WASHINGTON (AP) – The latest news about President Donald Trump and impeachment (all local times):
17:25
President Donald Trump is ordering the United States flag to be flown at half the mast as a sign of respect for two Capitol police officers who have died since Wednesday’s violent Capitol protests, as well as all police members across the country.
In a proclamation on Sunday, Trump said the show of respect would take place in the White House and in all federal buildings until sunset on Wednesday.
The proclamation makes no mention of disturbances on Capitol Hill.
Trump cites Capitol police officers Brian D. Sicknick and Howard Liebengood.
Sicknick joined the United States Capitol Police in 2008, serving until his death on Thursday after being attacked as protesters fervent with Trump’s electoral defeat invaded the Capitol, believing the president’s false claims of a rigged election.
Authorities announced Liebengood’s death on Sunday. It was not clear whether his death was related to Wednesday’s events. Two people familiar with the matter said the policeman’s death was an apparent suicide. They were not allowed to discuss the matter publicly and requested anonymity.
There have been increasing calls for Trump to order the flags to be flown with half the staff at federal facilities after Mayor Nancy Pelosi ordered the same to the Capitol after Sicknick’s death.
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4 pm
Citigroup is suspending all federal political donations in the first three months of the year due to Wednesday’s deadly siege of the United States Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump.
In a memo to employees on Friday, Citi’s head of global government affairs, Candi Wolff, said: “We want you to be sure that we will not support candidates who do not respect the rule of law.”
“We support engagement with our political leaders even when we disagree, and our PAC is an important tool for that engagement,” wrote Wolff, adding that the company has already donated $ 1,000 to the 2019 campaign for Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri in 2019, which represents a state in which Citi has many employees.
Unlike other companies that announced the suspension of donations to 147 Republicans who opposed the certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s election, Citi says it is suspending all federal contributions.
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HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT IMPEACHMENT PUSH AT THE CONGRESS:
Democrats in Congress are making plans to impeach President Donald Trump and ensure that an “unbalanced” commander in chief – in the words of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi – cannot do any more damage in his remaining days in office. They are trying to send a message to the nation, and to the world, that the mob violence at the Capitol last week, inspired by the White House, will not end.
Read More:
– Silenced by Twitter, Trump seeks new megaphone online
– Pope prays for dead in Capitol riots, calls for calm
– In the wake of the Capitol riot, Americans struggle for answers
– No surprise: Trump left many clues that he would not go quietly
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HERE IS HAPPENING:
3:25 pm
Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is calling President Donald Trump a failed leader who “will go down in history as the worst president ever.”
In a video posted on social media on Sunday, the Republican consoled himself that the Trump presidency was coming to an end and “it would soon be as irrelevant as an old tweet.”
He called for national unity and pledged his support for President-elect Joe Biden.
Schwarzenegger, best known for his film roles as “Conan the Barbarian”, was elected governor in 2003 of the country’s largest state. During the video, Schwarzenegger compared American democracy to the sword he wielded in his films.
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14h45
The US flag at the White House is now hoisted at half the mast after calls for the flag there and at other federal locations to be lowered to honor US Capitol police officer Brian Sicknick.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had previously ordered the Capitol flags to be reduced to half a frame in honor of Sicknick and requests were growing for President Donald Trump to do the same at the White House.
Sicknick joined the U.S. Capitol Police in 2008, serving until his death on Thursday after being attacked as fervent protesters with Trump’s electoral defeat invaded the U.S. Capitol, believing the president’s false claims of a rigged election.
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2:30 pm
The trade group that represents one of the country’s best-known health insurance brands says it is suspending political contributions to lawmakers who voted last week for rejecting the results of the Electoral College that cemented Democrat Joe Biden’s victory over President Donald Trump in the November elections.
The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association represents 36 regional and local insurers that use the brand, covering about 1 in 3 Americans.
In a statement, Kim Keck, CEO and president of the group, says he will continue to support lawmakers and candidates in both political parties who “will work with us to build a stronger and healthier nation”.
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1:05 pm
Senator Roy Blunt says he sees no need for Republicans in Congress to hold President Donald Trump responsible for his role in promoting the riot on Capitol Hill last week, but warned him to “be very careful” in his last 10 days in office.
The Missouri Republican called Trump’s decisions and actions that led to last Wednesday’s riot “clearly unwise.” But he says the United States should be “thinking more about the first day of the next presidency” of President-elect Joe Biden than about removing Trump from office.
Blunt says he doesn’t think Trump will act recklessly again. He told CBS’s “Face the Nation” program: “My personal opinion is that the president touched the hot stove on Wednesday and is unlikely to touch it again.”
Biden will take the oath on January 20.
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11:55 am
Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries says President Donald Trump is out of control and should be immediately removed from office as a “clear and present danger to the health and safety of the American people”.
Jeffries, who chairs the Caucus Democratic Chamber, says that as a co-equal branch of government, it is Congress’ job to keep Trump under control – either by impeachment, demanding his resignation or by pressing the Trump Office to invoke the 25th Amendment that declares him unfit to serve.
The New York Democrat says that while Trump’s Twitter account may now be permanently suspended, the president still has access to the country’s nuclear codes and other weapons of power.
Jeffries pointed to a “constitutional responsibility” to act. He told NBC’s “Meet the Press” program: “Donald Trump is completely and totally out of control, and even his longtime facilitators have now come to that conclusion.”
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10:10 am
Majority leader in the House, Jim Clyburn, said the House could vote this week for President Donald Trump’s impeachment, but postpone sending the legislation to the Senate until many of the secretaries in President Joe Biden’s office are confirmed for their positions.
The South Carolina Democrat said “it could be Tuesday or Wednesday before action is taken, but I think it will be done this week”.
Clyburn says he is concerned that a Senate trial could distract from the process of confirming Biden’s nominees.
Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, said an impeachment trial could begin as early as January 20 – the day of the inauguration.
Clyburn says House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will decide when to appoint impeachment administrators and send the articles to the Senate. He says one option would be to give Biden the “100 days he needs to get his schedule up and running and maybe we’ll send the articles out sometime later.”
Clyburn appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union” and “Fox News Sunday”.
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9:40
A second Republican senator asked President Donald Trump to step down after the Capitol riots last week.
This time it is Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania. He is asking Trump to step down for what Toomey says would be good for the country after the Capitol rebellion that was carried out by supporters of the president.
Toomey says dismissal is “the best way forward, the best way to put that person in the rearview mirror for us.” But Toomey says he is not optimistic about Trump’s resignation before his term ends on January 20.
Toomey also says that Trump’s role in encouraging the riot is an “impeachable offense”.
Toomey is the second Republican senator to resign Trump, joining Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.
Trump supporters, who were furious at his defeat for Democratic President-elect Joe Biden, stormed the Capitol on Wednesday. Five people were killed.
Toomey was interviewed on Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” and NBC’s “Meet the Press”.
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12:15 pm
President Donald Trump is facing growing democratic momentum to challenge him a second time.
And a leading Republican, Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey, says he thinks Trump’s role in encouraging a deadly riot on Capitol Hill is an “impeachable offense”.
But Toomey is almost saying he would vote to remove Trump from office.
A Democratic congressman, David Cicciline, of Rhode Island, says that an impeachment proposal already has 185 co-sponsors. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is telling fellow Democrats to prepare to return to Washington next week.
Pelosi says Trump should be held responsible, but she has not committed to an impeachment vote.