US Democracy under attack – Scenes from the U.S. Capitol siege

The 2021 storming of the United States Capitol was a riot and violent attack against the 117th United States Congress on January 6, 2021, carried out by supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn his defeat in the 2020 presidential election. After attending a rally organized by Trump, thousands of his supporters marched down Pennsylvania Avenue before many stormed the U.S. Capitol in an effort to disrupt the Electoral College vote count during a joint session of Congress and prevent the formalization of President-elect Joe Biden’s election victory. Breaching police perimeters, rioters then occupied, vandalized, looted, and ransacked parts of the building for several hours. The breach led to the evacuation and lockdown of the Capitol building, as well as five deaths.

Called to action by Trump, his supporters gathered in Washington, D.C. on January 5 and 6 in support of his false claim that the 2020 election had been “stolen” from him, and to demand that Vice President Mike Pence and Congress reject Biden’s victory. At a January 6 “Save America March” on the Ellipse, Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Rudy Giuliani, and several members of Congress incited a crowd of Trump supporters. Trump told them to “fight like hell” to “take back our country” but encouraged them to peacefully march over to the Capitol. Giuliani called for “trial by combat” and Trump Jr. threatened the president’s opponents by saying “we’re coming for you”, having called for “total war” in the weeks leading up to the riots. After marching to the Capitol building and overwhelming thinly manned police barricades, many protesters became violent; they assaulted Capitol Police officers and reporters, erected a gallows on the Capitol grounds, chanted “Hang Mike Pence”, and attempted to locate lawmakers to take hostage and harm, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Pence, the latter for refusing to illegally overturn Trump’s electoral loss.

As the rioters entered the Capitol by breaking through doors and windows, Capitol security evacuated the Senate and House of Representatives chambers. Several buildings in the Capitol complex were evacuated, and all were locked down. Rioters broke past interior security to occupy the empty Senate chamber while federal law enforcement officers drew handguns to defend the evacuated House floor. The offices of many members of Congress, including Pelosi, were looted and vandalized. Improvised explosive devices were found on the Capitol grounds, as well as at offices of the Democratic National Committee, the Republican National Committee, and in a nearby vehicle. Five people, including a Capitol Police officer, died from the events, while dozens more were injured.

Trump initially resisted sending the District of Columbia National Guard to quell the mob. In a Twitter video, he called the rioters “great patriots” and told them to “go home in peace” while repeating his election claims. Pressured by his administration, the threat of removal, and numerous resignations, Trump committed to an orderly transition of power in a televised statement. The crowd was dispersed from the Capitol later that evening, and the counting of the electoral votes resumed and was completed in the early morning hours. Pence declared Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris victors and affirmed that they will assume office on January 20. Three days later on January 9, it was reported that Trump told White House aides that he regretted his “orderly transition” statement and that he would not resign from office.

The events were widely condemned by political leaders and organizations in the United States and internationally. Speaking in Congress immediately following their return to the floor, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) called the storming of the Capitol a “failed insurrection” and affirmed that Trump’s claims of election fraud were false. Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called for Trump to be removed from office, through the 25th Amendment or by impeachment. Facebook locked Trump’s accounts and removed posts related to the incident; Twitter initially locked his account for 12 hours before permanently suspending it.

The storming of the Capitol was variously described as treason, insurrection, sedition, domestic terrorism, and an attempt by Trump to carry out a self-coup or coup d’état incited by the President, being the head of the Executive branch of the Federal government of the United States, against the coequal Legislative branch and his own Executive branch Vice President. Opinion polls showed that the large majority of Americans disapproved of the storming of the Capitol and of Trump’s actions leading up to it, although some Republicans supported the attack or did not blame Trump for it. On January 11, 2020, President Trump admitted to senior Republican House and Senate leaders he was partially to blame for the violence that occurred at the US Capitol.

