House Pushes For Trump's Quick Impeachment After Capitol Siege

Updated Friday, 4:28 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON, DC — As the country nears the end of a harrowing week, House Democrats on Friday were to gather to discuss a quick impeachment of President Donald Trump if his Cabinet doesn’t act to remove him first.

The caucus meeting, scheduled at noon, is the first since insurrectionists loyal to Trump stormed Capitol Hill on Wednesday. The riot temporarily suspended Electoral College proceedings to confirm Joe Biden as the nation's 46th president and also involved the deaths of five people.

On Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called on Trump's Cabinet and Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment, which sets out the process for removing a president from office if deemed unfit to serve.

If Pence doesn't act, the California Democrat said, Congress may take steps to impeach Trump for a second time. He was impeached by the House in December 2019 but was acquitted by the Senate in February 2020.

If that happens, Articles of Impeachment, one of which accuses Trump of incitement of insurrection, could be introduced by House Democrats as early as Monday, according to a report by CNN.

Pelosi was joined by Sen. Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat in line to become the next Senate majority leader, in seeking Trump's removal for a "seditious act" — that is, the act of inciting revolt or violence against a lawful authority with the goal of destroying or overthrowing it.

In a tweet calling for Trump to be removed from the presidency through either the 25th Amendment or a second impeachment, Schumer called the Capitol siege "an insurrection against the United States, incited by President Trump," who he said "must not hold office one day longer."

The 25th Amendment has existed for more than 50 years but has never been used. Most of those calling for its use two weeks before Trump's term ends are Democrats, with some notable exceptions.

In a Friday address from Wilmington, Delaware, President-elect Joe Biden is choosing to look forward, he said.

When asked by reporters what he’d tell lawmakers about Pelosi’s push for impeachment, Biden responded, “I’d tell them that’s a decision for the Congress to make. I’m focused on my job.”

Pelosi on Friday also said she spoke to Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley about preventing an "unhinged" Trump from ordering military actions —including a possible nuclear strike — in his final days and hours at the White House.

In a statement to colleagues, according to The Associated Press, Pelosi spoke with Milley “to discuss available precautions for preventing an unstable president from initiating military hostilities or accessing the launch codes" for nuclear war. She said Milley assured her longstanding safeguards are in place.

While the president has sole authority in the U.S. government to order the launch of a nuclear weapon, a military commander could refuse the order if it were determined to be illegal.

Trump has been making no such threats.

Meanwhile, one leading Republican critic of Trump, Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska, said he will “definitely consider” impeachment.

“The president has disregarded his oath of office,” Sasse said Friday on “CBS This Morning.” He said what Trump did was "wicked" in inciting the mob to the Capitol.

If the House impeaches, “I will definitely consider whatever articles they might move,” Sasse said.

Fresh off a 12-hour timeout on Twitter, a conciliatory Trump released a recorded video in which he claimed outrage over the "heinous attack" on the Capitol but took no responsibility for it. "Now tempers must be cooled and calm restored," he said, claiming his only goal in challenging the election results has been to ensure "the integrity of the vote."

He called for healing and reconciliation but also said "our incredible journey is just beginning."

Hours after Trump's Thursday remarks, prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's office said they plan to open a federal murder investigation into the death of Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who died Thursday as a result of injuries he sustained during the riot, police said.

According to a CNN report, Sicknick was injured while "physically engaging with protesters." As he returned to his division office, he collapsed and was taken to a local hospital before his death.

The U.S. Attorney's office in Washington, D.C. on Friday also announced more than a dozen people are facing federal charges following Wednesday's riot. About 40 others will also face charges in Superior Court, the U.S. Attorney's office said in a release.

Among those arrested was Derrick Evans, a Republican state delegate from West Virginia. Evans has been charged with entering a restricted area of the U.S. Capitol after he livestreamed himself rushing into the building with the mob of pro-Trump supporters.

Richard Barnett, who was photographed sitting in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office during the riots, was also been arrested, according to CNBC. Barnett was arrested by the FBI in Little Rock, Arkansas, and charged with entering and remaining on restricted grounds, violent entry and theft of public property, CNBC said it was told by law enforcement officials.

