard about that and yes, I’ve been concerned about the radicalization within our law enforcement and even our military for a long time,” said Schneider. He pointed to legislation he has introduced in the past to address the issue.

“We need to understand the risk, and then develop the plans and implement those plans to address and eliminate that risk. My hope is that in this new Congress, we’ll be able to do that,” he added.

Multiple House Democrats tell CNN they’re worried about some of their Republican colleagues and there have been multiple conversations about the need for every member of Congress and their guests to start going through metal detectors.

“There have been increasing tensions with certain incoming freshmen for months, who have been insistent on bringing firearms in violation of law and guidelines,” one House Democrat said, in a reference to Republican Reps. Lauren Boebert, Madison Cawthorn, and others.

A second Democratic member of Congress added, “there are concerns about the gun-toting members, but also we don’t know who they’re going to bring to the Inauguration who can bypass the metal detectors. Until there’s an investigation and until we understand our colleagues’ level of complicity in the attack we don’t know how involved they really were. Until we have answers I don’t think we should trust them – not all of them of course, but some of them.”

A second Democrat noted that some of the House Republicans went onto the floor of the House after the attack and continued to share election lies, and also that some refused to wear masks while they were sheltering in place, and now several Democrats have tested positive for Covid-19.

Acting US Attorney Michael Sherwin and Steven D’Antuono, the assistant director in charge of the FBI Washington Field Office, are holding a news conference and providing updates on charges stemming from last week’s attack at the US Capitol.

“To be clear, the brutality the American people watched with shock and disbelief on the 6th will not be tolerated by the FBI. The men and women of the FBI will leave no stone unturned in this investigation. Since these events, the FBI has worked hand in hand with the United States attorney’s office and our law enforcement partners here in DC and across the country to arrest and charge multiple individuals who took part in the destruction,” D’Antuono said.

According to the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the FBI has received more than 100,000 digital media tips as of Tuesday morning.

The digital media tips are sent in from people who have documented the rioting and violence at the US Capitol last week.

The Justice Department on Tuesday, meanwhile, filed its first federal grand jury indictments against two defendants linked to the Capitol riot, including against an Alabama man alleged to have parked a truck filled with homemade bombs, guns and ammo two blocks from the Capitol. 

A major interagency “requirements” meeting has been scheduled this afternoon to discuss security requirements for the upcoming inauguration, along with concerns that some events in Washington, DC, could turn violent, multiple senior defense officials tell CNN.

That said, there is a much better feeling among these officials that preparations are organized and being put into place correctly because the Secret Service is in charge, and as one official said “they don’t mess around.”

There should be more clarity after this meeting on how many additional National Guard troops may be needed beyond the 15,000 troops already earmarked, as well as any possible circumstances in which National Guard may possibly be armed for self-defense. 

The officials would not address detailed security threats but said broadly, the planning is to assume perpetrators will come with high “aggression” one senior defense official said. 

“Their intentions are very serious” the official said.

Federal investigators are chasing thousands of leads in twin efforts to try to prosecute people involved in last week’s attack on the US Capitol and to try to prevent feared follow-up attacks in Washington and around the country. 

In recent days, concern has grown that violent mobs’ success in breaching the Capitol has increased the potential for attacks because people may be emboldened to carry out violence, another federal law enforcement official said.

The sprawling probe spanning all 50 states in some ways is unprecedented, even in comparison to the investigations after the 9/11 attacks. That’s because federal investigators are grappling with a domestic radicalization problem, that presents complications due to First Amendment protections of political speech, different from radicalization tied to foreign terrorist groups. 

Some of the intelligence the FBI, ATF and other agencies shared before last week’s attack has taken new importance, and has prompted federal investigators to conduct visits with people already on their radar and who have raised concerns about violence. Much of the online threats found in social media and other forums is thought to be aspirational, but the FBI and other agencies now are treating them more seriously, officials said. 

Some of that occurred before the Jan. 6 Trump rally, federal officials have said. The FBI worked with Washington’s Metropolitan Police to arrest a leader of the Proud Boys in the days before the Trump rally on a relatively minor charge, and then added charges when they found him carrying extended ammunition magazines that are illegal in the city. Prosecutors monitored hotels where some attendees were staying. 

But, there were efforts by some of the groups of concern to try to evade detection. On the day of the rally, members of the Proud Boys ditched their normal yellow and black attire and donned orange hats, and they were seen gathering near the Capitol grounds to coordinate their march to the building, according to a federal law enforcement official and video from the day. 

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02:02 - Source: cnn

Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff are preparing to send a message to the entire military force reiterating a tone of reassurance given recent violence in Washington, according to two defense officials. 

The message will remind the force that their obligation is to support and defend the Constitution and reject extremism, the sources said. The decision to issue the message was agreed upon by the chiefs on Tuesday, one of the officials said.

It is considered a significant step because the chiefs have sought to stay out of anything that may have political overtones. But given what has happened, they all felt it was important to make a statement given the gravity of events surrounding the inauguration.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to reconvene the Senate and hold an impeachment trial at a news conference in New York on Tuesday, arguing that a 2004 resolution allows the two of them to avoid the requirement for unanimous consent during an emergency.

“We could come back ASAP and vote to convict Donald Trump, and get him out of office now before any further damage is done,” said Schumer.

“The bottom line is that Leader McConnell has the ability to call us back into session,” added Schumer. “And we can then move to convict Donald Trump in the impeachment trial and try him. And that’s what we hope McConnell will do.”

Schumer said that Trump’s comments today taking no responsibility for the attack on the Capitol were “despicable.”

“What Trump did today, blaming others for what he caused, is a pathological technique used by the worst of dictators,” said Schumer. “Trump causes the anger. He causes the divisiveness. He foments the violence and blames others for it. That is despicable.”

