The Latest: Pelosi wants fines for bypassing House security
President Donald Trump speaks during a rally protesting the electoral college certification of Joe Biden as President, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington.[AP Photo/Evan Vucci]
The Latest on the fallout from the attack of the U.S. Capitol by pro-Trump loyalists (all times local):
8:35 p.m.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is proposing fines of up to $10,000 will be imposed on members who fail to abide by the security protocols of the House.
Wednesday’s announcement comes after metal detectors were set up outside the House chamber following last week’s attack on the Capitol. Some Republican lawmakers have expressed their displeasure about the new protocol and have been bypassing the metal detector entirely or walking through and not stopping when they set it off.
Pelosi says, “It is tragic that this step is necessary, but the Chamber of the People’s House must and will be safe.” She says, "Many House Republicans have disrespected our heroes by verbally abusing them and refusing to adhere to basic precautions.”
The fine will be $5,000 for the first offense and $10,000 for the second offense. The Democratic-led House will vote on the rule change.
Earlier in the week, she imposed fines for those who fail to wear face masks during the COVID-19 crisis. Both fines will be deducted directly from members’ salaries.
8:15 p.m.
President-elect Joe Biden says he hopes the Senate can balance a second impeachment trial of President Donald Trump with “other urgent business” as the coronavirus pandemic rages.
In a statement Wednesday evening, Biden did not take a position on whether the Senate should convict Trump after a bipartisan House vote that charged the outgoing president with inciting the violent insurrection on the U.S. Capitol last week as Congress convened to certify Biden’s presidential election.
Biden blamed Trump for the “armed insurrection” by his supporters. The president-elect called it “an unprecedented assault on our democracy … unlike anything we have witnessed in the 244-year history of our nation.”
Besides considering Trump’s fate, Biden noted that the Senate will be considering his nominations for key leadership posts and additional COVID-19 relief measures. Biden is scheduled to deliver a speech Thursday outlining his proposals to spur vaccine distribution and for additional economic aid.
8:10 p.m.
Federal officials say a Texas flower shop owner who posted a video on Facebook bragging about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office being broken into during the U.S. Capitol riot last week has been arrested.
A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office in San Antonio says the FBI arrested Jenny Cudd and another Midland resident on Wednesday.
They appeared in court Wednesday, and each is charged with entering a restricted building and disorderly conduct, both misdemeanors.
Cudd has told The Associated Press that she didn’t personally go into Pelosi’s office and that she didn’t do anything violent or destroy any property.
6:25 p.m.
President Donald Trump has released a video condemning the violent insurrection he fomented at the Capitol last week.
The video came out Wednesday after he was impeached by the House for a record second time, this time with Republican votes. Trump also called on his supporters to remain peaceful amid concerns about additional violence in the days before President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.
Trump says: “I want to be very clear: I unequivocally condemn the violence that we saw last week.” He says, “Like all of you I was shocked and deeply saddened by the calamity” and “no true supporter” of his “could ever endorse political violence.”
Trump also said that he had directed federal agencies “to use all necessary resources to maintain order in Washington, D.C.” over the next week.”
Trump made no reference to becoming the first president in the nation’s history to be impeached twice.
6:10 p.m.
U.S. Rep. Tom Rice of South Carolina was one of only 10 House Republican to join Democrats in voting to impeach President Donald Trump, a stunning reversal from his position just days earlier.
Rice said in a statement Wednesday that he had backed Trump “through thick and thin for four years” but called Trump’s handling of the Capitol violence an ”utter failure” that “is inexcusable.” Rice was among the House Republicans who voted last week to throw out Arizona’s electoral votes, which went to President-elect Joe Biden.
The House voted to impeach Trump on a charge of incitement of an insurrection on a 232-197 vote.
Two days ago, Rice told local media that he didn’t support impeachment, saying Trump had acted recklessly but, with just days remaining in Trump’s term, “Let’s not stoke further division.”
Rice represents South Carolina’s 7th Congressional District, an area near Myrtle Beach that voted heavily for Trump. Rice was recently elected to his fifth term but is among the lesser-known member of South Carolina’s delegation. He had previously been a steadfast supporter of Trump’s.
5:40 p.m.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer vows there will be an impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, even if it’s after he leaves office and Democrat Joe Biden is inaugurated.
