Category: Capitol

Federal Prosecutor Could Bring Criminal Charges Against President Trump For Capitol Violence

Posted on by Rusty Weiss

A federal prosecutor, questioned about President Trump’s role in the Capitol riots, refused to rule out criminal charges.

Michael Sherwin, the acting U.S. Attorney for D.C., repeatedly assured reporters in a press call that he would investigate and charge “all actors” involved in Wednesday’s riot.

Journalists pressed Sherwin about Trump’s speech and what motivating factor it may have been in inciting supporters to storm the Capitol later in the day.

“I don’t want to sound like a broken record,” Sherwin said following a question specifically about the President.

“I’m going to stand by my earlier statement – we’re looking at all actors here, and anyone that had a role and the evidence fits the elements of a crime, they’re going to be charged.”

RELATED: Ilhan Omar, Squad Members Call For Trump’s Impeachment, Expulsion Of Republican Lawmakers

Sherwin Considering Criminal Charges For Trump, Refused To Prosecute BLM Rioters

Sherwin told reporters that prosecutors had filed 55 criminal cases, but warned: “In no regard is that the end … This is just the beginning.”

In September though, at the height of the Black Lives Matter riots across America that saw vandalism and arson at an exponentially greater degree, Sherwin dropped charges for all but one individual in his district.

“Noting the mass arrests three weeks ago of 42 people who police said were in a group that spray-painted buildings and set fire to patio umbrellas … acting U.S. attorney Michael Sherwin told Bowser in his own letter that he had no choice but to drop charges against all but one defendant,” the Washington Post reported.

In a letter to Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser, Sherwin advised that “facts and evidence will dictate criminal charges, not political leveraging or personal agenda.”

His letter was in response to Bowser’s own letter which accused Sherwin of lacking the “willingness” to prosecute protesters for crimes.

RELATED: Report: House Members Nearly Come To Blows As Congress Preaches Unity To America

Democrats Are Unleashing Everything They Can To Erase President Trump

The Capitol riots have unleashed Democrats to pursue every avenue they have been fantasizing about over the past four years to remove President Trump from office and destroy his life.

The possibility of criminal charges would be a dream come true for the “resistance.”

And it would exemplify the double standard applied to Democrats and Republicans when it comes to criminal justice.

It was the left who spent months inciting violent protests and causing riots.

Remember – it was Maxine Waters who told her followers to accost Republicans at the grocery store.

It was Cory Booker who told supporters that they need to “get up in the face” of some members of Congress.

It was leftists who attacked Sarah Sanders and Ted Cruz in a restaurant.

Democrats were never threatened with criminal charges.

Democrats and a handful of cowards in the Republican Party have been calling for the impeachment of the President despite his term ending in less than two weeks.

Some members of Trump’s cabinet are reportedly considering using the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office before the 20th, with Democrats like Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer gleefully jumping aboard.

They never let this man govern as President from day one. Now they’re going to erase him from history.

The post Federal Prosecutor Could Bring Criminal Charges Against President Trump For Capitol Violence appeared first on The Political Insider.

Nancy Pelosi: After ‘Armed Insurrection’ House Could Impeach Trump Again

Posted on by John Hanson

During a press conference on Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that if Vice President Mike Pence does not pursue removing the President from the White House, then the House could move forward with impeaching Donald Trump.

Pelosi was referring to Vice President Pence using the 25th Amendment to remove President Trump from power.

Pelosi said, “If the vice president and the cabinet do not act, the congress may be prepared to move forward with impeachment.”

RELATED: Meghan McCain Breaks Down As She Begs Republicans To Remove Trump From Office Using 25th Amendment

Pelosi: ‘This Is Urgent; This Is An Emergency Of The Highest Magnitude’

Speaking of her belief that President Trump encouraged the Capitol protests that resulted in the breaching of the Capitol building, Pelosi said, “Yesterday, the president of the United States incited an armed insurrection against America.” 

“This is urgent; this is an emergency of the highest magnitude,” Pelosi said.

The Democrat leader called Trump “a very dangerous person who should not continue in office.”

“We are in a very difficult place in our country as long as Donald Trump sits in the White House,” she added.

“While there are only 13 days left, any day can be a horror show for America,” Pelosi went on.

Pelosi: Invoking 25th Amendment ‘Best Route’ But House Will Step Up If Needed

Pelosi said Pence to moving forward with using the 25th Amendment would be the “best route” but also that Congress could establish a commission to pursue that effort.  

Pelosi’s statement on Thursday comes in the wake of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer calling for Pence to remove Trump from office.

RELATED: Trump Vows There Will Be An ‘Orderly Transition’ Of Power On January 20th, Promises To Keep Fighting Election Outcome

Schumer Calls On Pence To Remove President Trump

Schumer said, “What happened at the U.S. Capitol was an insurrection against the United States, incited by the president. This president should not hold office one day longer.”

“The quickest and most effective way – it can be today – to remove this president from office would be for the Vice President to immediately invoke the 25th Amendment,” Schumer added.

