Transcripts For CNNW The 2nd Trump Impeachment Vote 20210113

Coup. I want to make something clear. The u. S. Does not arm members of the National Guard, make that decision lightly. That is in response to the severity of the threat in the coming days and on the inauguration. So what about the president . He made his first Public Comments on this yesterday. Did he take any responsibility . No. He denied any role in the violent attack. He claimed that his comments to that crowd were completely appropriate. Well, many in his own party strongly disagree. Several members of Congress Planning to break ranks joined democrats in their vote to impeach, including the number three republican there, representative liz cheney, the number three republican in the house. The number one republican in the senate, Senate Majority leader Mitch Mcconnell perhaps the most powerful republican on the hill, he is signaling that he may turn on President Trump, too. Indicating that impeaching trump will make it easier to get rid of trumps influence within the gop. He has not made clear, however, if he would vote to convict the president in the senate trial. We are covering all the angles this morning. Lets begin on capitol hill where history will be made again today. Cnns lauren fox. Tell us how this will play out. How quickly we expect to see a vote to impeach the president. Well, thats right. An historic day up here on capitol hill as President Trump will become the first president in history to be impeached, not once, but twice, jim. And expect in the upcoming hours were going to see some debate on the floor of the house of representatives. That is under way right now. We expect a onehour debate. Then theyll vote on a rule, essentially a procedural step, then theyll have another twohour debate and then later this afternoon, some time we expect between 3 00 and 4 00, there will be a vote to impeach President Donald Trump. And i just talked to steny hoyer, the majority leader in the house of representatives. He expects theyre going to send these articles to the senate pretty quickly. Remember, the senate is in recess right now, but that doesnt mean that when they get back these articles arent going to be moving there quickly. Last night, the speaker of the house, nancy pelosi, announced who would be the house managers in a senate trial. Another sign that we do not expect the House Democrats will hold on to these impeachment articles. Instead, they are planning to send them to the senate. Jamie raskin will lead. He was one of the authors of this impeachment article. We also know that ted lieu as well as David Cicilline are going to be on that team as well as six others. So that just laying out the groundwork here that this is building momentum. Lawmakers are getting ready. Lawmakers in the senate are getting ready. And Mitch Mcconnell sending signals to his members that theyre able to vote their conscience on this. Hes giving them room to make their own decisions. Yeah, that was so significant from congresswoman cheney yesterday and what it set off. Sunlen, to you, a handful of republicans have now publicly said with congresswoman cheney that they will vote to impeach. Tell us who they are and then the question is, are there more in the house . And namely in the senate . Thats right, poppy. Thats significant, the fact this time around, his second impeachment, President Trump will be impeached by members of his own party. Republicans up here on capitol hill. Now we know as of this morning, there are a group of five House Republicans that have come out and said they are going to vote for impeachment including, as you know, congresswoman liz cheney. Shes a third ranking republican in the house and shes issued a very strong message last night when she came out for in support of impeachment sayings there been no greater betrayal than a u. S. President referencing specifically these riots up here on capitol hill. And President Trumps reaction. Also after today, the steps going forward, what Senate Republicans think so important here and you guys referenced Mitch Mcconnell and the great reporting that we have indicating that he is furious at President Trump over his response to the riots and that hes pleased by the efforts of impeachment going forward. Now if we can shift from the politics to what is happening on the ground up here on capitol hill today, that is an important dynamic of a story as they move forward impeaching today and move toward inauguration next week. I want to give you a glimpse at the pousture up here on capitol hill. A picture of National Guard troops this morning. We all saw them this morning. I walked by a lot of these members. They were on the floor, likely between shifts here. Had blankets over them getting some muchneeded rest. I saw a few members griping their guns as they slept. Just hundreds and hundreds of National Guards troops really speaking to the posture of this moment and the security threat. Of course, they have riot gear. This just a small glimpse into the larger Security Apparatus, jim and poppy, that is now up here on capitol hill. That is such a remarkable image that you just showed. It really is. That they need to be there to protect the nation from its own people, from domestic terrorists. Sunlen, lauren, thank you. Now lets go to our White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins. Good morning. The president was clear yesterday in his remarks that he has zero contrition for what happened. Now weve learned overnight no interest in resigning. And he is closely keeping track of who is with him and who is against him. Yeah, he is. As he did the last time, of course, that this happened. The last time the president was impeached, he was in michigan holding a rally and he was told in the middle of the rally what the votes were. He remarked on the fact that not a single House Republican had voted against him. He talked about how united republicans are and were seeing the complete opposite of that now with five republicans already coming out and saying they will vote to impeach the president today. Of course, that number could grow. The white house is bracing itself for that to happen. But otherwise, we are not seeing the president. He made that trip to the to alamo, texas, yesterday to talk about the border wall where he did comment on impeachment and said it was going to be very dangerous for the country. But youre right. He did not take any responsibility for his own words and the actions that even republicans have said is what led to that mob attacking capitol hill just a week ago today. And the president has been very defiant behind the scenes. He has no plans of resigning from office, even though two republican senators have called on him to do so. So it remains to be seen what that is going to look like. But the white house is kind of in this state of disbelief. That the president is actually going to be impeached for a second time and going on behind the scenes, this looks so much different than it did the last time when they were bracing themselves for a trial. They were preparing teams of attorneys to come in and represent the president. You are seeing nothing like that happen this time. So, of course, weve not heard from the president. We cannot hear from the president on his typical social media sites since hes been banned from almost every single platform in some form or fashion and whether or not the president is going to weigh in on this today, it remains to be seen because his schedule looks like it has every day almost since the election, with no public events. Yeah, and that line thats been cut and pasted to that schedule every day now that hes going to be very busy making calls, et cetera. Kaitlan collins, thanks very much. Our team of experts joins us now to help mark this moment. Explain the significance of all that were seeing today. Charlie dent, if i could begin with you. You served in congress with the Republican Party. If we could show these images again of National Guardsmen receiving automatic weapons now on the hill to help defend the capitol. Help defend the capitol from a very clear and present danger from folks who could be described no better than domestic terrorists. Have you ever seen anything like this in your Public Service . Have you ever been aware of a threat so grave to the capitol than the one were seeing today . Not in my lifetime, and i hope we never see it again. Its just so painful to me to watch whats happening. Were really dealing with the consequences of President Trumps chaos all these years. The neverending insendiary statements, the incitement, the frontal assault on article i congress. Its all culminated with what the events of last week. And so were in an unprecedented moment. The president , thankfully, will be impeached today. But theres nothing like it. It just pains me to watch the u. S. House of representatives, the u. S. Capitol that we cant that its a restricted area. People cant go through there because of the pandemic and now, you know, its off limits because were afraid of too many of our own citizens. We were attacked by people. It wasnt a bomb or guns last week. It was people who were the threat to the safety and wellbeing of our lawmakers. Jamie gangell, lets not forget and remind our viewers what the president incited and encouraged led to the death of five people. That is a fact. Mitch mcconnell hates him for it. Thats the reporting overnight. Also, the fact that he supports impeaching the president to remove him from the party and separate him, but isnt the test for mcconnell what he does and how he votes . Absolutely, no question about it. But lets also remember Mitch Mcconnell is not sending the signal without a reason. He is giving cover. He is giving a hall pass to republicans to vote their conscience. And let me just tell you, i was told this morning by a republican source that they are expecting 10 to 20 Republican House members to vote for impeachment. That said, the source told me, that nothing has changed with the white house. They are continuing to pressure republicans to threaten them, to use fear. We are a week after january 6th. And we are still seeing members who are in fear of voting. One source said to me that theyve been told that members want to vote for impeachment but they fear for their lives and they fear for their families lives. Wow. Well, listen, statistically, if that number holds, thats still just onetenth of the number of sitting house members that voted to overturn the Election Results after that violent insurrection. After. And i wonder how, when you speak to them, they reconcile those two votes. So, i think were seeing a couple of different groups here. We are seeing people who, as i just said, are telling other members that they are scared. They remember what happened on january 6th. I think there are some members from the Freedom Caucus, like congressman biggs who are still going to stand with trump no matter what. And i think what were seeing now is also the question of where does the Republican Party go. We are seeing a split in the Republican Party. Who is going to hang on to donald trump and his hardcore base, and who wants to move on. The message we got from Mitch Mcconnell yesterday and the message were getting from liz cheney who is in the leadership is, its time to move on. And that statement for our viewers that congresswoman cheney made, the president of the United States summoned this mob, niamalika henderson, assembled the mob, lit the flame and then she called this the greatest betrayal by a president of the United States ever. Mia, you warn against other republicans, though, trying to rewrite history. Its true. I think when you hear republicans talk now, they suggest that somehow donald trump is different than he was before. And