Author: PolitCens

U.S. senators are expected to hear final arguments in the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump on Saturday, after lawyers for Trump wrapped up their presentation Friday, denying he helped incite a deadly mob attack on the U.S. Capitol and arguing the trial is a politically inspired and illegal “witch hunt.”Lawyers for Trump made their case in three hours Friday, choosing not to use the full 16 hours allocated.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
FILE – With the White House in the background, former President Donald Trump speaks to his supporters during a rally in Washington, D.C., Jan. 6, 2021.When Trump urged thousands of supporters on the Ellipse to “fight like hell,” the defense said it was no different from Democrats’ use of similar rhetoric that could spark violence.“This is ordinary political rhetoric that is virtually indistinguishable from the language that has been used by people across the political spectrum for hundreds of years,” van der Veen said.Jason Miller and others clap and cheer as Bruce Castor and Michael van der Veen, lawyers for former President Donald Trump, walk back into their meeting room at the end of the fourth day of the Senate impeachment trials.Trump’s lawyers played a lengthy video montage featuring prominent Democrats, including Vice President Kamala Harris, Senatpr Elizabeth Warren and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, using the word “fight” without any context.Also featured in the video were many of the Democratic lawmakers who are the impeachment managers prosecuting the former president.After the defense’s presentation Friday, the senators held a question-and-answer session, taking turns submitting written questions to both the lawyers for Trump and the Democratic lawmakers prosecuting the former president.One of the first questions came from Republican Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who have both been critical of Trump’s actions, asking exactly when Trump learned of the breach of the Capitol and what specific actions he took.Van der Veen did not directly answer the question but blamed Democrats for not investigating the matter.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
In this image from video, House impeachment manager Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., answers a question from Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Feb. 12, 2021.In wrapping up his presentation, lead impeachment manager Raskin told the 100 members of the Senate acting as jurors they should use “common sense on what happened here.”“It is a bedrock principle that no one can incite a riot” in the American democracy, Raskin said.But he argued that Trump urged hundreds of his supporters to march to the Capitol on January 6 and then, when they stormed the building, smashed windows, ransacked offices and scuffled with police, “did nothing for at least two hours” to end the mayhem that left five people dead, including a Capitol Police officer.“He betrayed us,” Raskin said of the former U.S. leader, whose four-year term ended January 20 as Biden was inaugurated as the country’s 46th president. “He incited a violent insurrection against our government. He must be convicted.”Raskin and eight other impeachment managers, all Democrats in the House of Representatives, concluded their case after about 12 hours spread over two days of presenting arguments and evidence against Trump.They flashed dozens of Trump’s Twitter comments on television screens in the Senate chamber from the weeks leading up to the election, with his claims that the only way he could lose to Biden was if the election was rigged, then more tweets with an array of his unfounded claims after the election that he had been cheated out of another term in the White House.The House impeachment managers also showed an array of video clips of the rioters raging through the Capitol complex, most graphically scenes of some of them shouting “Hang Mike Pence!” as they searched in vain for Trump’s vice president, who had refused to accede to Trump’s demands to block certification of Biden’s victory.Trump’s lawyers have broadly claimed that Trump’s speech at the rally shortly before the rampage at the Capitol in which he urged his supporters to “fight like hell” was permissible political rhetoric, sanctioned by the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment protection of freedom of speech.But Raskin told the Senate, “What is impeachable conduct if not this? If you don’t find [that Trump committed] high crimes and misdemeanors [the standard for conviction of an impeachment charge], you have set a new, terrible standard for presidential conduct.”Thursday’s session came after several lawmakers told reporters they were shaken by graphic, previously undisclosed videos of the mayhem the Democratic lawmakers showed them Wednesday, with scenes of dozens of officials scrambling to escape the mob that had stormed into the Capitol.But there was no immediate indication that Republican supporters of Trump in the Senate were turning en masse against him. Trump remains on track to be acquitted.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 8 MB480p | 12 MB540p | 16 MB720p | 33 MB1080p | 65 MBOriginal | 73 MB Embed” />Copy Download AudioA two-thirds vote is needed to convict Trump of a single impeachment charge, that he incited insurrection by urging hundreds of supporters to confront lawmakers at the Capitol to try to upend Biden’s victory. In the politically divided 100-member Senate, 17 Republicans would have to join every Democrat for a conviction.As of late Friday, it appeared that only a handful of Republicans might vote to convict Trump, the only president in U.S. history to be twice impeached.The Senate voted 56-44 on Tuesday to move ahead with the trial, rejecting Trump’s claim that it was unconstitutional to try him on impeachment charges since he had already left office. The vote also seemed to signal that relatively few Republicans appeared willing to convict him. Trump left Washington hours ahead of Biden’s inauguration January 20 and is living at his Florida mansion. 
…

U.S. President Joe Biden joined first lady Jill Biden early Friday for an unannounced stroll of the White House lawn to view Valentine’s Day decorations the first lady had erected to send a message of hope to the nation.
 
The president and first lady, with coffee cups in hand and their two dogs alongside, casually roamed the north lawn of the White House among giant hearts bearing messages such as “healing,” “courage” and “compassion.”
 
The first lady told reporters she just wanted to share some joy amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The president told reporters Valentine’s Day — observed this year on Sunday, February 14 — has always been special to the first lady and related a story from his days as vice president when she decorated every window in his office.
 
Reporters took the opportunity to ask Biden about the ongoing impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump in the U.S Senate. President Biden, up to now, has offered little or no public comment on the proceedings.
 
“I’m just anxious to see what my Republican friends do, if they stand up,” Biden told reporters, referring the Republican senators serving as jurors in the trial. Asked if he plans to call them, Biden said no.
 
