Jamie Raskin, the Democratic congressman, lead impeachment manager and constitutional law professor, fought back tears as he recounted his experience of the Capitol breach which happened the day after the death of his son. 'This cannot be our future': Raskin's 24-year-old daughter and his son-in-law were hiding in his office during the attack.
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Analysis: Democrats use Trump impeachment to show sometimes symbolism is the point
Analysis: faith in the US has been shaken and the impeachment trial is a test of accountability before a global audience
The Democratic congressman Jamie Raskin stood at the lectern, faced 100 senators and removed his black face mask to begin the historic second impeachment trial of former president Donald John Trump.
Continue reading...Trump’s impeachment trial starts with graphic Capitol assault footage – video
Donald Trump's second impeachment trial opened in the Senate with graphic video of the attack on the Capitol on 6 January and his comments that spurred a rally crowd to become a mob.
The lead House prosecutor told senators the case would present 'cold, hard facts' against Trump, who is charged with inciting the siege of the Capitol to overturn the election he lost to Joe Biden
Continue reading...‘Trump’s guilt is obvious’, impeachment managers say in new legal brief – live
- ‘President Trump’s pre-trial brief confirms he has no good defense’
- Schumer says ‘sweeping it under the rug will not bring unity’
- Trump’s second impeachment trial set to begin in US Senate
- Donald Trump’s trial: what you need to know
- Outcry as more than 20 babies and children deported by US to Haiti
The election arm of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), has brought out its final report on the US presidential election, concluding that it was well organised under the circumstances and there was no significant fraud.
The report also found that Donald Trump’s rhetoric and refusal to accept defeat undermined public faith in democratic institutions, and warned the US has long-term problems with providing equal voting rights for all.
Related: 'Jim Crow relic': Senate filibuster stands in way of Democratic voting rights push
Here’s where the day stands so far:
Continue reading...‘Jim Crow relic’: Senate filibuster stands in way of Democratic voting rights push
Analysis: calls to scrap the requirement for 60 senators to back legislation are growing as Congress weighs sweeping protections
As states around the country advance a wave of measures that would make it harder to vote, Democrats in Washington are planning the most sweeping voting rights protections in decades. But to pass those protections, Democrats will have to overcome a huge barrier.
Related: Fight to vote: civil rights are making a comeback at the DoJ – here’s why
Continue reading...Senate leaders announce Trump impeachment trial rules – video
On the eve of Donald Trump's impeachment trial on a charge of inciting the deadly US Capitol attack, Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority and minority leaders, have laid out the framework for the trial. ’All parties have agreed to a structure that will ensure a fair and honest Senate impeachment trial of the former president,’ Schumer said. Each side will have 16 hours to present their arguments and the trial will break on Friday afternoon and resume on Sunday afternoon
Continue reading...Democrats to open Trump impeachment trial by recounting Capitol attack
Impeachment managers will present scene in harrowing detail using video and audio recordings
House impeachment managers will open their prosecution of Donald Trump for “incitement of insurrection” by recounting the deadly assault on the US Capitol in harrowing and cinematic detail, rekindling for senators the chaos and trauma they experienced on 6 January.
Related: Donald Trump impeachment trial: what you need to know
Continue reading...The crucial differences in Trump’s second impeachment trial
In some ways the trial will be a replay of last year’s – but Trump is the first to be tried by the Senate after leaving office, and it will likely be ‘dramatic’
It might be tempting to call it the trial of the century but it is just as likely to invoke a sense of deja vu. This week Donald Trump faces an impeachment trial in the US Senate. Yes, another one.
Trump stands accused of inciting an insurrection when he urged supporters to “fight” his election defeat before they stormed the US Capitol in Washington on 6 January, clashed with police and left five people dead.
Continue reading...Donald Trump will refuse to testify at Senate impeachment trial, lawyers say
Democrats had challenged Trump to explain in next week’s proceedings why he disputed factual allegations
Donald Trump’s legal team has said the former president will not voluntarily testify under oath at his impeachment trial in the Senate next week, where he faces the charge from House Democrats that he incited the deadly insurrection at the US Capitol on 6 January.
The lead House impeachment manager, Jamie Raskin, a Democrat, wrote to Trump asking him to testify under oath before or during the trial, challenging the former president to explain why he and his lawyers have disputed key factual allegations at the center of their charge that he incited a violent mob to storm the Capitol.
Continue reading...Biden pledges to ‘undo moral shame’ of Trump era with new orders on immigration – live
- President establishes taskforce to reunite children with families
- Senate moves to advance Covid relief package without Republican support
- Trump legal team files 14-page brief defending conduct on 6 January
- Biden and Republicans agree to more relief talks despite divisions
- How red states might block Biden’s roadmap to Covid recovery
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says she is a sexual assault survivor
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US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) has been denounced as a “rogue agency” after new allegations of assaults on asylum seekers emerged, and deportations of African and Caribbean migrants continued in defiance of the Biden administration’s orders.
Joe Biden unveiled his immigration agenda on Tuesday, and his homeland security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was confirmed by the Senate, but the continued deportations suggested the Biden White House still does not have full control of Ice, which faces multiple allegations of human rights abuses and allegations that it has disproportionately targeted black migrants.
Related: New claims of migrant abuse as Ice defies Biden to continue deportations
A hastily executed transfer of nearly 200 people in California’s prison system set off a public health disaster that endangered the lives of thousands of prisoners and staff and led to dozens of deaths, according to a new report from the state’s office of the inspector general (OIG).