we know that the lighting of this match was Donald Trumps lies and brainwashing of his followers. That is what they were doing. They were believing the president s lies about a fraudulent election and wanting to overthrow this multiracial democracy, which is emerging now in a way that we hadnt seen in the last 10 or 15 years. Thats really whats going on. You hear republicans now try to rewrite history. And also in talking about the subject at hand, which is this insurrection, they are going to want to focus on process. Oh, its too fast. We dont have enough time to debate, theyll say. Theyll talk about democrats and partisanship. What they wont talk about is the reality which is that the president s followers wanted to act in his name, and as they were acting, the president was watching and failing to protect the folks who were in that building who included the Vice President , the Vice President elect, speaker pelosi. So the president , even though people were prevailing on him to do something, he did nothing and when he finally did something, again, he lied, and he told those folks there who were running rampant in a violent way on the hill, he told them that he loved them. So those are the facts. I think this is, in some ways, the most clear impeachment process, the most clear reason for an impeachment that we have had. People watched it on their televisions unfold and the more information we get, the more horrible it appears. Listen, how do we know . One way we know his words inspired them is many of them repeated his words as they were storming the capitol. There are numerous videos of just that. Quote word for word quote froms the president. No question. We have a lot to get to. Everyone, stay with us. Still to come, you are looking at live pictures of the u. S. Capitol where the president today will be impeached for the second time in just about a year. Its the first time in the history of this nation that has ever happened. You cant see it in that picture, but the capitol is surrounded by security. Law enforcement officials bracing for violence ahead of next weeks inauguration of president elect biden as more arrests are made from last weeks raid, insurrection on capitol hill. En they told me my work wasnt essential walls enclosed around me with the words you cant do this tattooed to its surface. An unshakable feeling. Pressure that swelled beyond my capable strength. How do i break through. Alone . I dont. The strength to break through has always been built together. Crafted with the people who stand beside us. Introducing Career Services for life. Learn more at phoenix. Edu as a retired weatherman, i like things i can predict. Thats why i chose an aarp Medicare Supplement Insurance Plan from unitedhealthcare. Its the kind of plan with predictable outofpocket costs. Plus the plan i chose has a low to zero percent chance of copays. Its a sunny day for me. Honey youre doing it again. Ill stop. The only Medicare Supplement plans with the aarp name. Medicare supplement plans have no networks and no referrals so you can take charge. Congressman james mcgovern, the chair of the rules Committee Beginning to speak as this first hour theyll debate the rules and then move toward this historic vote on a second impeachment of the president , jim. This is a solemn, constitutional process reserved for the most severe political crises in this country, and we will have seen it now twice in 13 months having only seen it twice in the century before. Our team of experts, lets listen in before we go to our team of experts. Upon adoption of hres 24, hres 40 is adopted. Finally, the rule extends recess instructions, Suspension Authority and sameday authority through february 11th, 2021. Mr. Speaker, we are debating this historic measure at an actual crime scene, and we wouldnt be here if it werent for the president of the United States. On wednesday, january 6th, congress gathered here to fulfill our constitutional duty, tallying the Electoral College victory of president elect biden and Vice President elect harris after a free and Fair Election. This is largely a ceremonial role for the congress. One that sends the message to the world that democracy in the United States persists. But at a rally, just a mile and a half down pennsylvania avenue, donald trump and his allies were stoking the anger of a violent mob. A member of this very body proclaimed on that stage, today is the day american patriots start taking down names and kicking ass. Trumps personal attorney Rudy Giuliani called for trial by combat. Then donald trump told the crowd, were going to have to fight much harder. Youll never take back our country with weakness. Even though, according to his own administration, that this election was the most secure in our history, donald trump repeated his big lie that this election was an egregious assault on democracy. Vice president pence, he said, was going to have to come through for us. Trump then told this mob to walk down to the capitol. The signal was unmistakable. These thugs should stage a coup so donald trump can hang on to power. The peoples will be damned. This beacon of democracy became the site of a vicious attack. Rioters chanted hang mike pence as a noose and gal pos were built a stones throw from the capitol steps. Capitol Police Officers were beaten and sprayed with pepper spray. Attackers hunted down lawmakers to hold them hostage or worse. Staff barricaded doors. People sent Text Messages to their families to tell them they loved them. They thought they were saying goodbye, mr. Speaker. This was not a protest. This was an insurrection. This was a wellorganized attack on our country that was incited by donald trump. Domestic terrorists broke into the United States capitol that day. And its a miracle more people didnt die. As my colleagues and i were being evacuated to safety, i never, ever will forget what i saw when i looked into the eyes of those attackers in the speakers lobby right there. I saw evil, mr. Speaker. Our country came under attack. Not from a foreign nation but from what but from within. These were not protesters, these were not patriots, these were traitors. These were domestic terrorists, mr. Speaker. And they were acting under the orders of donald trump. Now some of my colleagues on the other side have suggested that we just move on from this horror. But to gloss over it would be an abdication of our duty. Others on the republican side have talked about unity. But we cant have unity without truth and without accountability. And im not about to be lectured by people who just voted to overturn the results of a free and Fair Election. America was attacked and we must respond, even when the cause of this response resides at 1600 pennsylvania avenue. Each of us, each of us took an oath last week. It wasnt to a party and wasnt to a person. We vowed to defend the constitution. The actions of donald trump have called each of us to fulfill that oath today. I pray that we rise to this responsibility because every moment donald trump is in the white house, our nation, our freedom is in danger. He must be held to account for the attack on our capitol that he organized and he incited. I solemnly urge my colleagues to support this rule and the underlying article. The damage this Building Sustained can be repaired, mr. Speaker, but if we dont hold donald trump accountable, the damage done to our nation could be irreversible. I reserve the balance of my time. Gentleman from massachusetts reserves. Gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. Thank you, mr. Speaker. Before i begin my formal remarks, i want to ask for gods blessing and protection on you, on my for my friend mr. Mcgovern, for all who come to this chamber today to speak and to vote for our wonderful staff that makes this possible and most especially for the men and women of the Capitol Police and the other affiliated Law Enforcement agencies that are here to protect everybody and to make sure that this proceeding can go forward. With that, mr. Speaker, i want to thank the gentlemen from massachusetts, my very good friend, distinguished chairman mr. Mcgovern for yielding me the customary 30 minutes and i yield myself such time as i may consume. Thank you, mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today is a sad day for all of us. For me personally, for the rules committee, for the entire house of representatives and most certainly for the American People. For the second time in 13 months, were meeting to discuss the impeachment of the president of the United States. Our meeting today does not arise in a vacuum. And comes in what i hope and pray is the end of a tumultuous period for our country. Less than one week ago, congress met to certify the results of the 2020 president ial election. What started out as a peaceful protests turned into a riot. As an untold number of individuals stormed the capitol building. Six people died as a result of this mob. And its only by the grace of god and the brave acts of the u. S. Capitol police, the washington, d. C. Metropolitan police, the fbi, atf and other responding agencies that there was not more blood shed. Violent acts such as these have no place in our republic. These shocking and sobering events rest high on our minds today as well they should. Certainly january 6th, 2021, will live in my memory as the darkest day during my time of service as a member of this house. After these grave events, we as a nation and as an institution have an opportunity to come together. President trump has conceded the 2020 election. Congress has certified the results of the election. And next wednesday, president elect biden will be sworn in as the president of the United States. Congress and the nation can move forward knowing that the political process was completed as designed and the constitutional framework that has governed our republic since 1789 held firm. Instead of moving forward as a unifying force, majority in the house is choosing to divide us further. With only a week to go in his term, the majority is asking us to consider resolution impeaching President Trump. And they do so knowing full well that even if the house passes this resolution, the senate will not be able to begin considering these charges until after President Trumps term ends. I can think of no action that is likely to further divide the American People than the action were contemplating today. Emotions are clearly running high and political divisions have never been more apparent in my lifetime. We desperately need to seek a path forward, healing for the American People. So its unfortunate that a path to support healing is not the path the majority has chosen today. Instead, the house is moving forward erratically with a truncated process that does not comport with the modern practice and that will give members no time to contemplate the serious course of action before us. In every modern impeachment inquiry, an investigation and Committee Action has preceded bringing an impeachment resolution to the floor. In part to ensure members have the full facts, the opportunity to engage expert witnesses and have a chance to be heard. It also provides due process to the president of the United States and again, in every modern impeachment inquiry, the president has been given an opportunity to be heard in some form or another. This is necessary in order to ensure that the American People have confidence in the procedures the house is following. Its also necessary not because of the president s inappropriate and reckless words are deserving of defense but because the presidency itself demands due process in the impeachment proceeding. Unfortunately, the majority has chosen to race to the floor with a new article of impeachment foregoing any investigation, any