U.S. House Democratic managers have spent the last three days presenting their case against Trump, whom they have charged with instigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Despite often intense video evidence and emotional presentations, most Senate Republicans are expected to vote to acquit the former president.
…

When former President Donald Trump urged his followers last month to come to Washington to stop Congress’ certification of Democratic rival Joe Biden’s presidential victory, tens of thousands heeded his call.  After hearing rousing speeches by Trump and his allies, thousands then marched on the nearby U.S. Capitol. An estimated 800 stormed the building in a melee shocking in its intensity and sustained violence, which left five people dead, including a police officer, and scores of others injured.  While Trump is standing trial in the Senate this week on a single impeachment charge of inciting the mob on January 6, more than 200 ardent Trump supporters who took part in the Capitol breach have been arrested and face a variety of charges in federal court in Washington.  Who were the rioters? And what motivated them to attack the seat of their own government?  FILE – Pro-Trump protesters storm the U.S. Capitol to contest the certification of the 2020 U.S. presidential election results by the U.S. Congress, at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021.Initially, they appeared to be mostly “knuckleheads,” said Seamus Hughes, deputy director of The George Washington University Program on Extremism. Then, the FBI started arresting key members of the pro-Trump Proud Boys and two militia groups, training the spotlight on far-right organizations. Now, nearly five weeks after the attack, researchers at the University of Chicago have concluded that the majority of the rioters were not members of far-right groups but “normal” Trump supporters — part of his political base. Among them were doctors, lawyers, architects and business owners. “What we are dealing with here is not merely a mix of right-wing organizations, but a broader mass movement with violence at its core,” Robert Pape and Keven Ruby of the Chicago Project on Security and Threats (CPOST) wrote in a FILE – Supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump sit inside the office of U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi as they protest inside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021.Other researchers following the rioters have reached similar conclusions. Hughes said he agreed they represent a new mass movement of violent extremism. But he said a repeat of January 6 is unlikely, given that the “merely curious” types that took part in the insurrection would be reluctant to participate again.  “No one’s going in there ignoring the law,” he said. “If somebody tried to do something like that again, they’re going in there fully aware of what they’re about to do.” The University of Chicago report was last updated on February 5 and doesn’t include charges filed over the past week.Extremism researcher Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, cautioned that the data on the rioters is far from conclusive, and as the investigation proceeds, previously unknown ties between the insurrectionists and organized right-wing groups may come to light.   Just because a violent rioter is not a member of an organized extremist group does not make him or her any less dangerous, Levin said.  “They might dine from the same buffet table of extremism,” but “you don’t have to be a member of the Proud Boys or the Oath Keepers to belong to the same overall subculture or to adhere to certain conspiracies,” he said. Demographic snapshot   To gain insight into the backgrounds and ideologies of the rioters, the University of Chicago researchers examined more than 1,500 court documents and media stories about 221 people arrested so far.  They found that in contrast to right-wing extremists arrested over the past five years, the Capitol rioters make up an older, better employed crowd. The majority are white and male. Sixty-six percent are 34 years or older; 85% have jobs; 13% are business owners, while 27% hold white-collar jobs.  Geographically, they hail from across the country and not just from “red” counties that support Trump. In fact, more than half come from counties that Trump lost to Biden — counties that tend to be more racially mixed with higher unemployment rates, according to the report.   “This will come as a surprise to many Biden supporters, who presumably think that the insurrectionists are coming from red counties — rural, almost completely white, and with high unemployment — far from Biden strongholds,” the researchers said. ‘Normal’ Trump supporters Of the 221 defendants the researchers investigated, 198 had no known links to militias or other far-right groups. That is about 90% of the total. The researchers characterize these unaffiliated rioters as “normal” pro-Trump activists. Hughes said the majority of these rioters fall under what he calls the “merely curious” category — “folks taking selfies in the Senate Rotunda.”   Former Houston police officer Tam Pham claims to have been such a participant. Before his arrest last month, FILE – Supporters of then-President Donald Trump, wearing attire associated with the Proud Boys, attend a rally at Freedom Plaza in Washington, Dec. 12, 2020.Tarrio was arrested two days before the riot and was barred from returning to Washington. In the days since, two other prominent members of the group — organizer Joe Biggs, 37, and “Sergeant of Arms” Ethan Nordean, 30 — have been charged for their roles in the riot. Additional charges are likely forthcoming, Hughes said, noting that arrest warrants have been issued for a number of other members. In addition to the Proud Boys, nine members of the Oath Keepers and the Three Percenters — two far-right militia groups — have been charged.   Last month, three suspected members of the Oath Keepers were indicted on multiple felony charges for coordinating their attack on the Capitol. The trio documented their movements during the riot.   “Yeah. We stormed the Capitol today. Teargassed, the whole, 9. Pushed our way into the Rotunda. Made it into the Senate even. The news is lying (even Fox) about the Historical Events we created today,” Jessica Watkins, 38, an Oath Keeper and a self-styled commander of the Ohio State Regular Militia posted on social media.  The Oath Keepers and the Three Percenters are known for recruiting current and former military personnel, police officers and firefighters. According to the report, 40% of the militia members and other right-wing extremists arrested so far have military experience. Watkins is a veteran of the war in Afghanistan.   QAnon support Among the most memorable images on January 6 were QAnon signs and other memorabilia carried by the rioters. But the University of Chicago researchers found that just 8% of those arrested so far — fewer than 20 people — have expressed support for the QAnon conspiracy theory. That largely mirrors the FILE – Jacob Chansley and other supporters of President Donald Trump are confronted by U.S. Capitol Police officers outside the Senate Chamber inside the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021.Among the QAnon supporters charged is Jacob Chansley, the so-called “QAnon shaman” also known as Jake Angeli, who gained notoriety for storming the Capitol sporting horns, a bearskin headdress, and red, white and blue face paint. He told FBI agents he traveled to Washington with other “patriots” from Arizona at Trump’s “request.” Other QAnon supporters have drawn less public attention. Henry Phillip Muntzer, an appliance store owner from Montana, is known locally for a QAnon mural covering the façade of his store front. In a Facebook post that included a video taken from inside the Capitol, Muntzer wrote, “Stormed the Capitol in Washington DC we were able to push through the capitalpPolice (sic) and enter several Chambers,” according to court documents. 
 