Schumer said Wednesday that the trial could begin immediately if Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell agreed to convene an emergency session.
He says if not, the trial will begin after Jan. 19. That’s the quickest the Senate can start under the existing calendar. Biden is set to be sworn in on Jan. 20.
McConnell said earlier Wednesday that there is “no chance” that the Senate will be able to hold a “fair or serious” impeachment trial before Biden is sworn in.
Trump was impeached Wednesday by the House on a charge of incitement of insurrection over the deadly siege of the Capitol.
Schumer said if Trump is convicted, there will be a vote on barring Trump from ever running again for office.
5:20 p.m.
Five-time Olympic swimming medalist Klete Keller has been charged with participating in a deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol after video emerged that appeared to show him among those storming the building last week.
An FBI complaint, citing screenshots from the video, asked that a warrant be issued charging Keller with knowingly entering a restricted building without lawful authority and attempting to impede an official government function. Keller was charged Wednesday.
Thousands of supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol during a joint session of Congress on Jan. 6 while lawmakers met to formalize the victory of President-elect Joe Biden.
The 38-year-old Keller competed in the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics. He captured two golds and a silver as a member of the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, as well as a pair of individual bronzes in the 400 free.
Messages seeing comment left with Keller and his sister, former Olympic swimmer Kalyn Keller, were not immediately returned.
5:15 p.m.
Outgoing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says there is “no chance” that the Senate will be able to hold a “fair or serious” trial on the impeachment of President Donald Trump before President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in next week.
The House voted Wednesday to impeach Trump for the second time, with 10 Republicans joining Democrats to support an article for incitement of insurrection after the president egged on a violent mob of his supporters who ransacked the Capitol last week.
McConnell told his GOP colleagues in a note earlier on Wednesday that he had not yet decided on whether he would vote to convict. After the vote, he said that a trial would last longer than the seven days Trump has in office. McConnell noted that three previous impeachments “have lasted 83 days, 37 days, and 21 days respectively.”
McConnell says he thinks the nation is best served if “Congress and the executive branch spend the next seven days completely focused on facilitating a safe inauguration and an orderly transfer of power to the incoming Biden Administration.”
5 p.m.
Ten Republican House members voted to impeach President Donald Trump over the deadly insurrection at the Capitol. The GOP votes were in sharp contrast to the unanimous support for Trump among House Republicans when he was first impeached by Democrats in 2019.
Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, the third-ranking House Republican, said in a statement, “There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution.”
Nine other House Republicans also supported impeachment: Reps. John Katko of New York; Adam Kinzinger of Illinois; Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio; Fred Upton and Peter Meijer of Michigan; Jaime Herrera Beutler and Dan Newhouse of Washington state; Tom Rice of South Carolina; and David Valadao of California.
All Democrats who voted supported impeachment, while 197 Republicans voted no.
4:50 p.m.
Two police officers from Virginia have been charged in connection with the U.S. Capitol riot.
A statement of facts unsealed Wednesday in federal court said Sgt. Thomas “T.J.” Robertson and officer Jacob Fracker were photographed in the Capitol “making an obscene statement” in front of a statute of John Stark, a Revolutionary War officer famous for writing the state’s “Live Free or Die” motto.
In social media posts, Robertson is quoted as saying: “CNN and the Left are just mad because we actually attacked the government who is the problem and not some random small business."
The statement also describes a now-deleted Facebook post by Fracker containing the caption, “Lol to anyone who’s possibly concerned about the picture of me going around…Sorry I hate freedom? …Not like I did anything illegal…”
Robertson told news outlets that he broke no laws, did not know about the violence and had been escorted into the building by Capitol Police.
The agent writes in the statement, “At that date and time, the United States Capitol was on lockdown and the defendants’ presence inside was without lawful authority."
4:40 p.m.
President Donald Trump was in the Oval Office as the House of Representatives voted to impeach him.
Trump on Wednesday became the first president to be impeached twice. The vote came days after he fomented a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol by telling his supporters to “fight like hell” against election results that he falsely told them were rigged.
Trump, who has been suspended from social media platforms, was expected to respond to the vote in a taped video to be released later Wednesday.
Ten Republicans joined Democrats in voting to impeach the president. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Trump a “clear and present danger” to the country.
The White House was lightly staffed Wednesday as moving boxes crowded offices and hallways as aides prepare for their departure ahead of Inauguration Day, when President-elect Joe Biden takes office.
