Man photographed carrying Pelosi’s pulpit in Florida Capitol riots disturbances
Protesters enter the US Capitol building on January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC. Congress held a joint session today to ratify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory over President Donald Trump’s 306-232 electoral college.
Win McNamee | Getty Images
The man portrayed earlier this week in the US Capitol riots leaving House chambers with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s pulpit was arrested on Friday in Florida, The Miami Herald reported.
Florida resident Adam Christian Johnson, 36, is being held under a federal warrant, records from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office show. The Herald reported that Johnson was among those wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for involvement in the mob violence on Wednesday.
“Just because you left the DC area, you can still expect a knock on the door if we find out that you were part of a criminal activity inside the Capitol,” Steven D’Antuono, assistant director of the FBI’s Washington office, said Friday fair in a conference call with reporters. “Conclusion – the FBI is sparing no resources in this investigation.”
Adam Christian Johnson, who was arrested under a federal warrant, poses in a reserve photo of Pinellas County Prison, released on January 9, 2021.
PCSO | via Reuters
Michael Cohen says he is cooperating with agencies investigating Trump and his family
Michael Cohen, a former lawyer for President Donald Trump, leaves his apartment to report to the prison in Manhattan, New York, on May 6, 2019.
Jeenah Moon | Reuters
Former President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, said on Friday that he is cooperating with government agencies that are investigating the president and his family.
“I was questioned and agreed to cooperate with several government agencies to testify about the #Trump and #TrumpFamily offense,” Cohen wrote in a tweet. “I am doing this in large part because #Trump and his family tried, and fortunately failed, to destroy America’s democracy.”
Cohen, who served Trump for years as a lawyer, is serving the remainder of a three-year criminal sentence under house arrest amid the coronavirus pandemic.
– Emma Newburger
Murkowski is the first Republican senator to call for Trump’s resignation – ‘I want him to leave’
Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, speaks during a Senate Health, Education, Work and Pensions Committee hearing about efforts to return to work and school during the coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) in Washington, DC, June 30, 2020.
Al Drago | Pool | Reuters
Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski is the first Republican senator to openly ask for President Trump’s resignation after the crowd attacked the United States Congress that left 5 dead.
“I want him to resign. I want him to leave. He has already done enough damage,” Murkowski, who has always resisted his party, told The Anchorage Daily News.
“I think he should go. He said he won’t be there. He won’t be there at the opening. He didn’t focus on what’s going on with Covid,” she said. “He has been playing golf or inside the Oval Office smoking and throwing all the people who have been loyal and faithful to him under the bus, starting with the vice president.”
“He doesn’t want to stay there. He just wants to stay there for the title. He just wants to stay there for his ego. He needs to get out. He needs to do the good thing, but I don’t think he’s capable of doing a good thing,” he said. Murkowski.
The Alaskan Republican did not comment directly on whether she would support the impeachment. It is unclear how much support a second impeachment trial would have in the Senate controlled by the Republican Party. It takes a two-thirds vote in the chamber to convict a president and remove him from office.
Senator Ben Sasse, R-Neb., Told CBS on Friday that he “would definitely consider any articles” that the House of Representatives presented. “As I said, I believe the president disregarded his oath of office … What he did was perverse,” said Sasse.
—Spencer Kimball
McConnell: The Senate cannot accept impeachment until January 19
Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican in the center, wears a face mask while walking through the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, USA on Wednesday, December 30, 2020.
Ting Shen | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Senate Republican majority leader Mitch McConnell told his caucus in a memo that the chamber cannot accept impeachment until at least January 19.
This is the day before President-elect Joe Biden and Trump take office. The Senate is currently in recess and holding only pro forma sessions every three days, with one scheduled for January 12 and another for January 15.
McConnell, R-Ky., Said that the unanimous consent of all 100 senators would be required to conduct any type of business, including impeachment, during the pro forma sessions. Obtaining unanimous consent is unlikely, given the Republican control of the Senate.
McConnell’s position on Trump’s future is unclear. Transport Secretary Elaine Chao, McConnell’s wife, resigned from Trump’s office because of disturbances in the United States Capitol.
– Spencer Kimball
Pelosi gives Trump ultimatum: resign or face impeachment
The day after hundreds of protesters invaded the United States Capitol, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said again that Vice President Mike Pence should invoke the 25th Amendment to remove President Donald Trump from office or she will begin a process impeachment against the president during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, January 7, 2021.
Melina Mara | The Washington Post | Getty Images
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Is asking President Donald Trump to step down or face an unprecedented second impeachment.
Pelosi told the House of Representatives on Friday to move ahead with impeachment next week if Trump does not resign from his post for fanning a crowd that attacked the U.S. Congress on Wednesday, resulting in five deaths.
Representative Jamie Raskin, D-Md., David Cicilline, DR.I., and Ted Lieu, D-Calif., Plan to present at least one impeachment article on Monday. A draft article obtained by NBC News accuses Trump of “inciting insurrection”.
—Spencer Kimball