committee process, or any chance for members to fully contemplate this course of action before proceeding. Professor Jonathan Turley is correct when he called this a, quote, dangerous snap impeachment. An impeachment that effectively would go to a vote without the deliberation or inquiries of the traditional hearing. Professor turley also noted that, quote, the damage caused by the rioters this week was enormous. However, it will pale in comparison to the damage from a new precedent of a snap impeachment, unquote. If the majority seeking consensus, this is hardly the way to create it. The majority is failing to provide the house with an opportunity to review all the facts, which are still coming to light. To discuss all of the evidence, to listen to scholars, to examine the witnesses and to consider precedence. This is not the type of robust process we have followed for every modern impeachment. And the failure to do so does a great disservice to this institution and to this country. Mr. Speaker, i can think of nothing that will cause further division more than the path the majority is now taking. Rather than looking ahead to a new administration, the majority is again seeking to settle scores against the old one. Rather than seeking to heal america, they are seeking to divide us more deeply. And rather than following the appropriate processes the house has used in every modern impeachment, majority is rushing to the floor, tripping all over themselves and their rush to impeach the president a second time. Whats worse, though the majority seems to believe that this course of action is selfevident, and thats simply not the case, i have to tell them, its not. Members that have reviewed the same conduct and have come to dramatically different conclusions. Legal scholars like professor turley and professor Alan Dershowitz, both of who condemned the president s statements, believe that his statements are not impeachable. I know other scholars have different points of view. Given this difference of opinion, shouldnt we have a Better Process than this . Shouldnt we have a chance to examine witnesses, discuss the matter with legal scholars and consider this in committee on a matter as grave as consequential as impeachment, shouldnt we follow the same process weve used in every modern impeachment rather than rushing to the floor . On behalf of generations of americans to come we need to think more clearly about the consequences of our actions today. The fact of the matter is, mr. Speaker, there is no reason to rush forward like this. Other than the very obvious fact that there are only seven days left until a new president takes office. But whats worse, as professor dershowitz has pointed out, because of the senates rules, the case cannot come to trial in the senate until 1 00 pm on january the 20th, one hour after President Trump leaves office. This is an ill advised course in my opinion, mr. Speaker. Even senator joe manchin, a democrat, agrees. Senator manchin is quoted this week as having said, quote, i think this is so ill advised for joe biden to be coming in, trying to heal the country, trying to be the president of all the people when were going to be so divided and fighting again. Let the judicial system do its job, unquote. So what then is the point of the rush to impeach . Were coming off a horrific event that results in six deaths. We have an opportunity to move forward, but we cannot if the majority insists on bringing the country through the trauma of another impeachment. It will Carry Forward into the next president s term, ensuring that he will struggle to organize his administration. Whats worse, it will continue to generate the bitterness so many of us have opposed. Why put us through that when we cant actually resolve this before the end of the president s term . Mr. Speaker, i think my colleagues in the majority need to think about this more soberly. We need to recognize we are following a flawed process. We need to recognize that people of good will can differ. We need to recognize that while the house may be done with this matter after todays vote, it will not be done for the country. It will not be done for the senate. And it will not be done for the incoming biden administration. The houses action today will only extend the division longer than necessary. Finally, mr. Speaker, i would note that there are other r remedies that can be pursued. The president is expected to face litigation over his role in last wednesdays events. There will be criminal proceedings against the perpetrators. I hope all of those who stormed the capitol will be brought to justice. And some members have proposed an alternative procedure censoring the president which could garner significant bipartisan support in the house. I do not think impeachment is a wise course, mr. Speaker. I would urge my friends in the majority to reconsider. Theres still time to choose a different path. One that leads to reconciliation and hope for a better and brighter days. With that, i urge opposition to the rule and i reserve the balance of my time. Gentleman from oklahoma reserves. Gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. I asked to submit the powerful statement by congresswoman liz cheney, house of the Republican Caucus entitled, i will vote to impeach the president. Without objection. I want to be clear about one thing. If we vote to impeach the president today and we send it over to the senate there is nothing to prevent the senate from taking it up immediately if Senate Majority leader Mitch Mcconnell decides that he wants to proceed. Number one. Number two, we all want to talk about unity. I cant think of anything that would unify this country more if there was a big bipartisan vote in favor of impeachment. Every second that this president remains in office is a danger to this country and to the world. We have no idea what he is capable of doing. Whether hell pardon these terrorists, whether hell go to war. So id urge all my colleagues on both sides to support the rule of the impeachment resolution. I yield one minute to the gentlewoman from california, ms. Chu. Last week, i hid in an office for hours terrified to open the door because i did not know if a rioter was on the other side ready to attack, kidnap or murder me. But my experiences were just the tip of the iceberg. The u. S. Capitol was targeted, besieged and ransacked on january 6th by a murderous mob holding a noose for Vice President pence and targeting speaker pelosi. Their rampage resulted in destruction and five people dead. We were attacked by terrorists, but this time the terrorists were radicalized right here in the United States. Worse, they were radicalized by the president who intentionally lied to his supporters that the election was stolen and then told them when to come to d. C. , where to profest and who to direct their anger at. The need to remove this president could not be more urgent. He is too dangerous to remain in office. Donald trump must be held accountable. He must be impeached. Gentlewoman yields. The gentlemen from massachusetts reserves. Gentlemen from oklahoma is recognized. Mr. Speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. Thank you, mr. Speaker. If we defeat the previous question ill offer an amendment to the rule to immediately bring up a resolution establishing a bipartisan National Commission on the domestic terrorist attack on the u. S. Capitol. This proposed commission will be tasked with examining and reporting upon the terror attack on our capitol that occurred last wednesday. The commission will be bipartisan in nature, modeled after the 9 11 commission and will fully empower be empowered to rnd take a full investigation and make recommendations to the president and to congress. I can think of no more appropriate path for congress to follow than by ensuring a Bipartisan Commission reviews all evidence and reports back to us on this horrific event. I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment in the record and extraneous material immediately prior to the vote on the previous question. With that, i urge without objection. With that, i urge a no vote on the previous question. I yield four minutes to my good friend mr. Davis of illinois, the ranking republican member on House Administration for a further explanation of this amendment. The gentleman from illinois is recognized for four minutes. Thank you, mr. Speaker. I want to thank the u. S. Capitol police and the sergeant at arms employees who were here on the front lines protecting this capitol last week during the unprecedented attack. It is imperative that we focus on ensuring a safe inauguration day, protecting members and staff during this time of increased threats and making sure that our capitol Police Officers have the support that they need. We need to ensure that what we saw happen a week ago today never happens again. Yesterday i introduced along with representatives katko and comer a bill that would create a National Commission on the domestic terrorist attack upon the United States capitol. The Bipartisan Commission would consist of ten members, five republicans, five democrats. Appointed by the next president and by house and Senate Leadership. This commission would be tasked with investigating the domestic terrorist attack that occurred in this building just a week ago. And it will provide us recommendations to prevent similar attacks from happening in the future. What we saw last week scared all of us who were here, but also showed adversaries what it takes to take out a branch of government. When this commission is done with this investigation, it will submit a report to the president and to congress detailing its findings and recommendations to ensure that no foreign or domestic adversary could accomplish what was done on january 6th. We need to ensure that we fully understand what took place last week and go and all issues that occurred during our response. Republicans and democrats need to work together. We must unite to prevent any attacks like this from happening in the future, and we must protect this institution, not just for us, for the American People. Thats why we should defeat the previous question so that we can establish this Bipartisan Commission to equip us with the information that we need to support our Capitol Police and the men and women who work in these buildings. And with that, i yield back. The gentleman yields. Gentleman from massachusetts. Im proud to yield one minute to the gentleman from maryland, mr. Hoyer. Gentleman from maryland is recognized for one minute. I thank the chairman of the rules committee for yielding. Congratulate him for his efforts and rules committee and acting swiftly. I appreciate the remarks of mr. Cole for whom i have Great Respect, but i disagree with his sense of a lack of urgency and action. I do agree with him on the consequences of our action. There are consequences to actions, and the actions of the president of the United States demand urgent, clear action by the congress of the United States. The chairman of the committee introduced the remarks and put them in the record. But i want to reference the remarks of the chair of the republican conference, which is the analog to the democratic caucus. It is all the republicans elected to the congress of the United States. In the house of representatives. And they elected liz cheney, the daughter of the Vice President of the United States. The former whip of this house, dick cheney, with whom i served in the 80s. Representative cheney from wyoming, a conservative republican, said this. The president of the United States summoned the mob, assembled the mob and lit the flame of this attack. That is not some irresponsible new member of the congress of the United States. This is the daughter