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Impeachment debate starts in Congress, five Republicans to vote against Donald Trump

With a vote on impeachment due within hours, multiple members of Donald Trump's own party have revealed they will vote to get rid of him.

Sam Clench, Ben Graham and Natalie Brown
less than 2 min read
January 13, 2021 - 8:15PM
Picture: AP Photo/Steve Helber)
Picture: AP Photo/Steve Helber)

The US House of Representatives is now considering the article of impeachment against President Donald Trump, with a vote to follow later today.

Democrat Jim McGovern, who chairs the House's rules committee, was the first to speak this morning.

"This was not a protest. This was an insurrection. This was a well organised attack on our country that was incited by Donald Trump. Domestic terrorists broke into the Capitol, and it's a miracle more people didn't die," Mr McGovern said.

"I saw evil. Our country came under attack, not from a foreign nation but from within. These were traitors. And they were acting under the orders of Donald Trump.

"Some of my colleagues on the other side have suggested that we just move on from this horror. But to gloss over it would be an abdication of our duty. Others have talked about unity. But we can't have unity without accountability, and I'm not going to be lectured by people who just voted to overturn the result of a free and fair election.

"America was attacked and we must respond, even when the cause of this violence resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue."

The article of impeachment is expected to pass, as the Democrats have a majority in the chamber. On top of that, five Republican members have announced they will support impeaching the President.

Congressman Jamie Herrera Beutler, from Washington's 3rd District, is the latest Republican to endorse the impeachment.

"The President of the United States incited a riot aiming to halt the peaceful transfer of power from one administration to the next. These terrorists roamed the Capitol, hunting the Vice-President and the Speaker of the House," she wrote in a letter explaining her stance.

"I believe President Trump acted against his oath of office, so I will vote to impeach him."

She joins Fred Upton, Adam Kinzinger, John Katko and, significantly, the third-highest ranking House Republican Liz Cheney.

Last time Mr Trump was impeached, the vote had no support from Republicans.

Read on for the latest news.

Updates

Senate will not return early for impeachment trial

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's press secretary has confirmed the Senate will not reconvene early for an impeachment trial, meaning it will take place after Joe Biden is sworn in.

Pelosi tells the House Trump is a 'clear and present danger'

Back in the House, where members are currently debating the article of impeachment, Speaker Nancy Pelosi has condemned Donald Trump for inciting, in her words, a "day of fire" at the Capitol.

"We know that the president of the United State incited this insurrection, this armed rebellion, against our common country," Ms Pelosi said.

"He must go. He is a clear and present danger to the nation that we all love.

"With my voice and my vote, with a plea to all of you, Democrats and Republicans, I ask you to search your souls and answer these questions.

"Is the president's war on democracy in keeping with the Constitution? Were his words and insurrectionary mob a high crime and misdemeanor?

"Do we not have a duty to our oath to do all we constitutionally can to protect our nation and our democracy from the appetites and ambitions of a man who has self-evidently demonstrated that he is a vital threat to liberty, to self-government and to the rule of law?"

She said the mob that attacked the Capitol "did not appear out of a vacuum" and were sent "by the President".

"Words matter. Truth matters. Accountability matters."

Republican Senate leader 'supports impeaching Trump'

CBS news, citing a source close to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, reports the most senior Republican in Congress "supports impeaching" Donald Trump.

However, Mr McConnell will not discuss his view on the matter publicly until the article of impeachment makes its way to the Senate.

In another nugget of news, Washington Post reporter Seung Min Kim says Mr McConnell's office has told the office of Minority Leader Chuck Schumer that Mr McConnell will not consent to recall the Senate ahead of schedule to conduct an impeachment trial, meaning it will take place after Joe Biden is sworn in.

A side effect of this is that, by the time the trial takes place, the two men will have switched places, with the Democrats assuming a Senate majority. That means Mr Schumer, not Mr McConnell, could end up managing the trial.