“Donald Trump should not hold office one day longer,” he added. “If he won’t resign, and Vice President Pence and the Cabinet won’t invoke the 25th amendment, he will be impeached by the House, and as the law requires, tried by the Senate.”

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01:12 - Source: cnn

Jason Schmid, a widely respected and senior Republican staffer on the House Armed Services Committee, resigned Tuesday following the Jan. 6th insurrection at the US Capitol.

In a strongly worded resignation letter, he condemned members of his own party who “chose to put political theater ahead of the defense of the Constitution and the Republic.”

“The sad, incontrovertible truth is that the people who laid siege to the Capitol were and continue to be domestic enemies of the Constitution of the United States. A poisonous lie that the election was illegitimate and should be overturned inspired so called ‘patriots’ to share common cause with white supremacists, neo-Nazis and conspiracy theorists to attack the seat of American government,” Schmid wrote in his resignation letter.

He continued: “Anyone who watched those horrible hours unfold should have been galvanized to rebuke these insurrectionists in the strongest terms. Instead, some members whom I believed to be leaders in the defense of the nation chose to put political theater ahead of the defense of the Constitution and the Republic.”

Members of the committee have been very moved by Schmid’s resignation letter, according to a source familiar with those conversation. This person added that it speaks to the concerns being talked about amongst Republicans following the Capitol Hill attack. 

In his letter Schmid directly condemned House and Senate Republicans who objected to the legally certified electoral college votes of several states. 

“The decision to vote to set aside legitimate electors harmed the ability of every service member, intelligence officer, and diplomat to defend the nation and advance American interests,” Schmid writes. “Congressional enablers of this mob have made future foreign conflict more likely, not less.”

He also calls on the committee to hold the Department of Defense accountable.

“It is vitally important that the Committee hold the Department of Defense accountable for bringing any participants to justice. These extremist influences are a grave threat to our ability to defend the nation, and they must be expelled from the force immediately. I deeply regret some members may no longer have the credibility needed to accomplish this work,” Schmid writes. 

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer is demanding that anyone who stormed the US Capitol last week be placed on the Transportation Security Administration’s no-fly list as a way to contain possible future threats.

“These individuals are a threat to the homeland as defined by the law,” Schumer said at a news conference. “And they should be placed on the no-fly list.”

He continued:

“With so many questions about safety and the worry about future possible threats, the least we can do is make the skies, the inauguration, the Capitol and the country safer.”

Hear what else he said about possible threats:

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03:17 - Source: cnn

GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York was removed from the Harvard Institute of Politics Senior Advisory Committee Tuesday for her role in perpetuating baseless claims about voter fraud in the November 2020 election. 

The decision comes following calls from students and alumni – including a petition signed by nearly a thousand Harvard affiliates – to remove Stefanik from the committee.

Pleas for Stefanik to step aside had been brewing since the election, but this specific petition was started early last week in the wake of the insurrection at the Capitol on Wednesday, when Stefanik objected to the certification of the election results, even after the violence.

“I spoke with Elise and asked her to step aside from the Senior Advisory Committee. My request was not about political parties, political ideology, or her choice of candidate for president. Rather, in my assessment, Elise has made public assertions about voter fraud in November’s presidential election that have no basis in evidence, and she has made public statements about court actions related to the election that are incorrect,” Douglas Elmendorf, dean of faculty at the Harvard Kennedy School, said in a letter to the Senior Advisory Committee of the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School Tuesday.

“Moreover, these assertions and statements do not reflect policy disagreements but bear on the foundations of the electoral process through which this country’s leaders are chosen,” Elmendorf added.

According to the letter, Stefanik was asked to step aside from the committee, but declined that offer and therefore was therefore removed from the committee. 

Megan Corrigan and Jacob Carrel – both students at Harvard Law School – were in a group chat texting as the violence at the Capitol unfolded.

“We were both aware Rep. Stefanik had this position at the Institute of Politics, and we felt that with her continued support of these false claims of election fraud she was enabling this violence. And we felt like she should no longer be a part of our institution or hold such a high position within our Institute of Politics,” Corrigan, a 28-year-old second year law student at Harvard Law School and an author of the petition, told CNN.

“She continued and objected after the violence… and from there, the petition just took off, even faster than we imagined,” Corrigan added.

In addition to the petition, undergraduates also shared an infographic on social media which explained why they believed Stefanik “should not be an IOP senior advisor.”

“Through her promise to oppose the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election, Rep. Stefanik has demonstrated that she is not suitable to advise our student center any longer,” the students wrote.

“We were so happy that the University heard us and took this step to hold her accountable this morning,” Corrigan told CNN Tuesday.

Stefanik responded to the Institute of Politics’ decision Tuesday with a statement on Twitter in which she said, “The decision by Harvard’s administration to cower and cave to the woke Left will continue to erode diversity of thought, public discourse, and ultimately the student experience.”

But, according to Coorigan, “This isn’t a free speech issue. This is a case of legislative action taken contrary to our Democracy.”

Chair of the House Administration Committee Zoe Lofgren told reporters after a briefing with the acting Capitol Police Chief and Acting Sergeant-at-Arms she feels security at the Capitol has improved.

When asked about the expected attacks on the US Capitol and lawmakers, “Go look at social media, and you’ll see there’s people who are unhinged and looking into overthrowing the government and you know, we saw them last week.”

Advisers and lawyers speaking with Trump over the last few days have encouraged the President to lower his rhetoric and denounce violence in order to reduce his legal liability for the deadly insurrection at the Capitol last week, according to two sources familiar with the discussions. 

“Lawyers have been recommending a deescalation of rhetoric, not just for the good of the country, but also to reduce the risk of legal jeopardy,” one source familiar with the discussions said.

