Schumer says "there will be an impeachment trial" in the Senate
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said an impeachment trial can "begin immediately" if they can reach an agreement with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
“A Senate trial can begin immediately, with agreement from the current Senate majority leader to reconvene the Senate for an emergency session, or it will begin after January 19," Schumer said in a statement. "But make no mistake, there will be an impeachment trial in the United States Senate; there will be a vote on convicting the president for high crimes and misdemeanors; and if the president is convicted, there will be a vote on barring him from running again."
Some context: McConnell has made clear in a statement to fellow senators that Trump's impeachment trial won’t start until after Jan. 19.
5:12 p.m. ET, January 13, 2021
GOP lawmaker says he voted to impeach because Trump encouraged "masses of rioters to incite violence"
From CNN's Alex Rogers
California GOP Rep. David Valadao explained on Twitter why he voted to impeach President Trump, saying the President encouraged "masses of rioters to incite violence."
“President Trump was, without question, a driving force in the catastrophic events that took place on January 6 by encouraging masses of rioters to incite violence on elected officials, staff members, and our representative democracy as a whole," he said in the video.
“Speaker Pelosi has thrown precedent and process out the window by turning what should be a thorough investigation into a rushed political stunt. I wish, more than anything, that we had more time to hold hearings to ensure due process," the video continued. “Unfortunately, Speaker Pelosi did not afford us that option.”
Valadao said that he voted based on the facts and that he had to "go with my gut and vote my conscience."
“I voted to impeach President Trump. His inciting rhetoric was un-American, abhorrent, and absolutely an impeachable offense. It’s time to put country over politics," he said.
5:02 p.m. ET, January 13, 2021
McConnell makes clear no Senate trial before Biden is sworn in
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has made clear in a statement to fellow senators that President Trump's impeachment trial won’t start until after Jan. 19.
McConnell said in the statement that he believes "it will best serve our nation if Congress and the executive branch spend the next seven days completely focused on facilitating a safe inauguration and an orderly transfer of power to the incoming Biden Administration."
Read his full statement:
“The House of Representatives has voted to impeach the President. The Senate process will now begin at our first regular meeting following receipt of the article from the House. Given the rules, procedures, and Senate precedents that govern presidential impeachment trials, there is simply no chance that a fair or serious trial could conclude before President-elect Biden is sworn in next week. The Senate has held three presidential impeachment trials. They have lasted 83 days, 37 days, and 21 days respectively. Even if the Senate process were to begin this week and move promptly, no final verdict would be reached until after President Trump had left office. This is not a decision I am making; it is a fact. The President-elect himself stated last week that his inauguration on January 20 is the ‘quickest’ path for any change in the occupant of the presidency. In light of this reality, I believe it will best serve our nation if Congress and the executive branch spend the next seven days completely focused on facilitating a safe inauguration and an orderly transfer of power to the incoming Biden Administration. I am grateful to the offices and institutions within the Capitol that are working around the clock, alongside federal and local law enforcement, to prepare for a safe and successful inauguration at the Capitol next Wednesday.”
5:04 p.m. ET, January 13, 2021
Senior adviser says "it all came crashing down" because Trump "could never tell the truth"
From CNN's Jim Acosta
A senior Trump adviser offered a stinging assessment of the President's second impeachment by saying Trump has destroyed everything he built politically because he could never tell the truth.
"In the end, it all came crashing down because he could never tell the truth," the adviser said. "All because he couldn't accept he lost," the adviser added.
"This will be the story you tell your kids when you lecture them about telling the truth," the adviser continued.
4:51 p.m. ET, January 13, 2021
Jim Jordan was hoping “less” Republicans would have voted to impeach Trump
From CNN's Annie Grayer
Rep Jim Jordan said the he was not surprised by the number of Republicans who voted to impeach Trump, but was hoping it would be less.
“It's about where I thought it might be,” Jordan said walking off the floor. “I was hoping it would be less.”
Asked if he still considers Trump to be a leader of the Republican party even though he has now been impeached twice, Jordan said, “of course.”
“His support is strong because the American people appreciate that over the last four years he did more of what he said he would do than any President in my life,” Jordan said.
Asked if the 10 Republicans who voted with Democrats to impeach Trump would face primaries Jordan said, “I don’t know that.”
