House pushes for Trump's removal after deadly Capitol riot

By Meg Wagner, Melissa Macaya, Mike Hayes, Melissa Mahtani and Veronica Rocha, CNN

Updated 1:29 AM ET, Wed January 13, 2021
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5:52 p.m. ET, January 12, 2021

GOP Rep. Liz Cheney: "I will vote to impeach the President"

Alex Wong/Getty Images/FILE
Alex Wong/Getty Images/FILE

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."

Watch here:

7:36 p.m. ET, January 12, 2021

Pence tells governors: "The next administration will have your back"

From CNN's Betsy Klein, Allie Malloy and Maegan Vazquez

Erin Schaff/Pool/Getty Images/FILE
Erin Schaff/Pool/Getty Images/FILE

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. 

“We’re going to ensure a seamless transition to the new administration on the 20th and our objective is no interruption," he added.

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. 

5:37 p.m. ET, January 12, 2021

First Republican lawmaker announces he will vote for impeachment of Trump

From CNN's Kristin Wilson 

Rep. John Katko
Rep. John Katko om Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

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:

5:35 p.m. ET, January 12, 2021

Police initiate immediate road closures around the Capitol "until further notice"

From CNN's Ryan Nobles

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.”

5:49 p.m. ET, January 12, 2021

McConnell believes impeaching Trump will help rid him from the party, source says

From CNN's Manu Raju, Phil Mattingly, Jim Acosta, Kaitlan Collins and Dana Bash

Drew Angerer/Getty Images/FILE
Drew Angerer/Getty Images/FILE

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.

Watch here:

5:09 p.m. ET, January 12, 2021

Biden spoke to McConnell about Senate impeachment trial

From CNN's Jeff Zeleny

Getty Images
Getty Images

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.

5:49 p.m. ET, January 12, 2021

New York Times: McConnell told associates he believes Trump committed impeachable offenses

From CNN's Devan Cole, Jim Acosta and Kaitlan Collins

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.

Watch here:

5:52 p.m. ET, January 12, 2021

DC attorney general will probe remarks made by Trump and associates

From CNN's Josiah Ryan

The Attorney General for the District of Columbia Karl Racine
The Attorney General for the District of Columbia Karl Racine 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.

Watch here:

4:59 p.m. ET, January 12, 2021

McConnell "hates" Trump for what he did last week, source says

From CNN's Jim Acosta and Kaitlan Collins

Drew Angerer/Getty Images/FILE
Drew Angerer/Getty Images/FILE

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.