…

Lawyers for former U.S. President Donald Trump say they only need one day to present their client’s case in his impeachment trial before the U.S. Senate.Trump’s lawyers are mounting the former president’s defense Friday without any testimony from the former president, who has declined to participate in the trial.The defense follows a two-day presentation by House Democrats linking Trump’s rhetoric at a rally on Jan. 6 to the actions of the mob that overtook the U.S. Capitol shortly afterward in an attempt to block the certification of the 2020 presidential election results.In an unusual move Thursday, three Republican Senators — Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah — who are jurors in the trial, met with Trump’s lawyers.CNN reported that David Schoen, one of Trump’s lawyers, said the lawmakers wanted to ensure that the Trump’s defense team was “familiar with procedure” before Friday’s presentation.Trump is reported to be disappointed with the performance of his lawyers –- Schoen and Bruce Castor — who were recruited after the former president’s first legal team quit shortly before the trial began.Impeachment prosecutors contended Thursday there is “clear and overwhelming” evidence that former Trump incited insurrection by sending a mob of his supporters to the Capitol last month to confront lawmakers as they were certifying that he had lost the November election to Democrat Joe Biden.In closing arguments, the lead impeachment manager, Congressman Jamie Raskin of Maryland, told the 100 members of the Senate acting as jurors they should use “common sense on what happened here.”“It is a bedrock principle that no one can incite a riot” in the American democracy, Raskin said.But he argued that Trump urged hundreds of his supporters to march to the Capitol on Jan. 6 and then, when they stormed the building, smashed windows, ransacked offices and scuffled with police, “did nothing for at least two hours” to end the mayhem that left five people dead, including a Capitol Police officer.“He betrayed us,” Raskin said of the former U.S. leader, whose four-year term ended Jan. 20 as Biden was inaugurated as the country’s 46th president. “He incited a violent insurrection against our government. He must be convicted.”Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 8 MB480p | 12 MB540p | 16 MB720p | 33 MB1080p | 65 MBOriginal | 73 MB Embed” />Copy Download AudioRaskin and eight other impeachment managers, all Democrats in the House of Representatives, concluded their case after about 12 hours spread over two days of presenting arguments and evidence against Trump.They flashed dozens of Trump’s Twitter comments on television screens in the Senate chamber from the weeks leading up to the election with his claims that the only way he could lose to Biden was if the election were rigged, then more tweets with an array of his unfounded claims after the election that he had been cheated out of another term in the White House.The House impeachment managers also showed an array of video clips of the rioters raging through the Capitol complex, most graphically scenes of some of them shouting “Hang Mike Pence!” as they searched in vain for Trump’s vice president, who had refused to accede to his demands to block certification of Biden’s victory.Other insurgents stormed into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office, looking to kill the longtime Trump political opponent. But security officials escorted Pence to a secluded room in the Capitol and whisked Pelosi to safety away from the building, which is often seen as a symbol of American democracy.Trump’s lawyers have broadly claimed that Trump’s speech at the rally shortly before the rampage at the Capitol in which he urged his supporters to “fight like hell” was permissible political rhetoric, sanctioned by the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment protection of freedom of speech.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 9 MB480p | 13 MB540p | 18 MB720p | 39 MB1080p | 73 MBOriginal | 83 MB Embed” />Copy Download AudioBut Raskin told the Senate, “What is impeachable conduct if not this? If you don’t find [that Trump committed] high crimes and misdemeanors [the standard for conviction of an impeachment charge] you have set a new terrible standard for presidential conduct.”Earlier Thursday, another impeachment manager, Congresswoman Diana DeGette of Colorado, quoted numerous insurgents who stormed the U.S. Capitol who said they acted on Trump’s demands.She said the mob “believed the commander in chief was ordering them. The insurrectionists made clear to police they were just following the orders of the president.”“The insurrectionists didn’t make this up,” she said. “They were told [by Trump] to fight like hell. They were there because the president told them to be there.”DeGette showed lawmakers several television interviews in which the protesters said they went to the Capitol because Trump had commanded them to do so.Several impeachment managers warned that if Trump is acquitted, which is the likely outcome of the trial, he could be emboldened to create more chaos in another run for the presidency in 2024.Congressman Ted Lieu of California said, “You know, I’m not afraid of Donald Trump running again in four years. I’m afraid he’s going to run again and lose, because he can do this again.”Thursday’s session came after several lawmakers told reporters they were shaken by graphic, previously undisclosed videos of the mayhem the Democratic lawmakers showed them Wednesday, with scenes of dozens of officials scrambling to escape the mob that had stormed into the Capitol.But there was no immediate indication that Republican supporters of Trump in the Senate were turning en masse against him. Trump remains on track to be acquitted.A two-thirds vote is needed to convict Trump of a single impeachment charge, that he incited insurrection by urging hundreds of supporters to confront lawmakers at the Capitol to try to upend Biden’s victory. In the politically divided 100-member Senate, 17 Republicans would have to join every Democrat for a conviction.At the moment, it appears that only a handful of Republicans might vote to convict Trump, the only president in U.S. history to be twice impeached.Trump’s lawyers say he bears no responsibility for the attack on the Capitol.  The Senate voted 56-44 on Tuesday to move ahead with the trial, rejecting Trump’s claim that it was unconstitutional to try him on impeachment charges since he has already left office. The vote also seemed to signal that relatively few Republicans appear willing to convict him.Trump left Washington hours ahead of Biden’s inauguration Jan. 20 and is living at his Atlantic coastal mansion in Florida.
…

Washington, D.C., has a different look during the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump. The Capitol area remains an ultra-high-security zone, and nearby residents wonder if fortress-like security measures are permanent, given heightened political tensions in the country after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.  VOA’s Carolyn Presutti has this report. 
Camera: Mike Burke
…

