AN uprising will likely take place in the United States of America if President Donald Trump is removed from office before January 20, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) warned on Tuesday.
But the Democratic Party-dominated House of Representatives are adamant, with members to vote on Trump’s impeachment on Wednesday. Democrats in the House formally charged Trump on Monday with ‘incitement of insurrection’ at Capitol Hill—an incident on January 6 that tarnished US democratic image.
Five people died in the attack, including two police officers, as Trump told supporters to ‘fight like hell’ in his attempt to overturn election defeat by Joe Biden. Emerging video footage has revealed just how close the mob came to a potentially deadly confrontation with members of Congress.
On Capitol Hill, the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, said on Monday that she would move forward with impeaching Trump if Vice President Mike Pence did not remove him from office under the 25th amendment to the US constitution.
“The president’s threat to America is urgent, and so too will be our action,” she said in a statement.
A resolution calling on Pence to work with other cabinet members to declare Trump unfit was objected on Monday by a Republican shortly after it was introduced in the House. The objection will make the whole House to vote on the resolution, which is already gaining the support of some Republicans as of Tuesday.
A clause in the 25th amendment, never before invoked, describes how members of the cabinet can agree to remove a president under extreme circumstances. Pence—a staunch loyalist until the climax of Trump’s efforts to overturn the election—has signalled no intention of joining such a move. Trump lost the November 2020 presidential election to Biden, but he refused to concede defeat till after the Capitol Hill ugly incident.
The already prospect of the vice-president invoking the 25th Amendment is becoming dim following a meeting between Trump and Pence at the White House on Monday.
According to a senior administration official, Trump and Pence agreed that “those who broke the law and stormed the Capitol Hill last week do not represent the America first movement” and “pledged to continue the work on behalf of the country for the remainder of their term.”
If Pence refuses to act within 24 hours, the House will then debate the charge on Wednesday.
Trump’s impeachment is gaining the support of Joe Biden. He was quoted to have said on Monday that he “thinks President Trump should not be in office. Period.”
Read also: Trump Twitter eviction should have been guided by laws—Merkel
David Cicilline, a Democrat, said that the party had sufficient votes to pass it and impeach Trump a second time – a first in American history. But for him to be removed would require a conviction in the Senate.
Some Republicans in both the House of Representatives and the Senate who fear Trump may return in 2024 to recontest as president have joined Democrats’ effort to remove Trump.
Adam Schiff, Democratic chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and a key figure in the first Trump impeachment, tweeted: “Every day Trump stays in office, he’s a threat to our democracy. Congress must act, and with urgency.”
Although there are concerns as to whether he can still be convicted by the Senate before the expiration of his term on January 20, legal experts have opined that the Senate can still convict and punish him by barring him from future elections in the United States. He can also be prosecuted.
Trump was charged with two articles of impeachment in December 2019 by the Democrat-dominated House, but was acquitted in February 2020 by the Republican-controlled Senate.
Aftermath of Capitol Hill Invision
On Sunday, after widespread criticism, Trump ordered that the US’ flags on any government facility, both within and outside the country, to be flown at half-mast in honour of Capitol policemen and two of its men that died from injuries inflicted by the mobs.
Two other Capitol police officers have been suspended and several others indicted due to their roles in the incident.
According to the US Department of Justice, 13 individuals have been charged so far in a federal court in the District of Columbia related to crimes committed during the protest. In addition to those who have been charged, additional complaints have been submitted and investigations are ongoing.
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