The sources said Trump has been told in the days following the siege at the Capitol that he could be charged with inciting violence by local and federal authorities and be sued by relatives of the victims who were harmed in the insurrection.

“He absolutely can be sued,” a separate source said, reflecting concerns among Trump’s advisers that the president’s actions have once again put himself in legal jeopardy.

As he left the White House for a trip to the border, Trump told reporters he did not want to see further violence. But he did not accept any responsibility for his own role in instigating the storming of the Capitol.

Trump has still not displayed remorse for the violence on Capitol Hill. He continues to tell his advisers that the election was stolen from him.

“Trump has created his own reality,” one of the sources said.

The other source contacted by CNN said Trump would not be shielded from prosecution once he leaves office, something the president is aware of as well. 

Democratic Rep. Cedric Richmond, a co-chair of President-elect Joe Biden’s inaugural committee, said Senate hearings for Biden’s homeland security chief pick need to happen as soon as possible to ensure safety on Inauguration Day. 

“The biggest failure that I’ve seen so far is that the United States Senate has not held hearings on the new secretary of homeland security, Mr. [Alejandro] Mayorkas, who would, at 12:01, be responsible for a whole-of-government approach to making sure these capitols are safe around the country and to make sure DC is safe,” Richmond told CNN’s John King. 

It’s “irresponsible to the American public,” he added. 

Members of Congress have been briefed on a series of new threats against lawmakers and the Capitol itself. According to a member of Congress who was among those briefed late Monday, thousands of armed pro-Trump extremists are plotting to surround the US Capitol ahead of Biden’s inauguration.

Richmond said the inauguration organizers have included many digital components to the ceremony and are coordinating with officials to keep the ceremony secure. 

According to the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the FBI has received more than 100,000 digital media tips as of Tuesday morning.

The digital media tips are sent in from people who have documented the rioting and violence at the US Capitol last week.

The FBI continues to urge people across the country to submit information, photos and videos that could be relevant to the ongoing investigation.

Scenes from the day a pro-Trump mob broke into the US Capitol:

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02:55 - Source: cnn

The Justice Department on Tuesday filed its first federal grand jury indictments against two defendants linked to the Capitol riot, including against an Alabama man alleged to have parked a truck filled with homemade bombs, guns and ammo two blocks from the Capitol. 

Both men were arrested last week and their criminal allegations were made public shortly after the riot. The indictments formalize the charges the men, after they were arrested under criminal complaint.

Lonnie Leroy Coffman of Alabama appears to be the most serious defendant of more than 20 known federal defendants so far. He is currently detained and is set to appear before a judge this afternoon.

According to the new indictments, Coffman faces 17 criminal counts, largely for possession of multiple weapons including ammunition, shotgun shells and various guns, including a shotgun, a rifle, 3 pistols and 11 Molotov cocktails without registration in Washington, DC, on Jan. 6, according to the indictment.

Another man, Mark Jefferson Leffingwell, faces seven counts related to violence inside the Capitol building. He is released from detention at this time.

Neither have entered a plea in court.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, of Maryland, a Democrat, is leading the efforts to encourage the House to vote on a resolution calling for Vice President Mike Pence and President Trump’s Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment.

Raskin argued that the move would be a road to reconcile the country and parties following the attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.

“All we have to ask is whether the President lived up to the most basic and minimal expectations for his duties of office,” Raskin said during his remarks at the House hearing on the resolution.

“Can you imagine any other president in our history encouraging and fomenting mob violence against the Congress of the United States? Against our people? That’s the question. And if you’re with me and you can’t imagine any other president doing that and you think he failed the basic duties of offices then I think the Vice President has a duty to act,” Raskin said.

Raskin saluted Vice President Pence’s actions on January 6 to move ahead with the certification of the electoral results despite facing “enormous, phenomenal, unprecedented pressure” from President Trump.

Raskin encouraged Pence to “stand up again.”

“This is the road to reconciliation,” Raskin said, addressing those members of Congress who he said “foolishly” voted to object the electoral results even after the US Capitol was attacked.

“It is the Vice President himself who is the key actor and it’s the President’s own Cabinet who make up the key actors… They can help to lead us out of the nightmare that we’ve been plunged into by this sequence of events. They can transfer, peacefully, the powers of the President to Vice President Mike Pence for the remainder of this term so that we can have a peaceful transition of power,” Raskin explained.

Hear his strong words for President Trump:

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03:05 - Source: cnn

Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, from Michigan, and Congressman Anthony Brown, from Maryland, introduced legislation that would impose $1,000 fines on any member of Congress refusing to wear a mask on Capitol grounds during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

This comes after three members tested positive for the virus after sheltering in place with other members of Congress who did not wear masks during the violent attack on the US Capitol last week.

“In the midst of a deadly assault on our United States Capitol, a number of our Republican colleagues laughed off rules designed to keep not just their colleagues safe, but to protect the lives of the teams of workers keeping things going, law enforcement, and staff throughout the Capitol. Now, three of our colleagues are suffering from the virus,” she added.

Specifically, the legislation would amend the House rules and institute a $1,000 fine per day for any member of Congress who refuses to wear a mask on the grounds of the Capitol during the pandemic.

On the heels of multiple briefs with federal law enforcement, including with FBI Director Christopher Wray, US Senator Charles Schumer will demand the federal authorities place individuals who entered and stormed the US Capitol be put on the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) “NO FLY” list in order to contain possible future threats.

Schumer will say many who stormed the Capitol—the “demonstrators”—meet the criteria to be placed on the federal security list as “threats to the homeland.”

Schumer will say adding these individuals to the list ahead of the inauguration on Jan. 20th, makes sense given continued threats of violence across online mediums and the federal government’s own concerns.