of the former republican whip and former Vice President of the United States of america. She knows of what she speaks. And she said this as well. There has never been a greater betrayal by a president of the United States of his office and his oath of constitution to the constitution. This is not, as liz cheney says, just some action. She characterizes it as the biggest betrayal of any president of the United States in our history. Mr. John katko, not a backbench republican who just got here and doesnt know whats going on. Mr. John katko, who is the ranking republican on the Homeland Security committee. Says this, to allow the president of the United States to incite this attack without consequences is a direct threat to the future of democracy. This is not some backbencher on your side of the aisle. On their side of the aisle, mr. Speaker. It reflects the sense of outrage, the sense of historic dissimilarity from the actions of any previous president. And then, mr. Adam kinzinger, member of the commerce committee, a Senior Member from illinois. So we have a member from wyoming, a member from illinois, and a member from new york. There will be others on this vote who will join them, and mr. Kinzinger said this. If these actions he hasnt had any hearings, he doesnt need any long, drawn out consideration. If these actions are not worthy of impeachment, then what is an Impeachable Offense . There is no doubt in my mind that the president of the United States broke his oath and incited this insurrection. I tell my friend, mr. Speaker, a gentleman for whom i have Great Respect. He is my friend, and i say that honestly, not just as rhetoric as we say on this floor because theres some that i dont consider friends. Whose values i do not share. That is not mr. Cole. We have a difference. Liz cheney, john katko, Adam Kinzinger and other republicans whom i have talked to within the last 24 hours believe this action is required. Now let me say, i see the gentleman from ohio is on the floor. He likes to say that we democrats were elected and the first thing we wanted to do was impeach this president. And he is shaking his head in agreement because, like the president of the United States, he denies the facts. Trumplike. Fake news. December 6th, 2017, mr. Green, who im going to refer to, offered a motion because he saw the danger that confronted our country. And he filed a resolution of impeachment. And on december 6th, 2017, we had a vote on that. And the majority of democrats voted no. Actually, they voted yes to table. So that we did not proceed. In 2017. The gentleman from texas, mr. Green thought, however, the next year that there was still a danger to our country. Some of us shared that view, but we were not confident that the case could be made or that the transactions that have proceeded would lead to conviction. So on january 19th of 2018, we had a motion to table, mr. Greens resolution. And the majority of democrats voted to table that resolution. What a rush to judgment. And then on july 17th, 2019, nine days before the call to ukraine to get the ukrainian leader to act on the political behalf of the president of the United States and withheld money to defend the ukrainian people from russian involvement, and offered that as a bribe. And on july 17th, the majority of democrats voted to table that resolution. So, mr. Speaker, there was no rush to judgment. And then that call to which i just referred was on july 26th. Nine days later. I call that the ahha moment. Yes, i knew what i thought, but that was proof. And the gentleman, some gentlemen have lamented that we didnt know the whistleblower because after all if we knew the whistleblower, we could intimidate everybody else from coming forward. And this president has done everything he can to intimidate whistleblowers. People who came forward and told the truth, and we had witness after witness after witness who confirmed what the whistleblower brought to our attention. So the reason i rise today and im going to speak on the resolution itself at some later time, is to recognize the contributions that al green of o this place. I just want to im not going to read all of the resolution but i want to read some excerpts from the resolution he has introduced. We wont be considering his resolution. Well be considering mr. Cicilline and over 200 others who have signed on to the resolutions. Mr. Green had a resolution to introduce. Resolve that donald trump, president of the United States, is impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors. And the following articles of impeachment be exhibited in the senate. Article i says in his conduct with the president of excuse me. In his conduct, while president of the United States, unmindful of the high dufts his high office and dignity and proprieties and harmony and courtesies necessary for stability, to which my friend spoke, the gentleman from oklahoma, Donald John Trump in violation of his constitutional to faithfully execute the office of president has harmed the society of the United States, brought shame and dishonor to the office of the president of the United States, sowing discord among the people of the United States by he went on to say on january 6, 2021 in a speech at the National Mall, President Donald Trump weaponized the hate that resulted in violence, the deaths of multiple people, an assault on democracy and an insurrection against the capitol of the United States of america by inciting a mob. Who said that . Liz cheney said it, and al green said it. Infected with White Supremacists, carrying a rebel flag, erecting a gal lowe structure with a noose, wearing shirts such as camp auschwitz. Work brings freedom, and maga civil war january 6, 2021. Maga civil war. They had the hats on of the army of maga which i refer to as make america grieve again. We grieved at ft. Sumter. We grieved on december 7, 1941 and we grieved on 9 11. And, yes, we grieved on january 6 of this year. He goes on to say, what the president told this mob that liz cheney said was recruited by the president of the United States, and i quote this is the president talking to this mob. All of us here today do not want to see our election victory stolen by a bold and radical left democrats. Like the secretary of state in georgia and the governor of georgia, which is what they are doing and stolen by the fake news media, inciting, roiling u, creating anger with the fake news and lies that the president of the United States said to these folks. That is what they have done and what they are doing, the president continued. We will never give up. He will never concede. It doesnt happen. You dont concede when theres theft involved. And so what did they do . Incited by this president , as liz cheney said, as john katco said, as Adam Kinzinger said, and frankly, what secretary chow acted upon and what the secretary of Homeland Security acted upon and what so many others in the administration have acted upon, disgusted, dismayed and disheartened by what their president had done. They got out. They quit. The president further emboldened them saying this is the green resolution, were not considering it, but the green resolution. The president further emboldened them saying, you will never take back our country with weakness. We had a display of nonweakness, criminal insurrectionlike conduct. Recruited by and deployed by the president of the United States to come to this capitol and stop the steal. The steal, of course, was we assembled accepting what all the courts that considered it said was a fair and accurate election of joe biden and Kamala Harris as president and Vice President of the United States. After his National Mall speech a mob of his supporters proceeded to the capitol. We know that. So mr. Greens resolution ends with, wherefore, to prevent National Harm to our owes site, Donald John Trump by such conduct warrants immediate impeachment trial and removal from office and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States constitution and the 14th amendment. So in conclusion mr. Green is going to speak after me. In conclusion, let me tell my friend mr. Cole, ive been here some time. He has as well. Ive served with ronald reagan, with george h. W. Bush and george bush. I have respect for all of those president s. They cared about our country. They honored our constitution and they executed the duties of their office consistent with the constitution and laws of our cou country. That is not true of this president and, therefore, he ought to be removed, and we have that opportunity to do so. Is there little time left . Yes, but it is never too late to do the right thing. I yield back the balance of my time. The gentleman from maryland yields. The gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. At this point id like to yield one minute to the gentleman from texas, my good friend mr. Green. The gentleman from texas is recognized for one minute. Thank you, thank you, mr. Speaker. I had tears to well in my eyes as i heard mr. Hoyer and i know that hearts are hurting. Its a very sad time in the history of our country. No one is celebrating. No one wants to see this occur. I was at the rules committee by way of zoom. I was there for the entire hearing. Those members on the other side, this is something that they understand and they take seriously. Regardless as to whats said, i can sense that theyre hurting, too. So i just want to thank everyone for all that has happen and the appreciation thats been shown, and i want to say that the healing that we talk about that has to begin the gentlemans time has expired may i have just 30 seconds . I yield the gentleman 30 seconds. Thank you. The healing, it has to start with some of these people who were there initially, who helped to lay this foundation. 110 people. I want to recognize maxine waters, congresswoman. A lot of them were threatened. Their lives were disrupted, and if i may with unanimous consent, id like to insert their names in the record. Without objection. I thank you, and may god bless our country as we go forward. The gentleman from texas yields. The gentleman from massachusetts reserves. The gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. I yield two minutes to my good friend, distinguished republican member, leader of the budget committee, mr. Smith of missouri. The gentleman from missouri is recognized for two minutes. Thank you, mr. Speaker. If we defeat the previous question well amend the rule to immediately bring up the bill establishing a bipartisan National Commission on the domestic terror attack of the United States capitol. This has been a devastating week for our nation. Just last week, we stood right here in this very chamber while a violent mob laid siege to the seat of american democracy. It is vital we get the facts on what went wrong last week, why the Security Apparatus failed and how we can ensure it never, it never happens again. Less than 50 feet from where we stand in this room, a young lady lost her life through those doors, through those doors. I was in this chamber when those gunshots rang. That is real stuff. That should never happen in the peoples house. For the first time, can the House Democrats and the speaker of the house put the people before politics . Please put the people before politics. At a time when our nation is more divided than ever before, lets put people before politics. President trump will be leaving in seven days. Lets try to heal this nation. Lets listen to the American People. This is the peoples house. Lets operate for the people. This country is hurting. The people are hurting. Our colleagues are hurting. This is a reckless impeachment. This will only bring up the hate and fire more than ever before. Have a conscience. Put the people before politics. The