5:45 p.m. ET, January 13, 2021
These are the 10 GOP members who voted to impeach Trump
From CNN's Capitol Hill unit
The House just voted to impeach President Trump for a second time for his role in last week's deadly Capitol riot.
Ten Republicans joined their Democratic colleagues in voting in favor of the impeachment resolution.
They are:
Rep. Dan Newhouse of Washington
Rep. John Katko of New York
Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington
Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois
Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan
Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming
Rep. Peter Meijer of Michigan
Rep. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio
Rep. Tom Rice of South Carolina
Rep. David Valadao of California
What comes next: The next steps in the process are a little unclear. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell won't agree to bring the Senate back early, according to Republican sources, and he communicated that to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer today.
That means a Senate trial won't happen now until after Trump has left office and would most likely bleed into the early days of the Biden presidency, and when Democrats will control the Senate.
Here's how each member in the House voted on Trump's second impeachment.
5:31 p.m. ET, January 13, 2021
The House just voted to impeach President Trump. Here's what happens next.
The impeachment resolution the House voted on charges Trump with a single article, "incitement of insurrection" for his role in last week's deadly Capitol riot.
Ten Republicans, including the House's No. 3 Republican, Liz Cheney of Wyoming, joined with Democrats to impeach Trump.
There is no such thing as a routine impeachment but this one is unprecedented in all sorts of ways.
The overall impeachment process laid out in the Constitution is relatively simple:
A president commits "high Crime or Misdemeanor"
The House votes to impeach
The Senate conducts a trial
This impeachment process will feel entirely new and different from the one we saw in late 2019 around the Ukraine investigation, most notably because the Senate trial is expected to occur after Trump leaves office.
Here's why that's important:
New President Joe Biden will be asking the Senate to vote on his Cabinet nominees and act on legislation to address the Covid pandemic as well as relief for Americans hurt by the troubled economy.
In 2020, Senate business ground to a complete halt during the trial. This time, incoming Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is hoping to pursue a half-day schedule to conduct the trial part of the day and business the rest of the day.
The charges this time are much simpler to convey and understand, however. It should still take some number of days with Chief Justice John Roberts presiding and senators sitting in judgment. When both of the new Democratic senators from Georgia are seated, it will take 17 Republicans voting with Democrats to reach a two-thirds majority and convict Trump.
The swift effort to impeach him certainly puts Trump in the position of wanting to keep Republican senators on his side. In that regard, it would keep him in check during the last week of his presidency.
Remember: Impeaching Trump in the House does not remove him from office. Neither a second House impeachment nor even a Senate vote to convict Trump and remove him from office would prevent him from running again, in 2024 or beyond.
Rather, after two-thirds of senators present voted to remove Trump, a simple majority of senators present would have to approve an additional vote to bar him from the presidency in the future.
Barring him from further office could also cost him his more-than $200,000 per year pension if the Senate wants to take that way.
Watch the moment:
5:23 p.m. ET, January 13, 2021
Trump expected to make a statement on impeachment proceedings, official says
From CNN's Kaitlan Collins and Jim Acosta
President Trump will make a statement reacting to today’s impeachment proceedings soon, an official familiar with the matter tells CNN. It will likely be a video.
The impeachment resolution the House voted on charges Trump with a single article, "incitement of insurrection," for his role in last week's deadly Capitol riot.
More on this: A White House official said aides to the President are concerned the video he is recording this evening will be removed by YouTube, as Trump has seen his presence on social media vanish in recent days as tech giants like Twitter and Facebook have cracked down on the President's often false and irresponsible content.
The official said the plan is to post the video on whitehouse.gov. But YouTube is used by the White House to post videos on the official government site. The official said news outlets would be wise to make a digital recording of the video as soon as possible, in the event it is pulled down by YouTube.
The Oval Office is under consideration as a location for recording the video. It could be posted sometime during the next couple of hours.
4:35 p.m. ET, January 13, 2021
House reaches enough votes to impeach Trump
From CNN's Capitol Hill unit
House TV
Enough lawmakers have cast votes to impeach President Trump again in a historic first, with at least 217 members having now cast votes to impeach the President, including at least nine Republicans.
The impeachment resolution charges Trump with a single article, "incitement of insurrection," for his role in last week's deadly Capitol riot.
Voting is ongoing.
As soon as the gavel comes down, Trump will become the only President in history to be impeached twice.