Impeachment prosecutors contended Thursday that there was “clear and overwhelming” evidence that former President Donald Trump incited insurrection by sending a mob of his supporters to the U.S. Capitol last month to confront lawmakers as they were certifying that he had lost the November election to Democrat Joe Biden.In closing arguments, the lead impeachment manager, Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland, told the 100 senators acting as jurors at Trump’s impeachment trial that they should use “common sense on what happened here.”In this image from video, House impeachment manager Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., speaks during the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Feb. 11, 2021.“It is a bedrock principle that no one can incite a riot” in the American democracy, Raskin said.But he argued that Trump urged hundreds of his supporters to march to the Capitol on January 6 and then — when they stormed the building, smashed windows, ransacked offices and scuffled with police — “did nothing for at least two hours” to end the mayhem that left five people dead, including a Capitol Police officer.“He betrayed us,” Raskin said of the former U.S. leader, whose four-year term ended January 20 as Biden was inaugurated as the country’s 46th president. “He incited a violent insurrection against our government. He must be convicted.”Raskin and eight other impeachment managers, all Democrats in the House of Representatives, concluded their case after about 12 hours spread over two days of presenting arguments and evidence against Trump.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
FILE – Pro-Trump protesters storm the U.S. Capitol to contest the certification of the 2020 U.S. presidential election results by Congress, in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021.The House impeachment managers also showed an array of video clips of the rioters raging through the Capitol complex, most graphically scenes of some of them shouting “Hang Mike Pence!” as they searched in vain for Trump’s vice president, who had refused to accede to his demands to block certification of Biden’s victory.Other insurgents stormed into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office, looking to kill the longtime Trump political opponent. But security officials escorted Pence to a secluded room in the Capitol and whisked Pelosi to safety away from the building, which is often seen in pictures across the globe as a symbol of American democracy.Trump’s lawyers, starting at midday Friday, will have their turn to present his defense. They have broadly claimed that Trump’s speech at a rally shortly before the rampage at the Capitol, in which he urged his supporters to “fight like hell,” was permissible political rhetoric, sanctioned by the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment protection of freedom of speech.But Raskin told the Senate, “What is impeachable conduct if not this? If you don’t find [that Trump committed] high crimes and misdemeanors [the standard for conviction on an impeachment charge], you have set a new, terrible standard for presidential conduct.”In this image from video, House impeachment manager Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., speaks during the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Feb. 11, 2021.Earlier Thursday, another impeachment manager, Representative Diana DeGette of Colorado, quoted numerous insurgents who stormed the Capitol last month who said they had acted on Trump’s demands.She said the insurgents “believed the commander in chief was ordering them. The insurrectionists made clear to police they were just following the orders of the president.”“The insurrectionists didn’t make this up,” she said. “They were told [by Trump] to fight like hell. They were there because the president told them to be there.”DeGette showed lawmakers several television interviews in which the protesters said they had gone to the Capitol because Trump commanded them to do so.Several impeachment managers warned that if Trump was acquitted, which is the likely outcome of the trial, he could be emboldened to create more chaos in another run for the presidency in 2024.In this image from video, House impeachment manager Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., speaks during the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Feb. 11, 2021.Representative Ted Lieu of California said, “You know, I’m not afraid of Donald Trump running again in four years. I’m afraid he’s going to run again and lose, because he can do this again.”Thursday’s session came after several lawmakers told reporters they were shaken by graphic, previously undisclosed videos of the mayhem the Democratic lawmakers showed them Wednesday, with scenes of dozens of officials scrambling to escape the mob that had stormed into the Capitol.But there was no immediate indication that Republican supporters of Trump in the Senate were turning en masse against him.A two-thirds vote is needed to convict Trump of a single impeachment charge — that he incited insurrection by urging hundreds of supporters to confront lawmakers at the Capitol to try to upend Biden’s victory. In the politically divided 100-member Senate, 17 Republicans would have to join every Democrat for a conviction.As of late Thursday, it appeared that only a handful of Republicans might vote to convict Trump, the only president in U.S. history to be twice impeached.Trump’s lawyers say he bears no responsibility for the attack on the Capitol. The Senate voted 56-44 on Tuesday to move ahead with the trial, rejecting Trump’s claim that it was unconstitutional to try him on impeachment charges because he had already left office. The vote also seemed to signal that relatively few Republicans appeared willing to convict him.Trump declined Democrats’ offer to testify in his defense and is not expected to attend the trial. He left Washington hours ahead of Biden’s inauguration January 20 and is living at his Florida mansion.
…

House impeachment managers on Thursday closed their case, arguing former President Donald Trump was directly responsible for the attempt to overturn the counting of Electoral College votes for Joe Biden. VOA’s congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson reports on Democrats’ final argument in this historic trial.
Camera: Mike Burke
…

Prosecutors at former U.S. President Donald Trump’s Senate impeachment trial are wrapping up their case Thursday, quoting numerous insurgents who stormed the U.S. Capitol last month who said they acted on Trump’s demands that they confront lawmakers meeting to certify Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the November election.Representative Diana DeGette of Colorado, one of the Democratic lawmakers from the House who are prosecuting Trump, said the insurgents “believed the commander in chief was ordering them. The insurrectionists made clear to police they were just following the orders of the president.”In this image from video, House impeachment manager Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., speaks during the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Feb. 11, 2021.“The insurrectionists didn’t make this up,” she said. “They were told [by Trump] to fight like hell. They were there because the president told them to be there.”DeGette showed lawmakers several television interviews in which the protesters said they went to the Capitol, the worldwide symbol of U.S. democracy, because Trump had commanded them to do so.In this image from video, House impeachment manager Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., speaks during the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Feb. 11, 2021.Another House impeachment manager, Representative Ted Lieu of California, contended that Trump “showed no remorse” over the deadly chaos of January 6, when the insurgents rampaged into the Capitol, smashed windows, ransacked some congressional offices and scuffled with police. Five people were left dead, including a Capitol Police officer whose death is being investigated as a homicide.Thursday’s session came after several lawmakers told reporters they were shaken by graphic, previously undisclosed videos of the mayhem the Democratic lawmakers showed them Wednesday, with scenes of dozens of officials scrambling to escape the mob that had stormed into the Capitol.But there was no immediate indication that Republican supporters of Trump in the Senate were turning en masse against him. Trump, who left office as Biden was inaugurated January 20, remains on track to be acquitted.A two-thirds vote is needed to convict Trump of a single impeachment charge — that he incited insurrection by urging hundreds of supporters to confront lawmakers at the Capitol to try to upend Biden’s victory. In the politically divided 100-member Senate, 17 Republicans would have to join every Democrat for a conviction.At the moment, it appears that only a handful of Republicans might vote to convict Trump, the only president in U.S. history to be twice impeached.FILE – Pro-Trump protesters storm the U.S. Capitol to contest the certification of the 2020 U.S. presidential election results by Congress, in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021.The videos played Wednesday in the Senate chamber showed hundreds of insurgents — Trump supporters he had urged to go to the Capitol to try to stop the official certification of his loss in the election — storming through the building and into both chambers of Congress. Some of the rioters rifled through documents lawmakers left behind as they fled to safety.Some of the rioters, the January 6 videos showed, shouted that they were trying to find former Vice President Mike Pence to hang him because he had rejected Trump’s demand that he block the certification of the Electoral College outcome so Trump and Pence could remain in power.Other surging protesters, the videos showed, menacingly hunted for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a longtime Trump opponent.The demonstrators stormed into her office, but the prosecutors said authorities had already whisked her away from the Capitol to safety, while some of her staff huddled in a nearby conference room behind a locked door.“The mob was looking for Pence because of his patriotism in order to execute him,” impeachment manager Stacey Plaskett, a House delegate from the U.S. Virgin Islands, told the Senate, referring to the vice president’s looming certification of Biden’s victory.U.S. House impeachment manager Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., left, walks during the third day of senate impeachment hearings against former U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, Feb. 11, 2021.Another impeachment manager, Representative Eric Swalwell of California, narrated one video captured from a security camera inside the Capitol, telling lawmakers, “Most of the public does not know how close you came to the mob” before escaping to safety.“We all know that awful day could have been much worse,” Swalwell said.Earlier, the lead House impeachment manager, Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland, contended that Trump was “no innocent bystander” in the violence.Raskin and other Democratic lawmakers said Trump laid the groundwork for the storming of the Capitol over a period of weeks leading up to the election with dozens of unfounded claims that the only way he could lose was if the election was rigged against him.Raskin alleged that Trump, by urging hundreds of his supporters to “fight like hell” in confronting lawmakers at the Capitol on January 6, ignited the mayhem.’Inciter in chief’“He incited this attack,” Raskin told the Senate.  “He clearly surrendered his role as commander in chief and became the inciter in chief.”Raskin contended that Trump “was singularly responsible” in exhorting his supporters to try to upend Biden’s victory.After the House impeachment managers finish their case on Thursday, Trump’s lawyers will have up to 16 hours to present his defense on Friday and Saturday.Trump’s lawyers say he bears no responsibility for the attack on the Capitol. Instead, they say, his rhetoric amounted to permissible political discourse and was protected by the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment guarantee of freedom of speech.The Senate voted 56-44 on Tuesday to move ahead with the trial, rejecting Trump’s claim that it was unconstitutional to try him on impeachment charges since he has already left office. The vote also seemed to signal that relatively few Republicans appear willing to convict him.Trump declined Democrats’ offer to testify in his defense and is not expected to attend the trial. He left Washington hours ahead of Biden’s inauguration January 20 and is living at his Florida mansion.
   