gentlemans time has expired. The gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. The gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. Mr. Speaker, let me remind all of my colleagues that what happened on wednesday would not have happened if it werent for the occupant in the white house. And if we want to put the people first, we ought to vote to impeach him and remove him from office as soon as possible. With that, i yield a minute to the gentle woman from california. Mr. Speaker, today is a defining moment in our history. Congress was attacked by a mob, directed by the president of the United States. It was a horrible, terrifying situation, but we all know deep in our hearts that it could have been much, much worse. We simply cannot let it stand. We cannot let it stand for the very soul of our democracy. We cannot let the president of the United States leave Office Without acting. We are the oldest cons truth republican the world and our sacred symbol in our great democracy. To my colleagues across the aisle, i appeal to your sense of service and duty to our nation and to the oath we all swore to uphold. Before we are democrats and republicans, we are americans. Let us come together to fulfill our oath by voting for the resolution before us and by defending, pre serving our democracy. The gentleman from massachusetts reserves. Gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. Thank you very much, mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, i yield two minutes to one of our new members, distinguished gentle lady from South Carolina ms. Mason. Note this is her first speech on the house floor. The gentleman woman from South Carolina is recognized for two minutes. This is not the reason i wanted to give my first speak in our chambers, in our hallowed halls. This is not what i wanted to do in my first week in office. After the violent events of last week, watching and witnessing how heartbreaking this was thank god i sent my kids home on wednesday morning because i was worried about the rhetoric, the violence that could transpire. Not only were our lives in danger, but my kids lives would have been in danger, too, the two most precious people in my life. The u. S. House of representatives has every right to impeach the president of the United States. What were doing today, rushing this impeachment in an hour or twohour long debate on the floor of this chamber, by passing judiciary poses Great Questions about the cons constitutionality of this process. I believe we need to hold the president accountable. I hold him accountable for the events that transpires, for the attack on our capitol last wednesday. I also believe we need to hold accountable every single person, even members of congress, if they contributed to the violence that transpired here. Today im asking my colleagues to remember the words of the legendary, the great leader in this country, dr. Martin luther king who once said the time is always right to do what is right. And if were serious about healing the divisions in this country, republicans and democrats need to acknowledge this is not the first day of violence weve seen. Weve seen violence across our country for the last nine months. We need to recognize, number one, that our words have consequences, that there is violence on both sides of the aisle. Weve contributed to it. We need to take responsibility for our words and our actions. We need to acknowledge theres a problem, take responsibility for it and stop being part of the problem and start being part of the solution. God bless every member in the chamber today and god bless the United States of america. Gentlemen from massachusetts is recognized. Happy to yield one minute to the gentleman from vermont, mr. Welsh. The gentleman from vermont is recognized for one minute. Mr. Speaker, our government is founded on the principle all power flows from the people. Donald trump challenged this principle in two ways, deceit and violence. The deceit is repeated in baseless assertions of an electoral fraud t. Violence, the attack on the United States capitol on january 6th. The mob was assembled by donald trump, incited by donald trump, and in service of Donald Trumps effort to overturn through violence what he lost at the voting booth. The violent mob reached the capitol, killed and injured Capitol Police, destroyed property, threatened the Vice President , members of congress and staff, all to obstruct the peaceful transfer of power. If we want unity, we must have accountability. So the question before this congress, will congress condone through acquiescence or condemn through impeachment Donald Trumps violent acts to overturn the election . The gentlemans time has expired. The time for massachusetts reserves. Gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. Thank you very much, mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, i yield two minutes to distinguished republican leader of the judiciary committee, mr. Jordan of ohio. Recognized for two minutes. Im Anderson Cooper alongside erin burnett. Youre watching history unfold as President Trump is set to be the only american president to be impeached twice. The debate will start shortly in the very chamber that just one week ago was the scene of a horrific act. Domestic terrorists attacked the capitol, they broke down doors, ransacked offices, attacking capitol Police Officers, one of whom was beaten to death. Were told there was hand to hand combat, military preparations. The president s rhetoric incited the mob before the insurrection along with his refusal to accept the results of the election. And that, lets make no mistake, that refusal and that big lie, anderson, is why were all here today. As House Democrats look to hold the president accountable, more and more House Republicans are abandoning President Trump in his final days in power. Manu raju. Historic debate, making donald trump the only president in history to be impeached twice. This will be different than 2019 because we expect republicans to be on board. Not a lot of republicans, but at least a handful. Maybe up to 10, 12, 15. The white house seems to think 20. The expectation on capitol hill 10 to 12. One reason why is Republican Leaders are not pressuring their members to fall in line to support the president on this. Many republicans are concerned, distressed, some outright disgusted by the president s comments last week, inciting this deadly mob that came to capitol hill, killed five people including one Capitol Police officer. This articles of impeachment is the incitement of an insurrection, charging the president with a high crime and misdemeanor and saying he needs to be removed from office because of this. This is after he was charged with abuse of power in 2019. The difference, Senate Majority leader Mitch Mcconnell has a much different view of this charge versus 2019. Im told from multiple sources that he believes impeachment is the way to drive donald trump and trumpism out of the Republican Party. He is frustrated, disgusted, angry at the president s role on wednesday, also frustrated that the president essentially costing them the Senate Majority. Theyll be in the minority come january 20. The question is when exactly will the senate trial begin and whether there will be 17 republicans that would vote to break ranks and convict this president and send him essentially prevent him ever from Holding Office ever again. Mcconnell has not said if he will support convicting the president. He has not said that privately or publicly yet. Hes indicating he very well could. Also the question is how quickly will the democrats, once this impeachment happens, send over the articles of impeachment to the senate that will begin the senate trial. We expect it to be sent overall most immediately according to House Majority leader steny hoyer. The question is will the senate come back early and try to convict President Trump before he leaves office next week. Unlikely. Most likely the trial will happen at the beginning of the biden presidency. At the moment were seeing this key, historic first step dealing with procedural matters first before they go to the historic vote making donald trump the only president to be impeached twice which will happen by later this afternoon. Manu, appreciate the update. Joining me is senior political analyst david chalian. Walk us through what we expect to see for the rest of the day. Were now in the procedural, the process phase of how impeachment will come to be. They are debating now the rule that will govern how the debate proceeds here. What weve seen politically anderson, is something we havent seen before, and that is this earth shifting beneath the Republican Party right now. We shouldnt overdo what this breakaway from the president is. The vast majority of republicans are going to side with the president. Public polling that 70 of the Republican Party still totally with the president , doesnt think he should be removed. Its consequential to see liz cheney, number three House Republican, to see Mitch Mcconnell say what he said, thats unlike what weve seen before. For five and a half years weve asked what will it take, what does donald trump have to do to have some breaking away . Its just a piece of it right now, but its the beginning of the Republican Party internally struggling to figure out the path of what theyre going to be in a posttrump era. It took a riotous, deadly insurrection that the president of the United States incited to get to this point for them. Laura coates, former federal prosecutor, does the fact that theres at least some bipartisan support for this impeachment strengthen its impact . Does it make it more significant than the president s first impeachment . It certainly does. This is more of a direct line from the conduct and statements of the president of the United States directly to what happened. You dont have to meander or go around robins bend trying to understand latin terminology like quid pro quo, et cetera. You actually understand whats going on. You have more support because the evidentiary reelings here, the idea of the predicate being what do you see here that day. What took place . What did you see and what do you know . The president s comments afterwards have done him no Great Service in trying to gain more support among republicans who were with him the last time around. This is indicative, anderson, of the fact that the people who were the witnesses are the people who are the deciders of his fate. He has shown no contrition, and i think it will not serve him well here. Will scarborough, cnn legal analyst. It would take 17 republicans in the senate to actually convict. Is it automatic then that donald trump would not be able to run for federal office again, or would that be a separate vote . The way it works its rare. Theres this disqualification provision in the peechlt provisions of the constitution that permit the senate to order disqualification if they vote to convict. The way it works, i think its only been used about three times before. Its rare. The way it works is theres a vote to convict or not to convict. That takes twothirds. Then after that, then the Senate Considers whether to disqualify the president from Holding Office in the future. That historically has taken only a majority vote, but that would come after the vote to con zblikt carrie cordero, cnn legal analyst. This whole process is happening very fast. The attacks just one week ago. Does the speed with which this is playing out, does that concern you at all . No. I think given the circumstances, the speed is appropriate. Theres a real urgency to these proceedings from a security perspective and from a perspective of the integrity of the functioning of our government and the integrity of our