Many who stormed the Capitol traveled from afar and some were later arrested in airports when they landed – far from Washington.

Rep. Norma Torres, a Democrat from California, said during a debate of the House Rules Committee today that “there should be no question” that Vice President Mike Pence should invoke the 25th Amendment and remove President Trump from office.

Torres said she was among the lawmakers trapped in the balcony of the House chamber during the Jan. 6 attack against the Capitol.

“I was one of 12 trapped in the House gallery. I heard the shot being fired. I saw the smoke from the tear gas having been deployed, and I watched one officer with no protective equipment face a raging mob just outside the chamber. He crawled across the entire length of that balcony. I was in the last group to be evacuated. We ran down the halls, stairs, near a mob that was being held on the ground at gunpoint. I sheltered for four to five hours in a room that was packed shoulder to shoulder with people,” Torres described.

Torres said that when she was finally evacuated from the Capitol at 3 p.m. ET, and “was running for my life,” she received a call from her son.

“I answered my phone to my son, Christopher. The call lasted 27 seconds. All I could say, was sweetheart, I’m okay. I’m running for my life. And I hung up,” Torres said.

The lawmaker also called on her colleague’s to support Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin’s resolution calling on Pence “to immediately use his powers under section 4 of the 25th Amendment to convene and mobilize the principal officers of the executive departments in the Cabinet to declare what is obvious to a horrified nation.”

“I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in supporting this resolution, but most of all, I urge Vice President Pence to do the right thing,” Torres said.

“The Raskin resolution is not a political document, it takes no partisan position. And anyone who says otherwise is being irresponsible and is continuing to advance a hateful agenda of Donald Trump,” she continued.

Torres also sent a message to Trump: “How dare you! How dare you incite a mob to stop the final step in certifying our election simply because they want to pick and choose whose vote should count and whose vote should not count.”

Hear her describe the emotional phone call:

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02:27 - Source: cnn

The US Army is working with the Secret Service to determine if there are soldiers who will be part of the National Guard contingent providing security at the inauguration who require additional background screening.

“The D.C. National Guard is also providing additional training to service members as they arrive in D.C. that if they see or hear something that is not appropriate, they should report it to their chain of command,” an Army spokesperson said in a written statement to CNN. 

“There is no place for extremism in the military and we will investigate each report individually and take appropriate action,” the statement said.

 “The Army is committed to working closely with the F.B.I. as they identify people who participated in the violent attack on the Capitol to determine if the individuals have any connection to the Army,” the statement said while adding that any type of activity that “involves violence, civil disobedience, or a breach of peace,” may be punishable under the Uniform Code of Military Justice or under state and federal law.

Current Defense Department policy requires all service members be trained annually under a program that requires department personnel to report “any information regarding known or suspected extremist behavior that could be a threat to the department or the United States,” the statement said.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi declined to answer questions as she entered the Capitol today on when she’ll send the articles of impeachment to the Senate.

She also would not comment specifically on whether she prefers to send before or after inauguration on Jan. 20

Some context: House Majority Whip James Clyburn said Sunday House Democrats might wait until after President-elect Joe Biden’s first 100 days in office to send any articles of impeachment against Trump to the Senate, a move that would give the incoming President time to tackle his agenda in Congress before the start of a time-consuming trial.

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz’s communications director has resigned in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack, according to two sources. Lauren Blair Bianchi has been Cruz’s top communications aide since July 2019.

Cruz, a Texas Republican, was one of the leading Senate GOP voice in the effort to object to electors for Joe Biden as Congress moved to certify his election as President of the United States.

Bianchi’s departure was tied to the events leading up to Jan. 6, with the attack itself serving as the final trigger to resign, the sources said. 

The resignation was first reported by Punchbowl news.

The acting US attorney for the District of Columbia, Michael Sherwin, announced a new focus of investigating violence toward the media at the Capitol riots.

“Such violence will not be tolerated,” Sherwin said in a statement.

Sherwin’s office has already brought several federal criminal charges against President Trump supporters inside the Capitol that day.

Trump has repeatedly attacked the media in speeches and tweets over the years, and video of the riot captured his supported breaking press equipment from several news organizations last week. One New York Times photographer, Erin Schaff, said she was thrown to the floor by the mob until police could intervene.

“The United States Attorney’s Office invites members of the press to report any instances where a reporter, journalist, photographer, videographer, or other member of the press or broadcast media was the victim of an assault, threat, or property damage during the events of January 6 at the United States Capitol,” he said.

This is what happened when Capitol mob found a CNN crew:

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The House Rules Committee is meeting now to begin debate on Rep. Jamie Raskin’s bill urging Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove President Trump from office.

That debate is expected to go one to three hours, but, it could go longer. After that, the Rules panel might take a break.

Here’s how the rest of the day could play out: Rules is expected to then return in the mid-afternoon to begin debating the impeachment article. This meeting is expected to stretch hours. It could go well into the evening. For context, the last impeachment Rules debate lasted about eight hours.

Around 7:30 p.m. ET, the House will begin voting on Raskin’s 25th Amendment bill. They will first vote on the rule. Then, they will vote on the actual bill. Remember: Votes in the House take a while given the protocols in place for coronavirus.

Three House Democrats said they tested positive for Covid-19 after sheltering in place with other members of Congress who did not wear masks during the violent attack on the US Capitol last week.

Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey, Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington and Rep. Brad Schneider of Illinois announced their positive test results early this week.

“Following the events of Wednesday, including sheltering with several colleagues who refused to wear masks, I decided to take a Covid test. I have tested positive,” Coleman tweeted Monday.

A statement from her office said that the congresswoman “believes she was exposed during protective isolation in the US Capitol building as a result of insurrectionist riots. As reported by multiple news outlets, a number of members within the space ignored instructions to wear masks.”