• Arrests Made As Authorities Seek More Suspects In Capitol Riots

Trump, who was widely condemned by members of his own party for encouraging his supporters to march to the Capitol, said in a Twitter statement Wednesday night that he was committed to a peaceful transition of power, but he took no responsibility for Wednesday's melee.

The statement was sent by a spokesman on Twitter, a platform he was temporarily locked out of for making unfounded claims. He again falsely claimed the facts bear out his rejection of the election results, and he vowed to "continue our fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted."

Trump had been banned from Twitter for 12 hours, and social media platforms took down a Wednesday video in which he said "we love you" to the rioters who stormed the Capitol building, broke windows, vandalized property in lawmakers' offices and entered the Senate Chamber.

Earlier Wednesday, Trump told thousands of supporters gathered on the National Mall that he would never concede the election and invited the teeming crowd to march down Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capitol.

"We're going to try and give our Republicans — the weak ones because the strong ones don’t need any of our help — we’re to try and give them kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country,” he said

• Read More: Facebook Bans Trump Indefinitely

The rioters' actions Wednesday forced members of Congress to recess and be taken to secure locations for hours. They reconvened later at night after the Capitol had been secured. Ahead of the session, a coalition of 12 Republican senators led by Ted Cruz of Texas and Josh Hawley of Missouri and more than 100 House Republicans had pledged to object to counting the electoral votes in key 2020 presidential election battleground states, citing the long-disproven claims about election fraud that comprised dozens of dismissed lawsuits in federal and state court.

But many Republicans reversed course after the mob stormed the Capitol.

In a fiery speech on the House floor following the objections, Pennsylvania Rep. Conor Lamb said the Republicans had "inspired" the violent Capitol attack with lies.

"These objections don't deserve an ounce of respect," Lamb said. "Not an ounce. A woman died out there tonight, and you're making these objections. Let's be clear about what happened in this chamber today: invaders came in for the first time since the War of 1812. They desecrated these chambers and practically every inch of ground where we work."

As the joint session reconvened, Schumer called Wednesday one of the darkest days in American history. Borrowing the famous quote from President Franklin D. Roosevelt on Dec. 7, 1941, the day Pearl Harbor was attacked, Schumer said Jan. 6, 2021, would also become a date that will "live in infamy."

One of the five dead, Ashli Babbitt of California, was shot in the neck inside the Capitol building. Capito Police officer Brian Sicknick also died from injuries sustained during the riot.

Police on Thursday identified the others who died on Capitol grounds Wednesday due to what it said were medical emergencies: Rosanne Boyland, 34, of Kennesaw, Georgia; Kevin Greeson, 55, of Athens, Alabama; and Benjamin Phillips, 50, of Ringtown, Pennsylvania.

• Read More: Georgia Woman Among 4 Dead During Capitol Siege

Many of Trump's staunchest supporters over the past four years are now speaking against his involvement in the Capitol chaos.

Former Attorney General Bill Barr, who recently resigned over a dispute with Trump regarding the validity of the election, told the Associated Press on Thursday that his former boss's conduct was a "betrayal of his office and supporters."

In addition to two months of pushing baseless claims of voter fraud, Trump led a rally in the capital before Congress began counting the electoral votes. He told his supporters that he would be with them in a march to the Capitol Building. He was not.

"Orchestrating a mob to pressure Congress is inexcusable," Barr said.

Read More From Across America:

• Lamb Labeled A 'Lion' For Confrontation With GOP Members
• Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar Introduces Impeachment Articles Against Trump
• Georgia Secretary Of States Pens 10-Page Letter Refuting False Election Claims
• Bay Area Reps Call For Trump's Removal From Office
• 6 Michigan Residents Among Those Arrested Amid Capitol Hill Riots
• Hate Group From Massachusetts Had Role In Capitol Hill Riot
• Connecticut Lawmakers Call For Trump's Removal
• Republican Governor Says Trump Isn't Fit For Office, Suggests Pence Is Better
• Company Fires Worker Photographed At Pro-Trump Riots
• 'I Will Not' Resign, GOP Congressman Says Amid Calls To Step Down
• Lawmakers In Pennsylvania Urge Trump's Removal
• Lehigh University Revokes Trump's Honorary Degree

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