National Post (National Edition)
President concedes, condemns Capitol riot
Democratic leaders threaten impeachment
WASHINGTON • Donald Trump, facing the prospect of being removed from office before the end of his presidential term, said in a videotaped statement Thursday evening he was dismayed by the violence on Capitol Hill and he was committed to a peaceful transfer of power.
“This moment calls for healing and reconciliation,” Trump said in the twominute video statement posted on Twitter.
Earlier in the day, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Party leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate respectively, demanded Trump’s immediate removal amid outrage at his actions before the Capitol was stormed by a mob of his supporters.
They publicly called on Mike Pence, the vice president, to invoke the 25th amendment, a mechanism that removes a president who is “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.”
Such a move would need to be backed by Pence and a majority of cabinet. There were media reports that some cabinet members were discussing the possibility but it remained unclear how seriously it was being considered.
To back up their ultimatum Pelosi and Schumer warned they were willing to start impeachment, where the Congress removes a president.
In an extraordinary press conference Pelosi dubbed Trump a “dangerous man,” adding: “A threshold was crossed of such magnitude that there is no way this president should be allowed to make any decision.”
Pelosi also called Trump a “complete tool of Putin,” referring to Vladimir Putin, for the damage he had done to U.S. democracy. She likened the scenes to a “banana republic” as “the president of the country turned on the people.”
Trump was impeached and acquitted by the Senate early last year. No U.S. president has ever been impeached twice.
The remarkable developments raise the possibility that Trump could be forced from office even though only 12 days remain before Joe Biden is inaugurated.
“He unleashed an all-out assault on the institutions of our democracy from the outset. And yesterday was but the culmination of that unrelenting attack,” he said at a news conference.
Facebook, a key social media platform for Trump, also said it would ban Trump posts until Biden's Jan. 20 inauguration. Online retailing platform Shopify said it would take down Trump stores.
Dozens of Democrats have called for Trump to be removed through the 25th Amendment or impeachment.
At least two Republicans, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and U.S. Representative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, also said he should go.
But several Republican sources said the 25th Amendment effort was unlikely to go anywhere, given Trump's short time remaining in office.
By Thursday afternoon Pence had made no public comment, but friends close to the vice president made clear how furious he was. Jim Inhofe, the Republican senator from Oklahoma, said: “I've known Mike Pence forever. I've never seen Pence as angry as he was today.”
According to reports from Business Insider and the New York Times, Pence opposes invoking the 25th amendment.
Trump has said he is considering pardoning himself in discussions with aides since the November election, the New York Times reported on Thursday.
The newspaper cited two unidentified people with knowledge of the discussions about what would be an extraordinary use of presidential power.
“In several conversations since Election Day, Mr. Trump has told advisers that he is considering giving himself a pardon and, in other instances, asked whether he should and what the effect would be on him legally and politically, according to the two people,” the Times reported.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The newspaper said it was not clear whether he had discussed the matter since the storming of the U.S. Capitol.
Trump did not make any public appearances on Thursday, issuing an early morning statement that pledged an “orderly transition” ahead of Biden's inauguration.
He has not condemned the extraordinary violence that unfolded after he encouraged supporters on Wednesday to march to the Capitol, despite pleas from senior members of his administration.
“I implore the President and all elected officials to strongly condemn the violence that took place yesterday,” Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said.
On Capitol Hill, new fencing was being installed around the Capitol ahead of Biden's inauguration.
The FBI asked the public for tips identifying people involved in the mayhem in which four people died — one shot by police and three who died of medical emergencies.
Some of the 68 people arrested Wednesday appeared in the Superior Court for the District of Columbia, with most facing initial charges related to unlawful entry or violating a curfew imposed to quell the violence.
However, seditious conspiracy charges as well as rioting and insurrection will be considered, Justice Department officials said on Thursday.
Members of the U.S. Capitol Police will be among those interviewed as witnesses and if evidence emerges that implicated any of those officers as complicit, they will be charged, Acting U.S. Attorney Michael Sherwin told reporters in a news briefing.
“All options around the table,” including charges of seditious conspiracy, rioting and insurrection, Sherwin said.
Some Capitol Police officers were captured on camera posing for selfies with pro-Trump rioters who broke into the building.