…

U.S. President Joe Biden has rescinded a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border and halted the diversion of more federal funds for constructing a wall along the boundary.In a letter Thursday to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Biden said he terminated the emergency that then-President Donald Trump declared in February 2019, saying it was “unwarranted.”Biden also ordered that “no more American taxpayer dollars be diverted to construct a border wall” that ranked among Trump’s highest priorities.The previous administration built about 724 kilometers of the planned 1,192-kilometer wall. Most of the new wall, a 9.1-meter-high steel fence, replaced existing fencing.On his first day in office, Biden signed an executive order temporarily halting construction of the wall as his administration explores ways to stop it permanently.Trump declared a national emergency in 2019 after Congress approved only$1.375 billion of the $5.7 billion he requested for the wall project.The declaration eased restrictions on taxpayer funding, enabling Trump to reallocate more than $6 billion in taxpayer funds intended for other federal initiatives, including more than $3.5 billion set aside for military construction.Trump’s declaration was being challenged in court by a coalition of plaintiffs, including landowners, environmental groups and the American Civil Liberties Union.The Supreme Court was scheduled to hear the case this month, but it canceled the hearing at the Biden administration’s request.Despite Biden’s move to halt the diversion of more funding for wall construction, the more than 3,000 U.S. troops supporting U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the border will not be immediately redeployed.“It won’t have an immediate impact,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters Thursday. “That mission is funded through the rest of the year.”But Kirby left open the possibility that Biden could order the Pentagon to change its mission at the border.
 
…

Dozens of former Republican officials, who view the party as unwilling to stand up to former President Donald Trump and his attempts to undermine U.S. democracy, are in talks to form a center-right breakaway party, four people involved in the discussions told Reuters.The early-stage discussions include former elected Republicans, former officials in the Republican administrations of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Trump, ex-Republican ambassadors and Republican strategists, the people involved say.More than 120 of them held a Zoom call Friday to discuss the breakaway group, which would run on a platform of “principled conservatism,” including adherence to the Constitution and the rule of law — ideas those involved say have been trashed by Trump.The plan would be to run candidates in some races but also to endorse center-right candidates in others, be they Republicans, independents or Democrats, the people say.Evan McMullin, who was chief policy director for the House Republican Conference and ran as an independent in the 2016 presidential election, told Reuters that he co-hosted the Zoom call with former officials concerned about Trump’s grip on Republicans and the nativist turn the party has taken.Three other people confirmed to Reuters the call and the discussions for a potential splinter party but asked not to be identified.Among the call participants were John Mitnick, general counsel for the Department of Homeland Security under Trump; former Republican congressman Charlie Dent; Elizabeth Neumann, deputy chief of staff in the Homeland Security Department under Trump; and Miles Taylor, another former Trump homeland security official.The talks highlight the wide intraparty rift over Trump’s false claims of election fraud and the deadly Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol. Most Republicans remain fiercely loyal to the former president, but others seek a new direction for the party.The House of Representatives impeached Trump on Jan. 13 on a charge of inciting an insurrection by exhorting thousands of supporters to march on the Capitol on the day Congress was gathered to certify Democrat Joe Biden’s election victory.Call participants said they were particularly dismayed by the fact that more than half of the Republicans in Congress — eight senators and 139 House representatives — voted to block certification of Biden’s election victory just hours after the Capitol siege.Most Republican senators have also indicated they will not support the conviction of Trump in this week’s Senate impeachment trial.“Large portions of the Republican Party are radicalizing and threatening American democracy,” McMullin told Reuters. “The party needs to recommit to truth, reason and founding ideals or there clearly needs to be something new.”’These losers’Asked about the discussions for a third party, Jason Miller, a Trump spokesperson, said: “These losers left the Republican Party when they voted for Joe Biden.”A representative for the Republican National Committee referred to a recent statement from Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel.”If we continue to attack each other and focus on attacking on fellow Republicans, if we have disagreements within our party, then we are losing sight of 2022 (elections),” McDaniel said on Fox News last month.”The only way we’re going to win is if we come together,” she said.McMullin said a plurality of those on last week’s Zoom call backed the idea of a breakaway, national third party. Another option under discussion is to form a “faction” that would operate either inside the current Republican Party or outside it.Names under consideration for a new party include the Integrity Party and the Center Right Party. If it is decided instead to form a faction, one name under discussion is the Center Right Republicans.Members are aware that the U.S. political landscape is littered with the remains of previous failed attempts at national third parties.“But there is a far greater hunger for a new political party out there than I have ever experienced in my lifetime,” one participant said.
…