Jayapal tweeted early Tuesday morning that she “received a positive COVID-19 test result after being locked down in a secured room at the Capitol where several Republicans not only cruelly refused to wear a mask but recklessly mocked colleagues and staff who offered them one.”

CNN has previously reported that six House Republicans were captured on video refusing masks offered by a colleague during the US Capitol insurrection.

An aide told CNN that Watson Coleman was in the room in the secure location with the six conservative Republicans who refused to wear masks.

“Unfortunately, I received a positive COVID-19 test this morning following being tested yesterday on the advice of the House Attending Physician,” Schneider said in a statement Tuesday.

“Last Wednesday, after narrowly escaping a violent mob incited by the President of the United States to attack the Capitol and its occupants, I was forced to spend several hours in a secure but confined location with dozens of other Members of Congress. Several Republican lawmakers in the room adamantly refused to wear a mask,” the congressman said.

“Today, I am now in strict isolation, worried that I have risked my wife’s health and angry at the selfishness and arrogance of the anti-maskers who put their own contempt and disregard for decency ahead of the health and safety of their colleagues and our staff. I am at least the third Member from that room paying the price, including Rep. Pramila Jayapal and Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, a 75-year-old cancer survivor,” he said.

Lawmakers and Capitol staff on Sunday received a memo from the Capitol’s attending physician warning of a possible risk of Covid-19 exposure after a large group of lawmakers were forced to gather in a secure location during the breach of the US Capitol.

“On Wednesday January 6, many members of the House community were in protective isolation in (a) room located in a large committee hearing space. The time in this room was several hours for some and briefer for others. During this time, individuals may have been exposed to another occupant with coronavirus infection,” Dr. Brian P. Monahan wrote.

In the memo, Monahan instructed lawmakers and staff to monitor for possible Covid-19 symptoms and to be tested for Covid-19 as a precaution.

The New York State Police has taken steps “to harden security in and around the State Capitol in Albany” ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, according to spokesperson Beau Duffy.

“Given recent events in Washington and across the country, the New York State Police has, out of an abundance of caution, taken steps to harden security in and around the State Capitol in Albany,” said Duffy. “These restrictions are in place until further notice.”

Duffy added that the department is aware of reports regarding “possible protests ahead of the inauguration,” is in touch with federal and local law enforcement partners and “will be monitoring the situation.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer notified senators today that will be an all-senator virtual briefing on inauguration security this afternoon with briefers including representatives from Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security and the Secret Service, a senate source familiar with the matter tells CNN.

The call is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. ET, according to this source. 

The briefing was first reported by NBC.

President Trump declared Tuesday that his suspension from social media platforms was causing “anger” and that he continues to enjoy “tremendous support,” despite losing the election and facing a second impeachment. 

“I think that big tech is doing a horrible thing for our country and to our country,” he told reporters before boarding Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.

Trump offered no contrition for his role in inciting riots at the US Capitol. And he sought to voice what he said was frustration from conservatives about perceived censorship by Silicon Valley.

“It causes a lot of problems and a lot of anger,” he said. “There’s always a counter-move when they do that.”

Trump said “you have to always avoid violence.” But he touted his base of support as evidence that tech companies were wrong to remove him from their platforms.

“We have tremendous support,” he said. “We have support probably like nobody’s ever seen.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and top Democratic leaders, along with House Administration Committee Chair Rep. Zoe Lofgren and House Appropriations Committee Chair Rep. Rosa DeLauro will hold a meeting with the acting Capitol Police chief and acting Sergeant-at-Arms at 11 a.m. ET amid new threats and concerns about both in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, according to a source familiar. 

Some background: According to a member of Congress who was among those briefed late Monday on a series of new threats against lawmakers and the Capitol itself, thousands of armed pro-Trump extremists are plotting to surround the US Capitol ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.

Monday’s briefing followed an FBI bulletin warning of “armed protests” being planned at all 50 state capitols and in Washington, DC, and provides the latest sense of a heightened state of alarm among lawmakers and law enforcement officials following last week’s deadly siege at the US Capitol.

CNN’s Zachary Cohen, Lauren Fox and Priscilla Alvarez contributed reporting to this post.

A defiant President Trump insisted Tuesday his speech inciting riots at the US Capitol was “totally appropriate.”

Speaking at Joint Base Andrews before departing for Texas, Trump falsely said those who’d analyzed his remarks had found no fault in them.

“It’s been analyzed,” he said. “People though what I said was totally appropriate.”

“They’ve analyzed my speech, my words,” he continued. “Everybody to a T thought it was appropriate.”

Instead, Trump claimed the “real problem” is what other politicians said about protests over the summer in Seattle and Portland.

Trump, in an aside, said “you always have to avoid violence.”

President Trump railed against impeachment as a continued “witch hunt” and called for “no violence” in his first public remarks to reporters after the insurrection he incited at the US Capitol last week. 

One day before House lawmakers are expected to vote to impeach him for the second time, Trump called the process “dangerous” and said it is causing “tremendous anger.”

“On the impeachment, it’s really a continuation of the greatest witch hunt in the history of politics. It’s ridiculous, it’s absolutely ridiculous. This impeachment is causing tremendous anger, and you’re doing it and it’s really a terrible thing that they’re doing,” he told reporters on the White House South Lawn Tuesday morning.

Trump continued, “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 did not address his own role in Wednesday’s breach of the Capitol by his supporters, but said, “We want no violence, never violence, we want absolutely no violence.”

The President also addressed his forthcoming trip to Alamo, Texas, to tour border wall construction, touting the “tremendous difference” the wall has made and claiming there “does seem to be a surge” of illegal immigration due to caravans, “because they think there’s going to be a lot in it for them if they’re able to get through.”