“If the Vice President and the Cabinet refuse to stand up, Congress should reconvene to impeach the president,” Schumer insisted.

The post Nancy Pelosi: After ‘Armed Insurrection’ House Could Impeach Trump Again appeared first on The Political Insider.

Report: House Members Nearly Come To Blows As Congress Preaches Unity To America

Posted on by Rusty Weiss

Two House members nearly came to blows and had to be separated by a Capitol staffer after several lawmakers had preached about coming together as Americans.

The wild scene took place as lawmakers debated certifying the Electoral votes from Pennsylvania.

An altercation reportedly took place between Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) and Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX), though what prompted it remains unclear.

Reporters in attendance, according to Fox News, suggest Pennsylvania Democratic Rep. Conor Lamb’s characterization of the violence earlier in the day may have prompted the scuffle.

“It didn’t materialize out of nowhere,” Lamb said of the violence. “It was inspired by lies. The same lies that you’re hearing in this room tonight.”

Republicans objected, to which Lamb responded, “The truth hurts!”

C-Span video captured Lamb speaking and a commotion behind him.

Harris is a 63-year-old U.S. Navy veteran while Allred is a 37-year-old former college football player at Baylor.

RELATED: Ilhan Omar, Squad Members Call For Trump’s Impeachment, Expulsion Of Republican Lawmakers

House Members Andy Harris and Colin Allred Almost Comes to Blows

Remarkably, this near-fight took place late into the night where lawmakers spent countless minutes preaching to the American people about unity and coming together.

After witnessing the violence at the Capitol, numerous Republicans backed down from contesting the election and defending the Constitution as some sort of olive branch to Democrats who have been fomenting discord for months.

Republican Sens. Steve Daines and James Lankford, CNN notes, said: “We must stand together as Americans. We must defend our Constitution and the rule of law.”

Yet Lamb accused lawmakers in the chamber of being liars for defending the Constitution. That doesn’t sound like coming together.

RELATED: Mitch McConnell Blasts Republican Senators Who Challenge Electoral College Results

The House Literally Preached Unity

House Republican minority leader Kevin McCarthy received a standing ovation for a speech that stated while Democrats and Republicans might not agree on everything, “now is the moment to show America that we work best together.”

“Mobs don’t rule America. Laws rule America,” he added. “It was true when our cities were burning this summer and it is true now.”

And to symbolize that ‘unity,’ Mass Live reports:

The comment got loud applause from Republicans. Democrats in the chamber sat silently.

Just like they did for years’ worth of State of the Union speeches when President Trump repeatedly urged unity between the two parties.

The New York Times revealed that after President-elect Joe Biden’s victory had been certified by lawmakers, the Senate chaplain delivered “a powerful prayer calling for unity.”

“Use us to bring healing and unity to our hurting and divided nation and world,” chaplain Barry C. Black said. “Thank you for what you have blessed our lawmakers to accomplish in spite of threats to liberty.”

What a great example Lamb, Allred, and Harris have set.

The post Report: House Members Nearly Come To Blows As Congress Preaches Unity To America appeared first on The Political Insider.

Ilhan Omar, Squad Members Call For Trump’s Impeachment, Expulsion Of Republican Lawmakers

Posted on by Rusty Weiss

Rep. Ilhan Omar said she is drafting articles of impeachment against President Trump and Rep. Cori Bush drafted a resolution calling on the expulsion of Republican lawmakers after the protests at the Capitol Wednesday.

Washington D.C. police report that four people are dead – including Ashli Babbit, an unarmed 14-year Air Force veteran who was shot by Capitol Police – and 52 arrested following demonstrations that eventually breached the Capitol building.

Omar, who called for President Trump’s impeachment earlier in the week over a phone call he had with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, is renewing that call following the protests.

“I am drawing up Articles of Impeachment,” Omar (D-MN) tweeted. “Donald J. Trump should be impeached by the House of Representatives [and] removed from office by the United States Senate.”

She added, “We can’t allow him to remain in office, it’s a matter of preserving our Republic and we need to fulfill our oath.”

RELATED: Woman Shot, Protesters Storm U.S. Capitol After Trump MAGA Rally

Calls For Trump’s Impeachment, Expulsion Of Republican Lawmakers

Meanwhile, one of the newer members of the Squad, Cori Bush (D-MO) sought to hold Republican lawmakers responsible for the violence at the Capitol for the crime of challenging the Electoral College results.

“I believe the Republican members of Congress who have incited this domestic terror attack through their attempts to overturn the election must face consequences,” Bush tweeted.

“They have broken their sacred Oath of Office. I will be introducing a resolution calling for their expulsion.”

First of all, challenging the integrity of the election isn’t inciting violence.

Second, if ‘inciting violence’ were grounds for removing lawmakers from office Bush would be the first to go, having led protests in Ferguson, Missouri over the justified shooting of Michael Brown.

Bush’s actions exemplify the perils of casting one’s vote for a completely unprepared, completely unknowledgeable person to a crucial office in Congress. 

The one-page resolution is no more impressive an attempt than one might expect from a juvenile and has little chance of moving anywhere.