Dozens of former Republican officials, who view the party as unwilling to stand up to former President Donald Trump and his attempts to undermine U.S. democracy, are in talks to form a center-right breakaway party, four people involved in the discussions told Reuters.The early-stage discussions include former elected Republicans, former officials in the Republican administrations of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Trump, ex-Republican ambassadors and Republican strategists, the people involved say.More than 120 of them held a Zoom call Friday to discuss the breakaway group, which would run on a platform of “principled conservatism,” including adherence to the Constitution and the rule of law — ideas those involved say have been trashed by Trump.The plan would be to run candidates in some races but also to endorse center-right candidates in others, be they Republicans, independents or Democrats, the people say.Evan McMullin, who was chief policy director for the House Republican Conference and ran as an independent in the 2016 presidential election, told Reuters that he co-hosted the Zoom call with former officials concerned about Trump’s grip on Republicans and the nativist turn the party has taken.Three other people confirmed to Reuters the call and the discussions for a potential splinter party but asked not to be identified.Among the call participants were John Mitnick, general counsel for the Department of Homeland Security under Trump; former Republican congressman Charlie Dent; Elizabeth Neumann, deputy chief of staff in the Homeland Security Department under Trump; and Miles Taylor, another former Trump homeland security official.The talks highlight the wide intraparty rift over Trump’s false claims of election fraud and the deadly Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol. Most Republicans remain fiercely loyal to the former president, but others seek a new direction for the party.The House of Representatives impeached Trump on Jan. 13 on a charge of inciting an insurrection by exhorting thousands of supporters to march on the Capitol on the day Congress was gathered to certify Democrat Joe Biden’s election victory.Call participants said they were particularly dismayed by the fact that more than half of the Republicans in Congress — eight senators and 139 House representatives — voted to block certification of Biden’s election victory just hours after the Capitol siege.Most Republican senators have also indicated they will not support the conviction of Trump in this week’s Senate impeachment trial.“Large portions of the Republican Party are radicalizing and threatening American democracy,” McMullin told Reuters. “The party needs to recommit to truth, reason and founding ideals or there clearly needs to be something new.”’These losers’Asked about the discussions for a third party, Jason Miller, a Trump spokesperson, said: “These losers left the Republican Party when they voted for Joe Biden.”A representative for the Republican National Committee referred to a recent statement from Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel.”If we continue to attack each other and focus on attacking on fellow Republicans, if we have disagreements within our party, then we are losing sight of 2022 (elections),” McDaniel said on Fox News last month.”The only way we’re going to win is if we come together,” she said.McMullin said a plurality of those on last week’s Zoom call backed the idea of a breakaway, national third party. Another option under discussion is to form a “faction” that would operate either inside the current Republican Party or outside it.Names under consideration for a new party include the Integrity Party and the Center Right Party. If it is decided instead to form a faction, one name under discussion is the Center Right Republicans.Members are aware that the U.S. political landscape is littered with the remains of previous failed attempts at national third parties.“But there is a far greater hunger for a new political party out there than I have ever experienced in my lifetime,” one participant said.
…

House impeachment managers Wednesday showed never-before-seen footage from the Jan. 6 riot of Trump supporters at the U.S. Capitol. The video capped the first day of Democrats’ opening argument that former President Donald Trump was directly responsible for the attempt to overturn the counting of electoral college votes for Joe Biden. VOA’s congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson has more.
Camera: Mike Burke    Producer: Katherine Gypson
…