Trump also greeted a crowd of maskless supporters, many waving American flags, on the South Lawn.

Hear from the President:

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Te next few days are going to be long, but by the end of Wednesday, we expect that President Donald Trump will be impeached a second time.

The story over the upcoming days will continue to be not just what is happening on the floor, but how the Capitol and the members in it prepare for the next week as new threats and the inauguration looms.

The House Committee is the hottest ticket in town Tuesday. Starting at 11 a.m. ET, the committee is going to begin debate on Rep. Jamie Raskin’s bill urging Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office. That debate is expected to go one to three hours. But, it could go longer. After that, the Rules panel might take a break.

Rules is expected to then return in the mid-afternoon to begin debating the impeachment article. This meeting is expected to stretch hours. It could go well into the evening. For context, the last impeachment Rules debate lasted about eight hours.

Around 7:30 p.m. ET, the House will begin voting on Raskin’s 25th Amendment bill. They will first vote on the rule. Then, they will vote on the actual bill. A reminder that votes in the house take a while given the protocols in place for coronavirus.

So what about impeachment? The House will pass the rule to govern the debate on the impeachment article Tuesday night at some point. When that occurs is not clear. But, Wednesday at 9 a.m. ET, the House will meet to begin consideration of the article of impeachment on the House floor.

Exact timing for the final vote Wednesday is TBD.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state will respond quickly in response to FBI warnings of planned protests at state capitols across the country.  

“If anything is disorderly, we are going to act very quickly. Don’t worry about that,” DeSantis said during a news conference Tuesday.

DeSantis called last week’s unrest at the US Capitol “really unfortunate,” adding, “I actually am glad to see some of these people getting arrested from the DC thing because I think the prosecutions will really make a difference.”   

“And understand, our legislation is going to pass this legislative session, so if you riot you are going to jail and you’re going to have to spend time in jail. If you assault law enforcement in a violent assembly you’re going to definitely go to jail. You burn down someone’s business, you do all this the penalties are going to be very swift and immediate,” DeSantis said.   

Similar to other impeachment proceedings, the House Judiciary Committee will release a report about President Trump’s impeachment proceedings, a committee aide tells CNN.

This one is unusual because the House Judiciary Committee did not take any official action.

The New York Police Department says it is working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation with regards to allegations that a member of the police force “may have been involved in the events that marred the Capitol last week.”

“We are working with the FBI to see if any allegations that a member of the New York City Police Department may have been involved in the events that marred the Capitol last week,” DCPI Spokesperson Detective Denise Moroney tells CNN.

“We have no further information at this time,” the detective adds.

In light of the attack on the nation’s Capitol, New York City says it is reviewing whether legal grounds exist to terminate concessions with the Trump Organization, the mayor’s office said. 

“The attacks on our Capital killed a police officer, left four rioters dead, exposed lawmakers to COVID-19 and threatened the constitutional transfer of power,” Laura Feyer, Deputy Press Secretary for the New York City Mayor, said in a statement.

“They were a national abomination. We’re reviewing whether legal grounds exist in light of these new circumstances to terminate concessions with the Trump Organization.”

These entities include Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point, Wollman Rink, Lasker Rink and the Central Park carousel, according to the city. 

CNN has reached out to the Trump Organization for comment.

The son of a Brooklyn judge arrested Tuesday morning in connection with his alleged involvement in the insurrection at the Capitol spoke to the New York Post inside the Capitol during the incident about his beliefs.

“What I’m doing here today is to express my – my opinion as a free American – my beliefs that this election was stolen,” Aaron Mostofsky told the New York Post in an on-camera interview.

He identified himself as Aaron and told the NY Post he traveled from Brooklyn. A law enforcement source identified the individual as Aaron Mostofsky.

“We were cheated,” he claimed, adding “I don’t think …75 million people voted for Trump I think it was 85 million. I think certain states that have been blue for a long time had been red and was stolen like New York.”

He was holding a US Capitol Police shield during the interview which he said he found on the floor.

He also said he found another item he described as a “cap” on the floor and handed it back to the police as he believed it may be a personal item.

But as for the shield he said “this I have no idea, there’s no name, they probably just grab it.”

“It looks like it has been used a lot,” he told the NY Post.

Asked whether senators inside the Capitol building should be afraid, he said they “shouldn’t.”

“They should.. get the courage to do their duty,” which he said is to “examine the fraud maybe delay the election.”

“I don’t know what to do but we have the constitution. We don’t rewrite the law because of Covid.”

“It’s not give me liberty or give me death but Covid,” he told the NY Post.

The Department of Justice has not indicated what if any charges he may face.

CNN is attempting to reach out to representatives for Mostofsky.

A representative for Judge Shlomo Mostofsky told CNN last week when asked about his son’s potential involvement: “Justice Mostofsky has no knowledge of these unfortunate events.”

House Republican leaders won’t whip their colleagues and tell them to vote against the impeachment resolution tomorrow, according to leadership aides. They will let members vote their conscience.

This is a marked departure from the approach in 2019 when GOP leaders pushed their members to fall in line and no GOP lawmakers defected. It shows the splintering of the GOP and how the party is deeply divided over how to respond to President Trump after he incited last week’s deadly Capitol riot.

While a vast majority of House Republicans are expected to oppose the article of impeachment tomorrow, there are expectations there could be as many as 10 — maybe more, maybe less — breaking ranks.

Rep. Liz Cheney, the number three in GOP leadership, called tomorrow’s impeachment vote a “vote of conscience.” She has not said how she would vote but she has been sharply critical of Trump’s efforts to overturn the election.