democracy. One of the things that the House Judiciary Committee report outlined last night was that the president not only incited the activity that took place on january 6th, but the report details that throughout the day of the attack on the capitol, the president continued actions and phone calls and efforts to try to prevent the certification of the election, to prevent congress from doing its constitutional duty and to really try to influence and threaten the Vice President from doing his constitutional duty. So this was not only an attack on the capitol, but an attack on the functioning of our democracy itself. So i think that the houses urgency in doing this is appropriate, and i really think the Senate Leadership needs to consider the urgency of their action assuming the house votes to impeach. I want to go back to the house floor and listen more to the debate. When his words launched a violent attack against this capitol where five people lost their lives and many more were injured. So give me a break. Mr. Speaker, i yield one minute to ms. Jackson lee from texas. Gentle woman is recognized. Contrary to my good friends words, the president of the United States is an insurrectionist. He led an insurrection against the United States of america. Prior to the january 6 attack by violent domestic terrorists, the president spoke to the crowd for one hour, and these were his words, these were his words, which is that we cannot take the nation back we have to take the nation back with strength and you must go and do that. Those were the paraphrase of his words. The president provoked these domestic terrorists with words, actions and conduct that portray and have contempt and hostility to the National Value of equal justice under the law. Telling domestic terrorists, either all White Supremacists who support him politically, who stormed the capitol to derail congress from completing its constitutionally required duty of counting and verifying the votes. The gentle womans time has expired. The gentleman from massachusetts reserves. The gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. Thank you, mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker i yield one minute to my very good friend, distinguished member of georgia, mr. Carter. Gentleman from georgia recognized for one minute. Mr. Speaker, i rise in opposition to the effort to move forward on impeachment hearings. What happened on wednesday, january 6, was nothing but pure anarchy. Those individuals that broke the law should be held accountable, prosecuted to the highest extent of the law and put in jail. This is one of the saddest days of my life, mr. Speaker. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Police Officers and other Law Enforcement who carried out their duties on that day. Right now our focus should be on healing our nation. With so many upset and dismayed, its our responsibility to chart a path forward, to subdue the growing animosity and find ways to heal our country. Unfortunately, i dont believe this resolution will achieve those goals, especially seven days ahead of the inauguration. This is very serious and concerning effort during such a tense and fragile time in our country. I urge our colleagues the gentleman will respond. All members reminded to be wearing face coverings while on the floor. The gentleman yields. The gentleman from oklahoma reserves. I yield one and onehalf minutes to the gentleman from texas. The gentleman from texas is recognized for one and onehalf minutes. For years donald trump has honored thugs worldwide who suppressed democracy. For months, with a daily diet of lies, hes made clear his refusal to accept any election in which he was not the winner. After failing completely in his repeated attempts intimidate republican Election Officials into committing fraud and republican appoint pd judges into ignoring our constitution, he made a desperate attempt last week to block the final election count and prevent the peaceful transition of power essential to democracy democracy like his deadly reaction to the pandemic, he totally bungled the deadly attack. Both his frenzied eye rye ot us to mob were defeated. America we did stop the steal. We stopped donald trump from stealing our democracy and imposing himself as a tyrant. Today we not only demand accountability for his gross misconduct, but more importantly, we declare to the next trumplike aspiring tyrant, not in america. We love our democracy too 34u67. Our capitol is scared, but our democracy survives. Violating his sworn duty to protect and defend our constitution by seeking the gentlemans time has expired. The gentleman from massachusetts reserves. If this is not impeachable, nothing is. I advise additional speakers on the way, but theyre having a difficult time. Ill reserve my time. The gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. I yield one minute to the gentlem gentle woman from connecticut. Recognized for one minute. On november 3rd, the American People voted overwhelmingly for joe biden and Kamala Harris to serve as president and Vice President of the United States. The country was about to enter a new era with great hope for change. Yet with a decisive mandate in majority, the president used untruthful claims to end the completion of a constitutional process of collecting the electoral votes, making joe biden president of the United States. Not accepting the will of the American People, the president unleashed the most horrific violence that overwhelmed the Security Forces at this capitol which was overrun for the First Time Since 1812 putting the lives of so many at risk. Indeed, a day of infamy. This impeachment will be viewed as a transcendent vote where all will be judged. Vote to impeach the president of the United States, donald j. Trump. I yield back. The gentle woman yields. Gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. Mr. Speaker, i yield one minute to the gentle woman from first alert meteorologist ms. Caster. Recognized for one minute. Thank you, mr. Speaker. I rise today to urge the impeachment of donald trump because the attack on the capitol and the congress was the single most dep praefed betrayal of the u. S. Constitution ever committed by a president. The traitorist incitement of an insurrection demands not just impeachment but removal from office immediately. Violence during the transfer of power, confederate flags, a antisemitic paraphernalia desecrated this capitol. Accountability must come swiftly. We must act with the same resoluteness we showed in the Early Morning hours after the insurrection where we assured the will of the voters was effectuated. Donald trumps defilement of this capitol will not stand. It demands impeachment now. I yield back. The gentleman from massachusetts reserves. Gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. Thank you very much, mr. Speaker. I yield one minute to my good friend distinguished gentleman from North Carolina, mr. Bishop excuse me two minutes. I thank the gentleman from yielding. These articles charge incitement. Once before the house impeached a president of the United States within a week of the alleged offense. That was president Andrew Johnson days after he removed secretary of war Andrew Stanton in 1868. Over 50 years later the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional the tenure of office act that president johnson refused to obey. In other words, the house was not only hasty, it was wrong, punishing noncompliance with an unconstitutional law. At least when that occurred, the constitutionality of the law in question was unsettled. Here, however, an angry House Majority races to impeachment against settle law. The articles charge incitement to insurrection. They do not specify inciting language. The law is well settled. Quote, what is required to forfeit constitutional protection is incitement speech that specifically advocates for listeners to take unlawful action. The violence last wednesday was abhorrent. Perpetrators should be prosecuted. Those responsible for security decisions held accountable. Congress can disapprove, revial, condemn, even censure, but you cannot, consistent with the rule of law, punish that which the constitutions First Amendment declares protected. If you do it, the violators of duty to this constitution, however angry, will be those who vote for this article of impeachment. It is not mr. Greens articles of impeachment. It is incitement, and the constitution is settled on that point. Thank you, i yield back. Gentleman from oklahoma reserves. Gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. Mr. Speaker, im proud to yield one and a half minutes to the gentle woman from minnesota ms. Omar. Recognized for one and a half minutes. Thank you, chairman. Mr. Speaker, let us not mince words about what happened last week. It was a violent attempt to interrupt our democratic process. It was a targeted blow at the most essential process that makes us a democracy. It was a direct and specifically incited by the president of the United States. For years we have been asked to turn a blind eye to the criminality, corruption and blatant disregard to the rule of law by the tyrant president we have in the white house. We as a nation can no longer look away. The president , not only incited an insurrection against our government, but has in word and deed led a rebellion. We cannot simply move past this or turn the page. For us to be able to survive as a functioning democracy, there has to be accountability. We must impeach and remove this president from the office immediately so that he cannot be a threat to our democracy. I stand ready to fulfill my oath of office, and i challenge my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to do the same. I yield back. Gentle woman yields. Gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. Mr. Speaker, we continue to reserve. Gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. Mr. Speaker, its like to ask unanimous consent to insert into the record a New York Times article published january 9th entitled our president wants us here, the mob that stormed the capitol. Its another example of why our country cannot risk even one more day of donald trump. Without objection. I now yield one minute to the gentleman from california, mr. Correia. The gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Speaker, last Week Congress was under siege by a mob, motivated and directed by the president of the united st states. Our Vice President was the target of that mob. Members of congress, both democrats and republicans, were targets of this mob. I witnessed for the first time in my life americans fighting american, all at the behest of our own president of the United States. As americans, we can do better. I will vote for impeachment today for our nation, for our childrennd for our grandchildren. Ill be voting for impeachment so that america will once again be the shining city upon the hill whose beacon light guides freedom loving people everywhere. I urge my colleagues to join me and vote for impeachment. With that i yield. Gentleman from massachusetts reserves. Gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. Thank you, mr. Speaker. I continue to vreserve. May i ask the gentleman how many more speakers he may have . Whenever the gentleman is prepared to close, well closement we were hopeful our speakers could arrive. Is my friend prepared to close . Yes. Then ill close. The gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. Thank you very much, mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, i yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, i want to thank you for presiding over these difficult proceedings. The distinguished chairman of the rules committee and thank everyone that came to