Courtesy : Wikipedia

 

Senate acquits Trump in historic vote

President Donald Trump has been found not guilty in his impeachment trial, ending a bid to remove him from office that bitterly divided the US. The Senate, run by the president’s fellow Republicans, voted to acquit him 52-48 on charges of abuse of power and 53-47 on obstruction of Congress. Democrats charged Mr Trump in December with pressuring Ukraine to smear a potential White House rival. He will now become the first impeached president to seek re-election. Impeachment allows Congress – the part of the US government that writes and brings in laws – to put presidents on trial. It is a rare event and a political process, rather than a criminal one.

In its historic vote on Wednesday, the Senate decided not to remove America’s 45th president from office on charges arising from his dealings with Ukraine. If convicted on either charge, Mr Trump would have had to turn over his office to Vice-President Mike Pence. The Democratic-led House of Representatives approved the articles of impeachment on 18 December. Mr Trump, who is seeking a second four-year term in the 3 November election, always denied wrongdoing. His re-election campaign said in a statement: “President Trump has been totally vindicated and it’s now time to get back to the business of the American people. “The do-nothing Democrats know they can’t beat him, so they had to impeach him.” It said “this terrible ordeal” and “nonsense” was merely a Democratic campaign tactic.

Courtesy : BBC News

Inside Trump’s Senate impeachment trial

The impeachment trial of Donald Trump, the 45th and incumbent president of the United States, began in the U.S. Senate on January 16, 2020, and is planned to conclude on February 5. It is a result of the impeachment of President Trump by the U.S. House of Representatives on December 18, 2019, following an inquiry stage that lasted from September to November 2019. The House passed two articles of impeachment, charging him with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

 After a partisan standoff over trial terms, on January 21, the Republican majority voted down 11 amendments proposed by Democrats, which among other things, requested subpoena authority to introduce testimony from current and former White House officials, and Trump administration documents which were not provided to House investigators. The prosecution made its opening arguments between January 22–24, and the defense, a team of attorneys selected by Trump, made its arguments between January 25–28. This was followed by a period of questions and answers and debate. On January 31, a Senate majority of 51 Republican senators voted against allowing subpoenas to call witnesses or documents. The Senate plans to conclude the trial on February 5, 2020, with a vote on the verdict, which requires a two-thirds majority to convict the president. The penalty for conviction is the removal from office; a separate vote would be required for disqualification from holding office in the future.

 Under the U.S. Constitution, the House has the sole power of impeachment (Article I, Section 2, Clause 5), and after that action has been taken, the Senate has the sole power to hold the trial for all impeachments (Article I, Section 3, Clause 6). Trump is the third U.S. president to face a Senate impeachment trial, after Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton. After the emergence of Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, House leadership came to the conclusion that impeachment might be necessary, and began an inquiry. As this was happening, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was quietly planning a possible trial. On October 8, 2019, he led a meeting on the subject, advising the Republican Senators to craft their responses according to their own political needs. McConnell proposed two potential avenues: state opposition to the House process, or refuse to comment due to being potential jurors.

 As the articles of impeachment moved to a vote before the full House and referral to the Senate for trial, Mitch McConnell met with White House Counsel Pat Cipollone and congressional liaison Eric Ueland, later stating, “Everything I do during this I’m coordinating with the White House counsel. There will be no difference between the president’s position and our position as to how to handle this … I’m going to take my cues from the president’s lawyers.” As part of the “total coordination”, McConnell stated that the president’s lawyers could decide if witnesses would be called for the trial.  McConnell also said there was “no chance” the Senate would convict Trump and remove him from office, while declaring his wish that all Senate Republicans would acquit Trump of both articles of impeachment. On December 14, Judiciary Committee chairman Lindsey Graham stated, “I am trying to give a pretty clear signal I have made up my mind. I’m not trying to pretend to be a fair juror here … I will do everything I can to make [the impeachment trial] die quickly.” Three days later, McConnell stated, “I’m not an impartial juror. This is a political process. There is not anything judicial about it. Impeachment is a political decision.” The Constitution mandates senators to take an impeachment oath, in which by Senate rules is stated, “I will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws, so help me God.