Federal officials are considering whether to issue permits to at least two groups seeking to protest the inauguration of incoming President Joe Biden, or support outgoing President Trump.    

On Monday, Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser said she would ask the National Park Service to deny or cancel any permit requests between Jan. 10 and 26. Inauguration Day is Jan. 20. On Tuesday morning, she told ABC News that the park service has not yet done so, “and we recognize that is an extraordinary request.”  

“We are the nation’s capital, people come and have done so peacefully to protest and grieve their government, but we want to make sure that at a very extraordinary time, that the appropriate limits are placed on gathering in the nation’s capital,” she said in the ABC appearance.  

The National Park Service told CNN it is processing an application from a group called DC Action Lab, which is requesting permission to assemble approximately 5,000 people for a “Free speech demonstration against the inauguration.”  

It is also processing an application from a group called Let America Hear Us, Roar for Trump. It described its plans as gathering approximately 300 people “to support our President.”

Neither of those permits have been granted.  

The park service said it has granted two permits for events on Inauguration Day that appear unrelated to the inauguration; one is anticipating 15 participants to “Attract people to God with music and books” over two-plus weeks in January, and a second is for an ongoing worship service that began in November and continues through mid-March.  

There are seven other permit applications to use National Park Service land in the DC area on inauguration day, including a pro-environment/anti-war assembly, a request to do video recording, and several related to Martin Luther King, Jr day. 

Members of Congress were briefed late Monday on a series of new threats against lawmakers and the US Capitol ahead of President-Elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20, Pennsylvania Democratic Rep. Conor Lamb told CNN’s New Day Tuesday.

The briefing, which comes after CNN reported Monday that the FBI has received information indicating “armed protests” are being planned at all 50 state capitols and in Washington, DC, is yet another sign that law enforcement agencies are becoming increasingly concerned that last week’s siege at the US Capitol was not an isolated incident.

“Yes, what our briefing confirmed is that this is not simply an ongoing criminal investigation, which it is. We’re in the midst of an ongoing series of crimes and ongoing threat to the United States capitol, to our institutions, to communities all around the United States,” he told CNN’s Alisyn Camerota when asked about the briefing last night from law enforcement. “And that’s why what we’re doing is different than the impeachment that came before and other things we’ve done with respect to with respect to President Trump before.”

He continued: “This is an action purely taken in terms of public safely. We’re trying to stop the active threat coming from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. He is the person who ties together all of these different hate groups, White supremacy groups, whatever you want to call them. They were literally checking their phones and responding to his words and videos in realtime. I mean, he tweeted out something about Mike Pence and all of a sudden the crowd is chanting hang Mike Pence the middle of the capitol.”

Asked by Camerota to confirm if there are specific, credible threats that he heard that law enforcement believes are legitimate and are taking seriously and planning for, Lamb responded “yes.”

A DHS official told CNN a briefing happened with the Hill yesterday with DHS, Secret Service and FBI. This person wasn’t involved in the briefing but had been told about it.

Asked if Biden should still do a traditional outside inauguration given the information he has received, Lamb said if Biden wants to have one outside, he will be there beside him.

“I believe that Joe Biden was elected President by a huge margin because the American people trust him to exercise powers of commander in chief. And I saw him on TV yesterday say he’s not afraid to do this outside. And I agree with him and I believe him,” he said. “So if that’s what he wants to do, I’ll be right there beside him because I think the most important thing is to continue showing all Americans that no matter how impassioned and, you know, committed these people who attacked the capitol are, we are more committed.”

Lamb added later: “But to go back to your earlier question, the threats we are facing are very specific. I don’t want anyone watching at home to think that we’re just sort of imagining the things could be bad … We are not negotiating with or reasoning with these people. They have to be prosecuted. They have to be stopped. And unfortunately that includes the President. Which is why he needs to be impeached and removed from office.”

Two Democratic lawmakers who participated in the briefing told CNN that while yes, they were walked through these scenarios on a call yesterday and officers were sober about the threats, the effort was made to emphasize how different security is right now.

“They are very strong when we are weak. That is when the mob psychology takes hold and they are emboldened, but when met with actual determined force, I think a lot of these fantasy world beliefs about what will happen when they come to Washington will melt away,” one of the members said.

Rep. Lamb: We’re trying to stop an active threat:

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There is a new concern among President Trump’s senior staff about their job prospects as his time left in office dwindles. 

Several of his top aides were already struggling to find positions before the violent assault on the US Capitol, but now multiple people have voiced concern privately that it will be almost impossible to land a job in the private sector, given the current environment and their boss’s toxicity, according to several of those staffers and people who spoke with them. 

Two senior officials to Trump recently expressed anxiety about their limited options with outside advisers and said they have been unable to find positions so far. Others are planning to stay under the radar for a few months until things calm down. 

As CNN has reported, Trump spent the weekend largely in isolation because a lot of people are avoiding him, with the exception of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino and the head of the White House personnel office Johnny McEntee. 

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar was pressed repeatedly Tuesday on whether President Trump is capable of fulfilling his duties and whether he would invoke the 25th Amendment in his role as a member of the Trump Cabinet, and though he said he’d “wrestled” with his own role in the administration, he would not weigh in. 

“The rhetoric last week was unacceptable. I’m not going to get into or discuss the 25th Amendment here. I’m committed — I’ve wrestled with this – I’m committed to see this through in my role as Health Secretary during a pandemic, to ensure that vaccines and therapeutics get out to the American people and to ensure a smooth handoff to President-elect Biden’s team,” he said during an appearance on “Good Morning America.”

Pressed again on whether he had had conversations on the 25th Amendment, he said it would “not be appropriate” to discuss and would not get into private conversations. 

He called the Capitol insurrection “an assault on democracy” and expressed concern about reports of future protests at the Capitol and at state capitols around the country, calling for a “peaceful and orderly transition.”