the floor and had something to say in an important moment. While spirited reflected the civility and decency of the institution were proud to be part of. Im very proud of the members and the matter in which they parti participated. I want to thank the staff and thank those who kept us safe in the process, particularly the Capitol Police. Mr. Speaker, in closing, i oppose this rule and oppose the majoritys actions today. After the traumatic events of last week, the majority should be taking steps to unite us. Instead they are only dividing us further. Theyre rushing to judgment in my opinion and bringing up impeachment after failing to follow any meaningful process whatsoever. No hearings have been held. No witnesses heard, no process or opportunity to respond was provided to the president. No members had an opportunity to review or amend this article before it came to the floor. This is hardly the way the house should undertake such a serious act. Mr. Speaker, let us look forward, not backward. Let us come together, not apart. Let us celebrate the pleaseful transition of power to a new president rather than impeaching an old president. Let us affirm and reaffirm with one united voice that the house does not rush to judgment on the most consequential action we can take. We deserve better than that mr. Speaker and the American People deserve better than that. I urge my colleagues as we move to the next stage of debate to remember were all privileged to represent a great and a good pe people. Weve gone through a horrible time. We owe them the opportunity to reflect and our best efforts to bring together. We must remember when were through this that were one people. We have one purpose, that were free through the grace of god and millions of brave americans over centuries of time, and we will remain that way and we will move Forward Together once we settle this debate. With that, mr. Speaker, i urge my colleagues to vote no on the previous question, no on the rule, no on the underlying measures, and i yield back the balance of my time. The gentleman yields back. Gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. Thank you, mr. Speaker. Let me thank my friend, mr. Cole, for his friendship and for the way he conducts himself in this chamber. I know he has Great Respect for this institution. Mr. Speaker, it is impossible for me to fully capture the reverence that i have for the United States capitol. I worked on these grounds starting back when i was a college intern, working for senator George Mcgovern in 1977, no relation. Great last name. But since that time, i have done everything from working as a staffer from the congressman from massachusetts to being elected to the United States house of representatives myself. But that internship will always be a high point of my life. Coming here for the first time, walking these hallowed halls and seeing the glory of american democracy up close. The idea that someone would incite an outofcontrol mob of homegrown fascists and domestic terrorists to desecrate the peoples house fills me with a deep sadness for our country. The contempt these people had for our democracy and our freedom fills me with horror. What donald trump did, encouraging them, fills me with rage. Rage not just on behalf of all of those serving here, but all those who work in these halls. Im talking about the reporters, the cafeteria workers, custodians, clerks, parliamentarians. I go on and on and on. And the staff, the democratic staff, the republican staff, the nonpartisan and support staff, who were terrorized, some hiding under their desks and pair kaeding in their offices. I was in the speakers chair the day this unfolded. And many of the people who were sitting up there now were present at that time. What a horrifying thing for anybody to have to experience. Some of my republican friends have been trying to lecture us about unit here today. Unity after they voted to overturn a free and Fair Election in the United States of america, but also preaching unit and not acknowledging that for four years many of them gave oxygen to Donald Trumps conspiracy theories, to the big lies. They turned the other way in the face of racism and bigotry and how he embraced some of the most intolerant voices in this cou country. They just let it go. I will remind everybody here that words have consequences. Ignoring words that are wrong, also have consequences. What happened would never have happened if everybody stood up in unity and called out the president when he was not telling the American People the truth, when he was pushing a big lie. We will never have unity without truth and also without accountability. This week in congress we saw the best of us and the worst of us. Some of my colleagues have shown that they will defend this president no matter what he does. Theres nothing that he could do that would dissuade them from allout support. But some are standing up and doing the right thing under tremendous pressure. Im proud of that. I honor them for their courage. This impeachment resolution outlines the truth of what trump did. It is time that this congress now holds him accountable for his words and for their devastating impact. Last week we took an oath to protect this nation. As history calls on us today, i pray we all have the moral clarity to uphold it here today. With that, mr. Speaker, i yield back the balance of my time and i move the previous question on the resolution. The question is on order and the previous question on the resolution. Those in fay vor say eye . Those opposed no. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. Pursuant to section 3s, the yays and nays are ordered. Members will record their votes by electronic device. All right. Anderson, were watching history unfold as they go through the procedural steps here in the step towards impeachment this afternoon. President trump is set to become the only american president to be impeached twice. As i said, this is a rule procedural vote right now. They need a simple majority to impeach the president for his role in inciting the deadly siege on the capitol right now, as were listening to that, we know theres only five republicans who said they will join the democrats in doing so. There were no republicans at the last impeachment trial, but there are five now including congresswoman liz cheney, the number three republican in the house. New reporting last night indicates Senate Majority leader Mitch Mcconnell sees this as a way to make a clean break and is furious, full of anger at the president. Lets go to our congressional reporter lauren fox. Where do we stand right now in terms of republicans . In that context, how significant is senator mcconnell, making it clear that he likes the idea . Reporter erin, i think its important to go to what were seeing on the house floor first. Essentially what theyre doing is setting up the rule on this impeachment proceeding. We expect that vote on articles is going to come this afternoon, sometime between 3 00 and 4 00. Like you said, this is historic. It is the first time that a president of the United States has been impeached not once, but twice. That is all going to unfold today. Now, majority leader Mitch Mcconnell, all eyes are on him. We know the senate is in recess. House Democratic Leaders are making it clear theyre not going to wait to send these articles of impeachment over to the senate. Because the senate is in recess, they cant accept them at this point. Restill expect the trial will happen after january 20th when Chuck Schumer becomes the majority leader. Mcconnell telling colleagues behind the scenes that the best and fastest way to rid the gop of trump and his legacy is to move ahead with this impeachment. What does that mean . It doesnt mean mcconnell is going to bring the senate back into session. We dont expect that to happen. What it does mean is mcconnell is making a clear signal to his members vote how you want to vote. This is very different than what we saw last year when the senate was debating impeachment. Essentially what this is mcconnell is not going to be holding conferences with his members trying to discourage them from moving forward to convict president. Look, we are a long way from seeing 17 republicans break with President Trump. We expect, of course, there are some republicans who are open to convicting him, people like senator mitt romney who voted the last time on conviction, also senator pat toomey signaled hes open to moving forward with impeachment. Senator ben sasse has signaled that. Again, thats just a few members. That is far from the twothirds necessary to actually move forward with a conviction. One more thing i would note that i think is very important and we should keep in the back of our heads is it requires twothirds to actually convict trump. If that happens on the senate floor, they could then move with a simple majority vote to expel him from ever holding federal office again. I think that that is a very important thing to keep in the back of our viewers minds. Even though its a high threshold to get there, it is a way of literally ridding President Trump from the Republican Party. He could never hold office, he could never run for president again. Erin. Lauren, thank you very much. As lauren points out, youre looking at the senate there. Here in the house were not seeing a dam break and a whole bunch of republicans get on board. Maybe we will see something. We dont expect it today. As of today we only know five. That is bipartisan. It is very significant. It is not a dam breaking. It want to go to our experts to talk about this. Ja jamie, let me start with you. You know liz cheney. You know how significant it was for her to take this stand. We have five confirmed members. No doubt there will be more. Liz cheney is going to open the door and all of a sudden theyre going to rush through it, we swrnt seen that yet. Why not . I think theyre still scared of donald trump. What i was told this morning by a republican source is that theyre expecting between ten and 20 republicans to vote for impeachment. Thats, again, as you said, bipartisan. Its not a significant percentage of the caucus. The source also told me that members have spoken amongst themselves, these are republicans, and said they are still under tremendous pressure from the white house. A week later, after january 6, they are still being scared and intimidated by donald trump. I want to read you one quote from a member who said that they, quote, fear for their lives and for their familys lives. So there are obviously some republicans in the caucus, the Freedom Caucus who will stand with donald trump to the end and agree with him. But i would say many of these members are simply scared. Youve got Marjorie Taylor green, the qanon supporter saying trump will remain president. You have that terrifying brand of insanity, and then you have others who are going for the other reasons. I want to follow up on that point about fear. First, charlie, as a former congressman, you know a lot of these people. You served with them. How many republicans in the house do you think, when all is said and done and this vote happens today, will vote to impeach the president . I cant give you a precise number. I do accept that number, somewhere between ten and 20, but the events are fast unfolding. I would urge these members to put aside whatever fear they have. The emperor is unmask and has no clothes. Members need to stand up in order to say they shouldnt be worrying about their jobs right now. They should be doing the right thing. They all know that. You just have to do it. This is the time. I hear this argument about moving quickly. Well, you know, when we were attacked by the japanese on 7 december, 1941, the next dayres. Im watching right now