Ocasio-Cortez: 'I thought I was going to die'

While we're on the subject of politicians fearing for their lives, Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

"I had a pretty traumatising event happen to me. And I do not know if I can even disclose the full details of that event, due to security concerns," she said.

"But I can tell you that I had a very close encounter where I thought I was going to die.

"And you have all of those thoughts where, you know, at the end of your life all of these thoughts come rushing to you. That's what happened to a lot of us on Wednesday.

"I thought – I did not know if I was going to make it to the end of that day alive. And not just in a general sense, but in a very, very specific sense."

Much of what happened inside the Capitol on January 6 remains a mystery – most of what we know has been pieced together from publicly available footage.

Republicans 'afraid for their lives' if they support impeachment

Congressman Jason Crow, a Democrat, has claimed many of his Republican colleagues fear their lives would be in danger if they decided to support Donald Trump's impeachment.

He made that claim during an appearance on MSNBC.

"A very small handful, I think, are sort of morally bankrupt individuals who have given in to these conspiracy theories and are too far gone to be redeemed," Mr Crow said.

"But the majority of them are actually paralysed with fear. I had a lot of conversations with my Republican colleagues last night, and a couple of them broke down in tears talking to me, and said they are afraid for their lives if they vote for this impeachment.

"My response was – not to be unsympathetic, but you know, welcome to the club. That's leadership. Our country is in a very challenging time, many of us have felt that way for a long time.

"We have stood up for our democracy, and we expect them to do the same."

Town Hall's political editor, Guy Benson, backed up Mr Crow's revelation.

Nancy Pelosi thanks the National Guard

Quite a striking image here, posted by the House Speaker's deputy chief of staff Drew Hamill.

HuffPost reporter Igor Bobic has also posted more images of the National Guard troops inside the Capitol.

Mr Bobic says he took in the scene alongside Congressman Andy Kim, a Democrat.

"How did it get so bad here? How did we get to this point as a country?" Mr Kim wondered.

Lindsey Graham slams impeachment push

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham is a definite no on impeachment.

"Supporting the impeachment of President Trump under these circumstances will do great damage to the institutions of government and could invite further violence at a time the President is calling for calm," Mr Graham says in a new statement.

"If there was a time for America's political leaders to bend a knee and ask for God's counsel and guidance, it is now. The most important thing for leaders to do in times of crisis is to make things better, not worse.

"The process being used in the House to impeach President Trump is an affront to any concept of due process and will further divide the country.

"The President, who will be leaving office in less than a week, has committed to an orderly transfer of power, encouraging calm and rejecting violence.

"The House impeachment process seeks to legitimise a snap impeachment totally void of due process. It is a rushed process that, over time, will become a threat to future presidents.

"As to Senate leadership, I fear they are making the problem worse, not better. The last thing the country needs is an impeachment trial of a President who is leaving office in one week.

"To my Republican colleagues who legitimise this process, you are doing great damage not only to the country, the future of the presidency, but also to the party. The millions who have supported President Trump and his agenda should not be demonised because of the despicable actions of a seditious mob."

We've come a long day in a few short days. Less than a week ago, Trump supporters were chanting "traitor!" after Mr Graham at the airport after he voted in favour of certifying the electoral college results and told the President to "count me out".

Democrats succeed in procedural vote

The House just divided for a procedural vote on the rules of the impeachment debate, and the Democrats won by a 221-205 majority.

It was entirely partisan – no Republicans voted yes and no Democrats voted no.

New York terminates contracts with the Trump Organisation

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat, has announced the city will no longer do any business with the Trump Organisation.

"In light of this criminal act, the City of New York has determined that it is within our power to terminate all contracts with the Trump Organisation. So we will no longer be doing any business at all," he said.

"By the contract language, we have the right to terminate contracts obviously if a criminal act has been committed, and a criminal act has been committed. So goodbye to the Trump Organisation. We're not doing any business with you.

"By the way, a lot of other people are not doing any business with you any longer.

"It's just really clear. This President has committed an unlawful act, he has disgraced himself, he will no longer profit from his relationship with New York City. We will not allow it."

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