Democratic Rep. David Cicilline, who co-authored the article of impeachment against President Trump, said Trump’s baseless claims of voter fraud incited the Capitol riots.

“We will demonstrate unequivocally that the President’s language, the statements he made, the promotion of the big lie made violence at the Capitol inevitable. He’s responsible for it. He needs to be removed from office immediately. He’s a clear and present danger to the United States,” he said on CNN’s “New Day.”

Cicilline said they will file a report today detailing the legal basis for impeachment. 

“We were all witnesses to this or victims of this. We all publicly saw the President’s statements and his tweets. So this will lay it out in more detail, but it is absolutely sufficient to sustain the burden of proof for impeachment,” he said.

Cicilline said he hopes there will be “a dozen at least” Republican lawmakers who will join House Democrats to vote in favor of impeachment. 

Cicilline also said that he thought it was important to reference a provision of the 14th Amendment, which bars any officeholder from federal or state office who takes part in insurrection or rebellion against the US.

“It’s a classic case of insurrection,” Cicilline said.

Hear the full interview:

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A Secret Service officer was put under investigation stemming from comments on a Facebook post in which she accused lawmakers who formalized President-elect Joe Biden’s win of treason and shared conspiracy theories about rigging the Presidential election.

USSS declined to comment about the matter. When asked about the investigation, which was reported by the Washington Post, a spokesperson for the Secret Service told CNN:

“The U.S. Secret Service carries out its law enforcement mission in an objective and apolitical manner. Any allegation that an employee is not carrying out their duties in that manner will be investigated. As this is a personnel matter, the agency will not be further commenting.”

Rep. Liz Cheney, the number three House Republican, told colleagues on a conference call Monday evening that Wednesday’s impeachment vote is a “vote of conscience,” a source tells CNN. The House plans to vote to impeach President Trump tomorrow.

Cheney is one of the handful of outspoken critics of Trump’s disinformation surrounding the November election results and Trump’s attempts to overturn the election. 

Cheney has not said how she would vote. Republican leaders have not planned to whip the votes at the moment, in stark contrast to 2019’s impeachment, where Republican leadership pressured members not to break ranks.

It’s not known yet how many Republicans will vote to impeach President Trump, though speculation could be around ten — maybe more, maybe less.

President-elect Joe Biden said Monday he was “not afraid” of taking his oath of office on the West Front of the US Capitol, after supporters of President Trump breached the building in a deadly riot.

“I’m not afraid of taking the oath outside, and we’ve been getting briefed,” Biden told reporters on Monday after receiving the second dose of his Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine on camera.

“I think it’s critically important that there be a real, serious focus on holding those folks who engaged in sedition and threatened people’s lives, defaced public property, caused great damage, that they be held accountable,” Biden said.

The riot last week at the US Capitol left five people dead, including a Capitol Police officer, and has raised concerns there could be more violence and rioting over the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.

The Pentagon has authorized up to 15,000 National Guard troops for the inauguration, according to Gen. Daniel Hokanson, the chief of the National Guard Bureau. Democratic Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado said in a statement Sunday that the Department of Defense is aware of “further possible threats posed by would-be terrorists in the days up to and including Inauguration Day.”

President Trump, who incited the riot at the Capitol, has said he will not attend Biden’s inauguration. He will be the first outgoing president to skip his successor’s swearing-in in more than 150 years. Vice President Mike Pence, however, will attend the inauguration, according to a source familiar with the plans.

##Inauguration#

House Democrats on Monday pushed ahead with their effort to have President Donald Trump impeached, convicted in the Senate and disqualified from ever holding federal office again over last week’s siege on the US Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.

But even in the unlikely event that two-thirds of senators would agree to convict Trump, there’s little to stop him from continuing to ask his supporters for money in the months and years ahead, campaign finance experts say.

Disqualification “has no bearing on the political committee money he already has raised, and it would have no bearing on his ability to continue to raise money into a political committee,” said Paul S. Ryan, a top lawyer with the watchdog group Common Cause.

“He has a lot of options, and he has the infrastructure in place,” added Larry Noble, a CNN contributor and former general counsel at the Federal Election Commission.

In addition to his presidential campaign committee, Trump already has established a post-presidency vehicle — the Save America political action committee — that can help underwrite his expenses, fund travel and staff and support like-minded candidates.

And experts say Trump, as a non-candidate, would be free to launch other fundraising arms with even fewer legal guardrails on his activity than his current committees. Running a super PAC, for instance, would give Trump the option to spend unlimited amounts of money and take contributions of any size, including an in-kind donation of his campaign’s data about its donors.

Although Twitter’s decision Friday night to permanently ban Trump from its platform immediately cut the President off from his 88.7 million followers, Trump and his campaign committee still have “an enormously valuable asset in their email list,” Ryan said.

The President has inundated his supporters with appeals for cash — helping to raise more than $200 million between the election and early December alone as he falsely argued that the election against him was rigged. There was no evidence of widespread fraud.

By CNN’s count, the Trump campaign had sent 606 fundraising emails between 11 p.m. ET election night and Wednesday afternoon, shortly before the Capitol was breached.

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

But Trump campaign adviser Jason Miller has indicated the President intends to remain a fundraising force, telling The Washington Post over the weekend that Trump still is “the biggest name in Republican politics” and plans deploy millions of dollars to help GOP congressional candidates in the 2022 midterm elections.

House Democrats plan to vote Wednesday to impeach President Trump, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told Democrats on a caucus call Monday, setting up an impeachment vote one week after rioters incited by Trump overran Capitol police and breached some of the most secure areas of the US Capitol.

Here are key things to know about the impeachment fight in Congress:

Read more here.