4:30 p.m.
President Donald Trump has become the first American president to be impeached twice, facing a strong bipartisan rebuke from the House exactly one week after a violent mob of his supporters invaded the U.S. Capitol.
The House voted 232-197 to impeach Trump, with 10 Republicans joining with Democrats to charge him with incitement of insurrection.
The extraordinary second impeachment, just days before Trump is to leave office, comes after the president encouraged his supporters to “fight like hell” against the election results in a speech near the White House.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will now send the article of impeachment to the Senate, though that timing is unclear. Actual removal seems unlikely before the Jan. 20 inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden, as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he will not bring the Senate back before Jan. 19.
Still, McConnell did not rule out voting to convict Trump. In a note to his fellow Republican senators just before the House was to begin voting, he said he is undecided.
4:20 p.m.
A majority of the U.S. House has voted to impeach President Donald Trump for a second time, just a week after he encouraged loyalists to “fight like hell” against election results and a mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol.
The House vote on an article of impeachment for incitement of insurrection was still underway Wednesday, but the Democratic-led House had secured enough votes to impeach Trump. Some Republicans joined Democrats in voting to impeach the president.
During debate before the vote, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked Republicans and Democrats to “search their souls.” Trump is the first American president to be impeached twice.
The impeachment proceedings came one week after a violent, pro-Trump mob breached the Capitol, sending lawmakers into hiding and revealing the fragility of the nation’s history of peaceful transfers of power. Five people died.
Trump has taken no responsibility for the riot.
4:15 p.m.
President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team says it’s taking the threat of violence across the U.S. in the runup to the inauguration “incredibly seriously.”
It says Biden received a briefing Wednesday on preparations for the event from top law enforcement officials.
In a statement, the Biden transition said senior officials at the FBI and the Secret Service and members of his national security team briefed the president-elect on the “threat picture, and on the preparations being put in place to deter and defend against violent disruptions or attacks.” Biden’s team will continue to receive daily briefings on the issue before the Jan. 20 inauguration.
Biden’s team is “focused on laying the groundwork for a smooth handoff in power that will ensure continuous command and control across the homeland security and law enforcement components.”
Security across Washington has increased in the wake of last week’s deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, and a number of protests are planned both in Washington and in state capitols and cities across the U.S. in the coming days.
4:10 p.m.
Newly elected Michigan Rep. Peter Meijer says that “with a heavy heart” he will join some other Republicans in supporting impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump.
Meijer announced he would vote to impeach Trump in a statement released Wednesday as the House was debating the proceedings. He said the vote “isn’t a victory for my party, and isn’t the victory Democrats might think it is.”
But after a violent mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol last week in an effort to overturn Democrat Joe Biden’s win, Meijer says it’s a step “for us to reflect on these events and seek ways to correct them.”
Meijer said impeaching Trump will likely exacerbate division and set precedent. But he ultimately concluded it is a “meaningful” way to hold Trump accountable for the “seriousness” of his actions.
3:50 p.m.
Voting is underway in the House on impeaching President Donald Trump over the violent siege at the U.S. Capitol last week by a mob of his supporters.
Lawmakers are voting Wednesday on impeaching Trump on a single charge, incitement of insurrection. If it passes, Trump would be the first president to be impeached twice.
The impeachment proceedings came one week after a violent, pro-Trump mob breached the Capitol, sending lawmakers into hiding and revealing the fragility of the nation’s history of peaceful transfers of power. Five people died.
The riot has forced a reckoning among some Republicans, who have stood by Trump throughout his presidency and largely allowed him to spread false attacks against the integrity of the 2020 election.
While Trump’s first impeachment in 2019 brought no Republican votes in the House, at least seven House Republicans were breaking with the party to join Democrats this time.
Trump has taken no responsibility for the riot, suggesting it was the drive to oust him rather than his actions around the bloody riot that was dividing the country.
3:25 p.m.
Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts says her husband has tested positive for COVID-19 following last week’s siege and subsequent lockdown at the Capitol.
Pressley said in a statement that Conan Harris received a positive test Tuesday evening. Pressley says she received a negative test result.
Harris had accompanied Pressley to her swearing-in ceremony last week and was with her in the Capitol complex throughout the Jan. 6 attack. Harris has shown mild symptoms and remains in isolation, along with Pressley and staff who were in close contact.