National Guardsmen sleeping in the vis store center of the u. S. Capitol right now. The last time there were troops in the capitol like this, stationed there, actually sleeping there, was right when Abraham Lincoln called the troops to defend the capitol. I know that because the first unit to respond was from my hometown of allentown, pennsylvania. This is a very critical moment for these members. They have to risk their jobs in order to save it. This is the time. David, so eloquently put there by congressman dent. Yet they wont, david. So many will not. The ones who will have been eloquent in their comments. Congressman kinzinger, if what the president did, which he was clear, inciting insurrection, if thats not worthy of impeachment, then what is . Congressman meyer said theres zero question on the merits, the vacuum of leadership. The president is simply not qualified to hold his office. Yet others are not moving able to rise to this moment. Well, i still dont think we should be as surprised given the track record republicans have had treating donald trump as one to be feared, as has been said, or someone to treat like a metaphor. I think one of the great mistakes of the trump era are those in media, conservative circles and elsewhere who thought, dont take him literally. Hes an idea, hes representative of some sentiment out there. In fact, he should have been taken literally all along because his supporters last week took him literally, and that mob stormed the capitol as we know. I look to the extraordinary and mature leadership of someone like liz cheney who sums it up, puts the big lie to rest. He said the president assembled the mob, lit the frame. It doesnt happen without the president. What i think is already emerging despite the numbers, the fact that mcconnell is sending the signals he is. The fact that Republican Leaders are not whipping up a vote against impeachment, the fact that the likes of a liz cheney come out and kinzinger for impeachment is already giving this a kind of gloss that the previous effort did not have. This is an attack on another branch of government. It was also an attack on our elections which simply cannot stand. You cant in a mature, functioning democracy have those attacks stand. This element of trump populist republicans are still there. There will be, particularly members of congress who dont have the backbone to stand up to that because they feel like their future politically is tied up into it. Nia, thats the sad and pathetic truth here. One thing that some republicans are using as their crutch here, this is moving too fast, youre bypassing a process. Never mind the analogy to pearl harbor that charlie just gave. Saying the president didnt have a chance to respond. He did. He said i stand by what i said. Everyone has looked and it and said there was nothing wrong with it. I guess he didnt do it on twitter, but he responded. Hes had a chance to respond. Yet theyre looking for any excuse they can. They are. Mainly they want to look away from what they experienced, look away from what they heard from this president both in the weeks leading up to this, the lies and lies he told to his followers, essentially brainwashing them. They took him at his word, that this was a fraudulent election, that people were stealing essentially their birth right, so they stormed the capitol and five people died as a result. Sure, they would rather focus on process, this is going too fast, its unconstitutional, whatever excuses they are making because it means they dont really have to deal with the reality of what happened. The other thing theyre doing is saying, well, instead of doing the impeachment, why dont we do a commission to look into what actually happened. You could actually do both. Likely you will need some sort of commission to look into what happened and also this growing threat of domestic terrorism theyre also not really talking about. I do think somebody like liz cheney is of a different breed than we see with these republicans. A lot of these republicans are trumpists. Theyre not necessarily afraid of trump. They believe in what trump says. Maybe thats 50 of the caucus. Who knows . Others are obviously afraid of the power he still wields. They saw that power visited on them on wednesday. He summoned a mob that came to their jobs and threatened them. So it is the fear is real, both the physical form and also their political futures as well. They are in a real bind here, but its a bind that they put themselves in by binding themselves so closely to donald trump. Its amazing. I dont want to make world war ii comparisons here, but the concept of appeasement. Well, i dont want to be attacked again, i dont want my life to be at risk again. Im going to let it go and access. All of you, please stay with us, as this vote is going on and were awaiting going back to congress, anderson. Multiple sources telling cnn that President Trump is not considering resigning. He will not step down, but he is considering pardoning himself and his children, a blanket pardon in part for their role in the insurrection at the capitol. Cnn White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins joins us now. You have new reporting. Reporter youre right the president still has no intention of resigning. Were also learning something incredibly remarkable, this day that the president is likely to be impeached for the second time, and he has no legal strategy right now. He doesnt even really have a legal team put together. Instead the president has been telling people to talk to attorney Alan Dershowitz who represented the president in the last impeachment trial. Youll remember the speeches on the senate floor that the president has told people what saved him that time around from having a slew of republicans come forward. Thats the only effort made so far. Theres no comprehensive strategy happening behind the scenes. The president is basically invisible today. He doesnt have anything on his public schedule. Right now were not planning to hear from him. We cant hear from the president like we normally do on social media, whether its twitter or facebook or even now youtube. The president has been suspended in some form or fashion. Were now learning a very Interesting Development which is that Jared Kushner is one of several officials who recently intervened in an effort to get the president on some fringe social media platforms since he cant get on the major ones. This is an effort by the personnel chief trying to get the president on sites where extremists go. That was a consideration and under way inside the white house to get the president on those sites so he could at least put his voice out there in some way as were so used to hearing from him like he did on twitter. But Jared Kushner, other aides like dan scavino blocked those efforts so far. Whether or not thats going to change remains to be seen. It speaks to the effort going on behind the scenes given the president has been so angry about the bans from twitter and facebook. Last time they planned a big rally in michigan, they told him the impeachment votes on stage. He bragged about how no republicans had voted to impeach him. Now we have at least five that are willing to do so. The white house is bracing for that list to get bigger. Kaitlan collins, thank you. David chalian is with us. David, its interesting, theyre trying to figure out where else the president can go to have his voice heard. He could go to the Briefing Room. He actually has a Briefing Room in the home where he lives and he could talk to the American People any time he wants. Yeah, he did that yesterday, not in the Briefing Room, but did it when he was leaving the white house, he did it on the ta tarmac. He did speak to the American People and he made clear he thought he did absolutely nothing wrong. He made up stories about people assessing it that way for him and that nobody finds any imperfection with what he said at the rally, just not true. He did go before the American People and chose in doing so not to accept any responsibility whatsoever. Thats why when we were listening to the debate on the house floor, you heard so many republicans make the case about process, that its rushed judgment, happening too fast or its going to divide the country. You heard very few republicans, maybe only dan bishop of North Carolina actually try to make a case against whats being put f forth in the articles of impeachment. Theres one way for congress here that is moving forward to hold President Trump accountable. These other arguments from the republicans are not very much on the substance here. They are more just trying to find a path to be able to stay loyal to him, those choosing to do so with an argument that doesnt hold much water. Laura coates, one of the things weve been hearing from republicans this morning in the house in their speeches is the idea, well, there shouldnt be impeachment, there should be a Bipartisan Commission, equal number of republicans and democrats investigating how this happened in the house,failures, to this. I dont quite understand that argument because it doesnt seem like its an either or thing. You can walk and chew gum, do two things at once. You absolutely can. Nobody is saying you cannot do a commission, Bipartisan Commission to figure out how it is you were able to storm the capitol and have members of Congress Hiding under desks for hours looking to have some support and reinforcement for the Capitol Police. You can do that. You should do that. You should also investigate other things that are in your tool Box Including things like impeachment, including censure, including the 14th amendment and the lesserknown clause that talks about disqualification. These are things in a tool box that is full of different instruments you can use to preserve and advance the separation of powers, checks and balances and the oversight function of congress. What theyre doing, as david talked about, is trying to kick the can down the road. Its very nonsensical to me. If you know someone committed a crime last week and theyre leaving that house next week, do you let them have a pass and not explore anything because you want the new resident in that house to have a chance to make it pretty on his own time . No. You have to hold people accountable. Theres a wide variety. One more note here, its important to understand i heard Kaitlan Collins reporting, remember, people of america, the president can pardon for federal crimes, but what about civil liability which we know could be the result of some of the actions taken as well. The u. S. Attorney in d. C. Saying no stone left unturned. I expect there will be exposure in areas that the president cannot pardon. Now back to erin. Well take a brief break. Republicans crying foul and constitutional infringement over a new security measure that is provoking a temper tantrum inside capitol hill. This is what it is. An fbi waurng about inauguration week violence. Militia extremists flooding washington has members on edge. Five house members saying the president committed an impeachment offense. How many more when these votes start soon will stand up to remove him . Debate starts any moment. Youre watching special live covsignals. New advil dual action with acetaminophen. Ordinary tissues burn when theo blows. So dad bought puffs plus lotion, and rescued his nose. With up to 50 more lotion puffs bring soothing softness and relief. A nose in need deserves puffs indeed. For some of us, our daily journey is a short one when you drive less, you pay less with pay per mile insurance from allstate youve never been in better hands allstate click or call for a quote today im Anderson Cooper. Were watching history unfold on capitol hill. Im erin burnett. President trump is set to become th