The report published on Monday, the third in a series examining the Covid-19 catastrophe in California state prisons, details the circumstances of a May 2020 transfer of 189 people from the California Institute for Men (CIM) in Chino, California, to San Quentin state prison in the Bay Area and Corcoran state prison in the Central Valley.
Related: California prison transfer led to dozens of deaths and endangered thousands – state watchdog
Continue reading...‘This path is untenable’: can the Republican party split with Trumpism?
A path forward for the GOP is unclear when the former president still holds power over many of its lawmakers
Donald Trump may have left the White House, but his shadow still looms large in Washington and the Republican party as the Senate prepares for his second impeachment trial.
Continue reading...Explainer: what is the filibuster and why do some Democrats want to get rid of it?
Abolishing the filibuster could allow Senate Democrats to pass Joe Biden’s agenda, but there are risks
While the US Senate has temporarily averted a showdown over its so-called filibuster rule, the issue appears likely to resurface, as the wafer-thin Democratic majority endeavors to pass Joe Biden’s legislative agenda into law – and Republicans try to stop them. Here’s what you need to know:
Continue reading...US senators sworn in as jurors for Trump’s second impeachment trial – live
- Senators swear oath to do ‘impartial justice’ in Trump trial
- Senate votes 55-45 to reject Rand Paul motion to dismiss
- Biden signs orders in White House to advance racial equity
- Blinken passes Senate confirmation for secretary of state
- Trump campaign distances itself from new ‘Patriot party’
There’s been a steady stream of activity on Capitol Hill today, paricularly leading up to the swearing-in of the senators for Trump’s impeachment trial.
At a weekly press conference, Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer said the chamber is prepared to work simultaneously to hold an impeachment trial, approve Biden’s cabinet nominees, and pass additional coronavirus relief.
.@SenSchumer says “a vote on a budget resolution could come as soon as next week.” This would give Dems option to use reconciliation for Covid relief package
McConnell doesn’t say if Trump’s actions were impeachable, saying only that he’ll “listen to the arguments” in the trial.
He says he hasn’t spoken to Trump since the day after he declared Biden had “obviously” won the election (that was 12/15).
Tim Ryan tells reporters on Zoom presser that the order among Capitol Police on Jan. 6 was to not use lethal force unless lives were threatened, as was standard for USCP (he'd asked about it during this morning's closed-door briefing)
Vice president Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, received her second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine at the National Institutes of Health in Maryland.
Twenty-eight days after receiving her first shot, Harris removed her jacked, rolled up her sleeve and extended her left arm for the jab.
Continue reading...US House delivers article of impeachment against Donald Trump to Senate
Senate trial will be the first-ever of a former US president, however the chances that Republicans will convict him are slim
The US House delivered its article of impeachment against Donald Trump to the Senate on Monday evening, setting the stage for the first ever Senate trial of a former US president.
For the second time in just over a year, nine House impeachment managers carried an impeachment charge against Trump in a ceremonial procession across the US Capitol, where just a few weeks ago a violent mob laid siege to the building in a deadly assault on the seat of American government.
Continue reading...Mitch McConnell ‘plays the long game’ to retain some power as it slips away
Out of power in the chamber, the Republican now faces unruly politicians and pressure over how to handle Trump impeachment
For Mitch McConnell, the top Republican in the Senate, the first few days of Joe Biden’s presidency have not been about fighting the new Democratic majority in government. They have been about gaming out how much power he now has.
Related: Trump impeachment: Pelosi to formally send article of impeachment to Senate today – live
Continue reading...Trump plots revenge on Republicans who betrayed him as Senate trial looms
- President mulls third party amid impeachment debate
- Conviction over US Capitol attack still seems unlikely
- Robert Reich: Don’t believe corporate anti-Trump hype
- Lloyd Green: Will Trump really start his own party?
Republican divisions over Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial came into clearer focus on Sunday, as the former president spent his first weekend out of office plotting revenge against those he says betrayed him.
Related: Can Trump do a Nixon and re-enter polite society? Elizabeth Drew doubts it
Continue reading...Trump impeachment trial set to begin the week of 8 February, Schumer says
The House will transmit the article against the former president on Monday, giving his legal team time to prepare their case
Opening arguments in the Senate impeachment trial of Donald Trump are set to begin the week of 8 February, with the former president facing charges of inciting an insurrection at the US Capitol.
The Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, announced the schedule late Friday after reaching an agreement with Republicans.
Continue reading...Former general Lloyd Austin confirmed as Biden’s defense secretary
- Austin is first African American to lead Pentagon
- Senate votes 97-2 after House waives ban on recently ex-officers
- US politics live – follow latest updates
The US Senate on Friday confirmed Joe Biden’s nominee, Lloyd Austin, to serve as secretary of defense, making the retired four-star Marine officer the first African American to lead the Pentagon.
Continue reading...Biden prepares ambitious agenda even as he cleans up Trump’s mess | Analysis
The new administration faces no shortage of obstacles to progress – but Biden is setting his sights high nonetheless
The last time a Democratic president took control of the White House, the wreckage he inherited was so great, there was little else his incoming team could prioritize.
Twelve years ago, Barack Obama’s blunt-spoken chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, liked to describe the Republican legacy – a financial crisis, deep recession and two wars – as a giant shit sandwich wrapped in a red ribbon.
Continue reading...‘The mob was fed lies’: McConnell blames Trump for Capitol attack – video
Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, acknowledged the violent mob that attacked the Capitol earlier this month was 'provoked' by Donald Trump, going on to say that the inauguration of Joe Biden would be 'safe and successful'.
Speaking on the Senate floor, McConnell said: 'The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the president and other powerful people'
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