Interestingly, it appears Bush’s resolution was drafted on January 5, the day before the protests.

President Trump’s impeachment, on the other hand, could very well move through the new Democratic Congress despite the short time he has remaining in office.

RELATED: Trump Tells His Supporters To Go Home In Peace After They Storm The Capitol

Motivated By Emotions, Not Reason

The violence that took place at the Capitol on Wednesday was distressing for people on both sides of the political aisle.

Assigning blame to President Trump and pursuing impeachment, or blaming Republicans contesting the election and threatening with expulsion is the work of people motivated by emotion, not reason.

During Trump’s speech at the rally, the President encouraged his supporters to march to the Capitol and protest, but simultaneously posted multiple messages against violence.

“Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement,” he tweeted. “They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!”

In a follow-up message, Trump wrote, “No violence! Remember, WE are the Party of Law [and] Order – respect the Law and our great men and women in Blue.”

The post Ilhan Omar, Squad Members Call For Trump’s Impeachment, Expulsion Of Republican Lawmakers appeared first on The Political Insider.

Impeach Trump IMMEDIATELY. He is a direct threat to U.S. national security and the republic itself

Posted on (Updated by Kerry Eleveld

Nearly 30 Democratic members of the House have expressed a desire to impeach Donald Trump a second time following his incitement Wednesday of an armed insurrection at the U.S. Capitol as lawmakers attempted to certify the results of the November presidential election. 

They are absolutely right. Trump is a direct threat to the sovereign. For more than two months, Trump has spewed a constant stream of disinformation about the election being stolen from him and his supporters being disenfranchised. On Wednesday morning, Trump spent some two hours urging his followers to storm the U.S. Capitol at a “Save America” rally. “We will never give up. We will never concede,” Trump told several thousand of his cultists who had gathered on the Ellipse to see him speak. 

His supporters, hopped up on conspiracy and grievance, then marched over to the Capitol and staged a violent insurrection—pushing back Capitol police, shooting mace at them, threatening lawmakers and journalists, breaking windows, destroying property, and ultimately overtaking the building along with several others on the Capitol complex. 

Several hours after images of the violent takeover had flooded new outlets and social media streams, Trump finally posted a video urging his cultists to go home peacefully. But even that video was riddled with more conspiracy and grievance-stoking by Trump. 

“I know your pain. I know your hurt. We had an election that was stolen from us. It was a landslide election and everyone knows it, especially the other side,” Trump falsely stated before telling his followers to go home. He then went straight back at it, lamenting, “There's never been a time where such a thing happened, where they could take it away from all of us—from me, from you, from our country.” And finally, “So go home. We love you. You're very special,” Trump concluded, offering a warm embrace to the terrorists who had stormed the Capitol to stage a coup attempt.

The unfathomable breakdown of law enforcement during this entire episode will be investigated and parsed for years to come. But what we do know is that it took hours for the D.C. National Guard to be called up to provide reinforcements, partly because it is not controlled by the D.C. mayor but rather the president. After D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi both sent a formal request to the Department of Defense to deploy the National Guard, Vice President Mike Pence finally approved the deployment, not Trump. Trump, still the commander in chief, apparently couldn’t be bothered to send in reinforcements to protect U.S. lawmakers, the Capitol complex, and all its denizens. 

To recap, Trump spent months pumping his low-information voters full of crap; he then personally directed them to storm the Capitol on the day of congressional certification; when his supporters did storm the Capitol, he posted a video justifying their ire and lavishing praise on them while also declining to deploy troops in order to protect U.S. lawmakers and federal property. Many of those protesters—who were inexplicably allowed to exit the building on Wednesday evening without suffering any consequences—told journalists and others they planned to return at a later date with their guns. 

And finally, once the worst of the occupation appeared to be over, Trump celebrated the seditious actions of his cultists. “These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long,” Trump tweeted Wednesday evening. Twitter finally locked Trump’s account by day’s end, but lasting damage to the heart of our democracy had already been done.

What unfolds over the next 14 days between now and the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden remains entirely unclear. What is clear is that Trump’s cultists aren’t done yet, and Trump himself is perfectly happy to stoke their worst impulses while leaving the nation’s Capitol, along with our duly elected U.S. lawmakers, unprotected. Donald Trump is a clear and present danger to American democracy, our systems of government, and the republic itself. He must be impeached immediately after Congress finishes the business of certifying the Electoral College votes. As Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego of Arizona told MSNBC Wednesday evening, “Democracy's not safe right now. … I don't trust this president.”

Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota announced Wednesday afternoon that she was drafting articles of impeachment. Omar was among the first of several lawmakers to express support for impeaching Trump following his direct involvement in one of the most shameful episodes in our nation’s history. The effort has quickly attracted the backing of a diverse group of Democratic lawmakers, from progressive representatives like Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Pramila Jayapal of Washington to more moderate members like Seth Moulton of Massachusetts and Jim Cooper of Tennessee. 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi must take up the matter immediately following congressional certification. Few if any instances in American history have ever posed such an obvious and urgent existential threat to the United States of America.