Capitol siege: Threats to impeach Donald Trump grow after police officer death

Donald Trump
With his own Cabinet and senior members of the Republican Party turning on him, Mr Trump finally denounced the violence in a Twitter video
AP
David Gardner8 January 2021

Democrats today ramped up their threats to impeach Donald Trump amid a growing backlash over his role in inciting a mob that stormed the US Capitol leaving a police officer among five dead.

With his own Cabinet and senior members of the Republican Party turning on him, Mr Trump finally denounced the violence in a Twitter video in which he came the closest yet to conceding he lost the election to Democrat Joe Biden and promised an “orderly” transition of power in Washington.

But his message calling for “healing and reconciliation” was seen as too little, too late by critics who blame the President for stoking up his supporters on Wednesday to breach the Capitol buildings and rampage through the halls of Congress.

News today of the death of Brian Sicknick, a 40-year-old US Capitol police officer who was injured trying to resist the rioters, reportedly after being hit on the head with a fire extinguisher, will put still more pressure on Congress to act against Mr Trump.  

Four pro-Trump protesters also died during the riots, including a woman shot in the chest by police.

A more chastened Mr Trump spoke out after his Twitter account was frozen for 24 hours. In the short video, he condemned the “heinous” attack on the Capitol. 

“Like all Americans I am outraged by the violence, lawlessness and mayhem,” he said. 

“I immediately deployed the National Guard and federal law enforcement to secure the building and expel the intruders. America is, and must always be, a nation of law and order.” 

His claim was immediately challenged by claims that  it was Mike Pence, the vice-president, who called in the National Guard and not Mr Trump. During the assault on the Capitol, Mr Trump posted tweets backing the rioters and he urged supporters to march on Congress at a rally earlier in the day.

In his new video, the President still praised his “wonderful supporters” but said: “The demonstrators who infiltrated the Capitol have defiled the seat of American democracy.”

“Now Congress has certified the results, a new administration will be inaugurated on January 20th,” he continued, skirting around his baseless claims of voter fraud that have whipped up supporters. “My focus now turns to ensuring a smooth, orderly and seamless transition of power. This moment calls for healing and reconciliation.”

Mr Trump’s more conciliatory tone was seen as a belated attempt to head off attempts to eject him from office before President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Chuck Schumer, the top Democrats in Congress, yesterday called on Mr Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment of the US Constitution, which allows him to remove Mr Trump from the Oval Office if he has the support of a majority of the Cabinet. 

“The President’s dangerous and seditious acts necessitate his immediate removal from office,” they said in a statement.

Supporters of US President Donald Trump protest inside the US Capitol
Supporters of US President Donald Trump protest inside the US Capitol
AFP via Getty Images

“While it’s only 13 days left, any day can be a horror show for America,” Mrs Pelosi warned. She and Mr Schumer were left hanging on the telephone line to Mr Pence for 20 minutes last night without getting an answer.

But with sources close to the vice-president saying he is opposed to stripping Mr Trump of the presidency and causing more chaos in Washington, the Democrat leadership was in urgent talks today to push forward with impeachment proceedings.  

The big question was whether they could get them through Congress in time and if they could command enough support from Republicans. 

Trump loyalists Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, and treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin discussed using the 25th Amendment to remove Mr Trump on Wednesday, according to CNBC, but they decided against it. Last night, education secretary Betsy DeVos became the second Cabinet member to resign following the Capitol invasion after transport secretary Elaine Chao quit in protest.  

“There is no mistaking the impact your rhetoric had on the situation, and it is the inflection point for me,” Ms DeVos wrote in her resignation letter. A number of senior Republicans, including Maryland Governor Larry Hogan and congressman Adam Kinzinger, have called for Mr Trump to resign, and the Wall Street Journal, seen as a leading voice for the Republican establishment, said in its editorial page that the President must go. 

The first attempt to impeach Mr Trump a year ago over claims that he tried to blackmail Ukraine into investigating Mr Biden was blocked by the Republican-led Senate. No president has ever been impeached twice.

Democrats control the House of Representatives and this week gained a narrow lead in the Senate.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in