Prosecutors at former U.S. President Donald Trump’s Senate impeachment trial laid out their case against him Wednesday, showing graphic, previously undisclosed videos of the mayhem that erupted at the U.S. Capitol last month as lawmakers certified Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the November election.The videos showed hundreds of insurgents – Trump supporters the former U.S. leader had urged to go to the Capitol to try to stop the official certification of his reelection loss – storming through the building and into both chambers of Congress. Some of the rioters rifled through documents lawmakers had left behind as they fled to safety.Some of the rioters, the January 6 videos showed, shouted that they were trying to find former Vice President Mike Pence to hang him because he had rejected Trump’s demand that he block the certification of the Electoral College outcome so that Trump and Pence could remain in power for another four years.Other surging protesters hunted for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, leader of the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives and longtime Trump opponent, to kill her, the videos showed.The demonstrators stormed into her office, but, the prosecutors said, authorities had already whisked her away from the Capitol to safety, while some of her staff huddled in a nearby conference room behind a locked door.“The mob was looking for Pence because of his patriotism in order to execute him,” House impeachment manager Delegate Stacey Plaskett, a Democrat from the U.S. Virgin Islands, told the 100-member Senate hearing, referring to the vice president’s looming certification of Biden’s victory.Another impeachment manager, Representative Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat, narrated one video captured from a security camera inside the Capitol, telling lawmakers, “Most of the public does not know how close you came to the mob” before escaping to safety.“We all know that awful day could have been much worse,” Swalwell said.Earlier, the lead House impeachment manager, Representative Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat, contended that Trump was “no innocent bystander” to the violence.Raskin and other Democratic lawmakers said Trump laid the groundwork for the storming of the Capitol over a period of weeks leading up to the election with dozens of unfounded claims that the only way he could lose was if the election was rigged against him.Raskin alleged that Trump, by urging hundreds of his supporters to “fight like hell” in confronting lawmakers at the Capitol on January 6, ignited the mayhem that left at least five people dead, including a Capitol Police officer.“He incited this attack,” Raskin told the Senate, which will decide whether Trump should be convicted of a single article of impeachment brought by the House, which accuses him of “incitement of insurrection.”“He clearly surrendered his role as commander in chief and became the inciter in chief,” Raskin argued. He contended that Trump, now out of office after his four-year term ended and Biden was inaugurated January 20, “was singularly responsible” in exhorting his supporters to try to upend Biden’s victory.A list of whom the House has impeached and the outcomes of those impeachments. (AP Graphic)Hundreds of his supporters – perhaps about 800, according to law enforcement authorities – rampaged through the Capitol, breaking windows, bashing doors, ransacking some congressional offices and scuffling with police. Dozens of the rioters, many of whom bragged on social media about storming into the two chambers of Congress, have been charged with criminal offenses as the investigation of the chaos continues.The House impeachment managers showed dozens of Twitter comments and video clips in which Trump claimed election fraud and urged his supporters to show up in Washington on January 6 as Congress met to certify the 306-232 Electoral College vote favoring Biden.“Will be wild!” Trump tweeted.After nearly four hours of mayhem, lawmakers certified the Biden victory in the middle of the night January 7, making Trump the fifth U.S. president in the country’s history to be defeated after a single term in office.Now, Raskin said, in 2021 the usually routine certification of U.S. presidential election results will be remembered as “a day that will live in disgrace.”Democratic Representative Joe Neguse of Colorado, another House impeachment manager, said that in rallying supporters before the storming of the Capitol complex, Trump “wanted to stop the transfer of power even though he had lost the election.”“This attack was provoked by the president,” Neguse said. “It was predictable and foreseeable. He had the power to stop it and he didn’t.”Plaskett said the rioters “were doing the duty of their president. He knew of the violence they were capable of.”Representative Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania contended that Trump was “desperate to retain power by any means possible.” The Democratic lawmaker said Trump told the protesters “exactly what he wanted them to do.”Dean quoted from Trump’s speech to his supporters at a rally near the White House where he told them, “We will never give up. We will never concede.”The House impeachment managers have up to 16 hours over Wednesday and Thursday to make their case before Trump’s lawyers get an equal amount of time.Trump’s lawyers say that he bears no responsibility for the attack on the Capitol, a worldwide symbol of American democracy.Reporters follow as Sen. Rand Paul as the Kentucky Republican leaves the Capitol at the conclusion of the second day of the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 10, 2021.Instead, they say, Trump’s rhetoric amounted to permissible political discourse and was protected by the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment guarantee of freedom of speech.The Senate voted 56-44 on Tuesday to move ahead with the trial, rejecting Trump’s claim that it was unconstitutional to try him on impeachment charges since he has already left office.Raskin said Tuesday that not holding the trial would create a “dangerous” new “January exception” during which future U.S. presidents could act with impunity in their final weeks in office.“It’s an invitation to the president to take his best shot at anything he may want to do on his way out the door,” Raskin said.As the trial started, the Democrats showed the Senate a dramatic video montage establishing a timeline of the chaotic events on January 6. The new videos shown Wednesday offered close-ups of hallways and stairwells in the Capitol.Trump lawyer Bruce Castor Jr. on Tuesday rejected the notion of a “January exception” in which future presidents would be immune as “nonsense.” He said that if Trump committed any offenses, “arrest him,” now that he is a private citizen and no longer immune from prosecution.Castor quoted the Constitution, saying that conviction on impeachment charges “shall not extend further than removal from office,” an impossibility since Trump’s term has already ended.The 56-44 vote to proceed with the trial, in which six Republicans joined all 50 Democrats, showed that Trump remains likely to be acquitted. A two-thirds majority is needed to convict Trump, meaning 17 Republicans would have to vote with the Democrats.Whatever the outcome, Trump is the only U.S. president to be impeached twice.Trump declined Democrats’ offer to testify in his defense and is not expected to attend the trial. The high-profile proceeding, broadcast across the country, could last a week or longer.
…

Jill Biden is pushing free access to community college and training programs, saying the schools will be an important part of Biden administration efforts to rebuild the economy.A longtime community college professor and advocate, the first lady said people struggling to get by during the coronavirus-induced economic slump need access to these schools.”We have to get this done. And we have to do it now. That’s why we’re going to make sure that everyone has access to free community college and training programs,” Jill Biden said in taped remarks broadcast Tuesday during a virtual legislative summit hosted by the Association of Community College Trustees and the American Association of Community Colleges.She was not more specific. As a presidential candidate, Joe Biden promised two years of community college or training “without debt.”Similar proposals have been put forward in the past.In 2015, President Barack Obama and then-Vice President Joe Biden pushed a plan to provide two years of free community college, but the proposal languished in Congress.Jill Biden indicated that the administration would revive the idea.”We’re going to make sure students have the support they need to cross that finish line,” she said. “We’re going to invest in programs that prepare our workers for jobs of the future.”Average annual tuition and fees at a community college cost $3,730 during the 2019-20 academic year, compared with an average of $10,440 for in-state tuition and fees at a four-year public college, according to the American Association of Community Colleges.Jill Biden, who continues to teach — albeit virtually — and is the first first lady with a paying job outside the White House, said community colleges are no longer America’s “best kept secret,” as she has long been fond of saying.”They are our most powerful engine of prosperity,” she said.The first lady teased a future White House summit on community colleges. She gave no hints on when it would be held and her office did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment. She helped lead a White House community college summit during the Obama-Biden administration.  
…