Pressley said Wednesday: “As my colleagues and I sought shelter from the white supremacist mob that violently attacked our seat of government, we were greeted by a different threat — one posed by my callous Republican colleagues who, in this crowded and confined space, repeatedly refused to wear masks when offered.”
3:15 p.m.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said in a note to his fellow Republican senators that he is undecided on whether President Donald Trump should be convicted if the House votes to impeach him.
McConnell said in the letter Wednesday: “While the press has been full of speculation, I have not made a final decision on how I will vote and I intend to listen to the legal arguments when they are presented to the Senate.”
The House is poised to vote to impeach Trump on Wednesday for a second time after he egged on a violent mob of his supporters who invaded the Capitol last week.
2:15 p.m.
President Donald Trump says he opposes violence in a statement read on the House floor as members debate impeaching him for his role in fomenting the violent insurrection at the Capitol last week.
Trump’s message was read Wednesday by GOP Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio.
Trump says in a statement: “In light of reports of more demonstrations, I urge that there must be NO violence, NO lawbreaking and NO vandalism of any kind.” Trump adds: “That is not what I stand for, and it is not what America stands for. I call on ALL Americans to help ease tensions and calm tempers.”
Trump is on the verge of being impeached for a second time in a fast-moving House vote, just a week after he encouraged loyalists to “fight like hell” against election results and then a mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol. Five people died, including a U.S. Capitol Police officer.
The president falsely claimed widespread voter fraud cost him the election won by Democrat Joe Biden.
2:05 p.m.
The number of people arrested on criminal charges related to last week’s riot at the U.S. Capitol has exceeded 100.
The count by The Associated Press resulted from a nationwide review of court records and announcements of arrests issued by law enforcement agencies. The charges range from misdemeanor curfew violations in the District of Columbia to federal felonies related to the assault of law enforcement officers, theft of government property and possessing firearms and explosives.
Federal prosecutors and the FBI said this week they are pursing dozens more suspects who have been identified through photos and videos from the Jan. 6 melee and tips from the public.
Those newly arrested Wednesday include 56-year-old Robert Keith Packer, of Newport News, Virginia. His mugshot appears to match the bearded man photographed at the Capitol wearing a hoodie emblazoned with “Camp Auschwitz” and the phrase “Work Brings Freedom,” a translation of the German phrase from the gates of the Nazi concentration camp where more than 1.1 million Jews and others were murdered during World War II.
2 p.m.
Rep. Dan. Newhouse of Washington has added his name to the short list of Republicans supporting the impeachment of President Donald Trump.
He said Tuesday on the House floor that the article of impeachment is flawed, but he will not use process as an excuse to vote no.
He says, “There is no excuse for President Trump’s actions.”
Newhouse says the president took an oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic. Yet he says when there was a “domestic threat at the door of the Capitol,” the president “did nothing to stop it.”
He says he will vote for impeachment “with a heavy heart and clear resolve.”
1:45 p.m.
House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy says President Donald Trump “bears responsibility” for last week’s storming of the Capitol by his supporters.
McCarthy, a close Trump ally, says the president “should have immediately denounced the mob when he saw what was unfolding.”
But McCarthy also says he believes it would be a mistake to impeach Trump in such a short time frame. Trump leaves office on Jan. 20 when Joe Biden is inaugurated.
The House is set to vote later Wednesday on impeaching Trump, accusing him of rallying the violent mob.
McCarthy says “a vote to impeach would further divide this nation, a vote to impeach will further fan the flames, the partisan division.”
The California lawmaker is calling instead for a fact-finding commission and censure resolution.
1:40 p.m.
The Capitol Police’s inspector general is opening an investigation into the department to look into events surrounding last week’s riot at the Capitol that resulted in five deaths, including a Capitol Police officer.
That’s according to a House aide with knowledge of the investigation. The aide was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonynmity.
Michael A. Bolton is the inspector general and he will lead the review. It will focus on security preparations for the Jan. 6 congressional vote to certify the presidential election, as well as the department’s response.
Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund resigned in the wake of the riot, as did the top security officials in the House and Senate. Assistant Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman is now the acting chief.
The department is facing intense scrutiny after its lackluster response to the riot, poor planning and failure to anticipate the seriousness of the threat drew widespread condemnation.