Prosecutors at former U.S. President Donald Trump’s Senate impeachment trial began to lay out their case against him on Wednesday, saying he was “no innocent bystander” to the violence that erupted at the U.S. Capitol last month as lawmakers certified Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the November election.Congressman Jamie Raskin, the lead impeachment manager, and other Democratic lawmakers said Trump laid the groundwork for the storming of the Capitol over a period of weeks leading up to the election with dozens of unfounded claims that the only way he could lose was if the election was rigged against him.Raskin contended that Trump, by urging hundreds of his supporters to “fight like hell” in confronting lawmakers at the Capitol on January 6, ignited the mayhem that left five people dead, including a Capitol Police officer.“He incited this attack,” Raskin told the 100-member Senate that will decide whether Trump should be convicted of a single article of impeachment brought by the House of Representatives. It accuses him of “incitement of insurrection.”WATCH TRIAL LIVE“He clearly surrendered his role as commander in chief and became the inciter in chief,” Raskin argued. He contended that Trump, now out of office after his four-year term ended and Biden was inaugurated January 20, “was singularly responsible” in exhorting his supporters to try to upend Biden’s victory.Hundreds of his supporters – perhaps about 800, according to law enforcement authorities — rampaged through the Capitol, breaking windows, bashing doors, ransacking some congressional offices and scuffling with police. Dozens of the rioters, many of whom bragged on social media about storming into the two chambers of Congress, have been charged with criminal offenses as the investigation of the chaos continues.The House impeachment managers showed dozens of Twitter comments and video clips in which Trump claimed election fraud and urged his supporters to show up in Washington January 6 as Congress met to certify the 306-232 Electoral College vote favoring Biden.“Will be wild!” Trump tweeted.After nearly four hours of mayhem, lawmakers certified the Biden victory in the middle of the night early on January 7, making Trump the fifth U.S. president in the country’s history to be defeated after a single term in office.FILE – Supporters of then-President Donald Trump riot in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021, before storming the building.Now, Raskin said, in 2021 the usually routine certification of U.S. presidential election results will be remembered as “a day that will live in disgrace.”Congressman Joe Neguse, another House impeachment manager, said that in rallying supporters before the storming of the Capitol complex, Trump “wanted to stop the transfer of power even though he had lost the election.”“This attack was provoked by the president,” Neguse said. “It was predictable and foreseeable. He had the power to stop it and he didn’t.”The House impeachment managers have up to 16 hours over Wednesday and Thursday to make their case before Trump’s lawyers get an equal amount of time.Trump’s lawyers say that he bears no responsibility for the attack on the Capitol, a worldwide symbol of American democracy.Instead, they say that Trump’s rhetoric amounted to normal political discourse and was protected by the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment guarantee of freedom of speech.FILE – With the White House in the background, former President Donald Trump, seen on a giant screen, speaks to his supporters during a rally in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021, ahead of many in the crowd storming the U.S. Capitol.The Senate voted 56-44 on Tuesday to move ahead with the trial, rejecting Trump’s claim that it was unconstitutional to try him on impeachment charges since he has already left office. Raskin said Tuesday that not holding the trial would create a “dangerous” new “January exception” during which future U.S. presidents could act with impunity in their final weeks in office.“It’s an invitation to the president to take his best shot at anything he may want to do on his way out the door,” Raskin said.The Democrats showed the Senate a dramatic video montage establishing a timeline of the chaotic events on January 6.   Trump lawyer Bruce Castor Jr. rejected the notion of a “January exception” in which future presidents would be immune as “nonsense.”  He said that if Trump committed any offenses, “arrest him,” now that he is a private citizen and no longer immune from prosecution.Castor quoted the Constitution saying that conviction on impeachment charges “shall not extend further than removal from office,” an impossibility since Trump’s term has already ended.   The 56-44 vote to proceed with the trial, in which six Republicans joined all 50 Democrats, showed that Trump remains likely to be acquitted. A two-thirds majority is needed to convict Trump, meaning 17 Republicans would have to vote with the Democrats.Whatever the outcome, Trump is the only U.S. president to be impeached twice.Trump declined Democrats’ offer to testify in his defense and is not expected to attend the trial. The high-profile proceeding, broadcast across the country, could last a week or longer. 
…

The historic second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump started in the U.S. Senate Tuesday. Senators will have to decide if Trump incited the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol a month ago by urging his supporters to confront lawmakers as they were certifying that Democrat Joe Biden had defeated Trump in the 2020 election. VOA’s congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson has more.Camera: Mike Burke   
…

U.S. President Joe Biden says while the impeachment trial of his predecessor is under way in the Senate, he will be focused on alleviating the suffering from the coronavirus pandemic.“I am not,” Biden replied when asked by reporters Tuesday in the Oval Office whether he is watching the trial. “We have already lost over 450,000 people, and we could lose a whole lot more if we don’t act and act decisively and quickly. … A lot of children are going to bed hungry. A lot of families are food insecure. They’re in trouble. That’s my job. The Senate has their job, and they’re about to begin it, and I am sure they are going to conduct themselves well.”The president added he will not be saying anything further about impeachment of former President Donald Trump, whom Biden defeated in last November’s election.White House press secretary Jen Psaki speaks during a press briefing at the White House, Feb. 9, 2021, in Washington.“He’s not a pundit. He’s not going to opine on the back-and-forth arguments, nor is he watching them,” replied White House press secretary Jen Psaki, when asked earlier in the day by a reporter about the historic proceedings, which began Tuesday.Psaki was also asked how Biden, as the current officeholder, could not weigh in on whether it is constitutional for the Senate to put a former president on trial and whether it could set a dangerous precedent for the presidency.The press secretary did not give a direct answer.“He is going to wait for the Senate to determine the outcome of this,” she said during the White House daily media briefing. “His view is that his role should be currently focused on addressing the needs of the American people, putting people back to work, addressing the pandemic.”Focus on issues, not impeachmentThe White House is seeking to portray the president as focused on such issues while the impeachment trial takes place.The White House has arranged visits by Biden to the Defense Department and the National Institutes of Health this week. Next Tuesday, the president is to travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he will participate in a televised town hall-style event.During the February 16 live broadcast, the president will answer questions about his administration’s efforts “to contain the coronavirus pandemic and jump-start a troubled economy,” according to CNN, which will air the event. The cable network explained it will include “an invitation-only, socially distanced audience.”Administration officials say there is no political advantage for Biden, a former senator and vice president, to inject himself into the impeachment trial, which would be seen as a political move so early in his presidency and at a time when Americans are looking for him to focus on alleviating the suffering caused by the pandemic.Mob failed to stop certificationThe House of Representatives last month impeached Trump for inciting violence against the government on January 6, when a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol complex to try to halt the certification of electoral votes affirming Biden as the winner of last November’s election.Biden “has put out multiple statements conveying that what the (former) president did and his words and his actions, and of course the events of January 6, were a threat to our democracy,” Psaki said Tuesday.Trump is the first U.S. president to be impeached twice. The first time was in December of 2019 when the House voted he had abused his power and obstructed Congress, stemming from a July 2019 phone call in which he pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to announce an investigation into Biden.The Senate acquitted Trump on both counts last year.
…