— By AP writer Matthew Daly
1:20 p.m.
If the House impeaches President Donald Trump, a Senate trial on whether to convict him of inciting insurrection seems all but certain to have to wait until President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated.
That’s the word from a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The spokesman says aides to the Kentucky Republican have told Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s staff that McConnell won’t agree to invoke powers calling senators into emergency session.
That means the Senate almost certainly won’t meet again until Jan. 19. That’s the day before Biden’s inauguration.
The House is set to vote later Wednesday on impeaching Trump, accusing him of rallying a violent mob of supporters to attack the Capitol last week.
1:05 p.m.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is suggesting that President Donald Trump should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for promoting Arab-Israeli peace.
Pompeo’s suggestion, made on his official Twitter account, comes as the House is set to vote later Wednesday on impeaching Trump, accusing him of rallying a violent mob of supporters to attack the Capitol last week.
Trump and many of his allies have made no secret of their desire to see him honored with the Nobel Peace Prize, which is one of the world’s most distinguished awards.
Their campaign on his behalf has raised eyebrows because self-promotion for the prize is considered unseemly.
Pompeo tweeted a photo of Trump waving from a White House balcony with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior officials from the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain and copied the Nobel committee.
The photo was taken in September last year when Israel normalized relations with the UAE and Bahrain under the so-called Abraham Accords, which were negotiated by Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner. Since then Morocco and Sudan have also agreed to recognize Israel.
12:45 p.m.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says President Donald Trump represents a “clear and present danger” to the nation and must be impeached.
Pelosi says in a House speech that members of Congress and the country as a whole “experienced the insurrection that violated the sanctity of the people’s Capitol and attempted to overturn the duly recorded will of the American people″ in the presidential election.
She says “we know that the president of the United States incited this insurrection this armed rebellion against our common country. He must go. He is a clear and present danger to the nation that we all love.″
Pelosi says Trump has “repeatedly lied” about the outcome of the election that he lost to Democrat Joe Biden and Trump has “sowed self-serving doubt about democracy and unconstitutionally sought to influence state officials to repeat this armed rebellion against our country.″
The House is set to vote Wednesday afternoon on impeaching Trump, accusing him of rallying a violent mob of supporters to attack the Capitol last week.
12 p.m.
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina says the impeachment effort being pushed by House Democrats could “do great damage to the institutions of government” and he’s warning his GOP colleagues not to support it.
Graham is a frequent ally of President Donald Trump. Last week, Graham condemned the violent mob of the president’s supporters who invaded the Capitol. After that siege and after Trump had pushed the unconstitutional argument that Vice President Mike Pence could overturn the election results, Graham said to count him out and that “enough is enough.”
Still, Graham has stayed in touch with the increasingly isolated president.
And Graham’s message to fellow Republicans on impeachment is that those “who legitimize this process, you are doing great damage not only to the country, the future of the presidency, but also to the party.”
He says the millions of people who have supported Trump and his agenda “should not be demonized because of the despicable actions of a seditious mob.”
At least five GOP House members have said they will support impeachment, and two Republican senators have called on Trump to resign. Another GOP senator has said he will take a look at the articles of impeachment when they are sent to the Senate.
10:40 a.m.
The debate is heated almost from the start as the House sets up a vote to impeach President Donald Trump.
Democrats and a few Republicans say Trump must be removed immediately after he egged on a violent mob of supporters a week ago who then stormed the Capitol. The insurrection happened as some of Trump’s GOP allies were challenging his election defeat, echoing the president’s false claims that there was widespread fraud in his loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
Most Republicans are saying impeachment is divisive. They’re not mentioning the president.
Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio is one of Trump’s most vocal defenders. Jordan blames Democrats for objecting to previous election results and he’s repeating baseless claims that the 2020 election was rigged.
But Democratic Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts says Democrats haven’t pushed conspiracy theories that a president won in a landslide when he actually lost — which is what happened to Trump.
McGovern is looking back at the deadly Capitol siege and saying “people died because of the big lies that were being told.” And he says that’s enough to merit impeachment.
The House is set to vote Wednesday afternoon on impeaching Trump, accusing him of rallying a violent mob of supporters to attack the Capitol last week.
10:05 a.m.
Democratic lawmakers have opened the historic impeachment effort in the House by saying that every moment Donald Trump is in the White House the nation is in danger.