The White House has formally announced its Senate trial counsel as being led by White House Counsel Pat Cipollone and Jay Sekulow, alongside Ken Starr, Alan Dershowitz, Pam Bondi, Jane Raskin, Eric Herschmann, and Robert Ray. Additionally, Michael Purpura and Patrick Philbin will participate in the trial. On January 20, the White House named eight House Republicans to serve on Trump’s defense team: Doug Collins, Mike Johnson, Jim Jordan, Debbie Lesko, Mark Meadows, John Ratcliffe, Elise Stefanik, and Lee Zeldin.

Closing arguments were given by the prosecution and defense teams on February 3. That day, Democratic senator Joe Manchin, who was undecided on the trial vote, proposed the Senate censure the president to prevent his behavior to go “unchecked by the Senate,” though there appeared to be little support for it.[169] On February 5, the Senate plans to vote on whether or not to convict the president on the charges and evidence as they have been presented and debated upon. Under Article I, Section 3, Clause 6 of the Constitution, a two-thirds majority of the Senate (in this case, 67 if all members are present) is required to convict the president. This means at least 20 Republican senators would need to vote with all Democratic (and two independent) senators to convict Trump. Conviction for impeachment cannot be appealed or pardoned; the penalty is removal from office; a separate vote, by simple majority, would be required for disqualification from holding office in the future. If Trump is removed from office, Mike Pence will become president in accordance with the 25th Amendment

Longest government shutdown in U.S. history

In United States politics, a government shutdown occurs when Congress fails to pass sufficient appropriation bills or continuing resolutions to fund federal government operations and agencies, or when the President refuses to sign such bills or resolutions into law. In such cases, the current interpretation of the Antideficiency Act requires that the federal government begin a “shutdown” of the affected activities involving the furlough of non-essential personnel and curtailment of agency activities and services. Essential employees are still required to work without pay until the government reopens, when they may then receive back pay. These employees may include medical professionals in the Veterans Hospitals and TSA agents. Since 1976, when the current budget and appropriations process was enacted, there have been 22 gaps in budget funding, 10 of which led to federal employees being furloughed. Prior to 1990, funding gaps did not always lead to government shutdowns, but since 1990 the practice has been to shut down the government for all funding gaps. Shutdowns have also occurred at the state, territorial, and local levels of government.

During the Ronald Reagan administration, there were a total of eight shutdowns lasting four days or less. Reasons were arguments over the fairness doctrine, a welfare package, a water package, a crime fighting package, foreign aid cuts, MX missile funding, needed spending bills and cuts in defense. A funding gap in 1990 during the George H. W. Bush administration caused a weekend shutdown. During the Bill Clinton administration, there were two full government shutdowns during 1995 and 1996 lasting five and 21 days respectively, based on disagreement on whether to cut government services. During the Barack Obama administration, a 16-day government shutdown occurred during October 2013 over Democrats and Republicans not coming to an agreement for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, known colloquially as Obamacare.  Three funding gaps have occurred during the Donald Trump administration: a three-day shutdown during January 2018; a funding gap that occurred overnight on February 9, 2018, which did not result in workers being furloughed (not included in list below); and an ongoing shutdown that began during December 2018, over proposed funding for a US–Mexico border wall.

Under the separation of powers created by the United States Constitution, the United States Congress has the sole power of the purse and responsibility for appropriating government funds. Like other bills, appropriations must be passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Upon passage of a final version by both houses, they go to the President of the United States. If the President signs the bills, they become law. If instead the President vetoes them, they go back to Congress, where the veto can (in rare instances) be overridden by a two-thirds vote of both houses. Government shutdowns tend to occur when the President and one or both of the chambers of Congress are unable to resolve disagreements over budget allocations before the existing budget cycle ends. Initially, many federal agencies continued to operate during shutdowns, while minimizing all nonessential operations and obligations, believing that Congress did not intend that agencies close down while waiting for the enactment of annual appropriations acts or temporary appropriations.

In 1980 and 1981, however, Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti issued two opinions that more strictly interpreted the Antideficiency Act in the context of a funding gap, along with its exceptions. The opinions stated that, with some exceptions, the head of an agency could avoid violating the Act only by suspending the agency’s operations until the enactment of an appropriation. In the absence of appropriations, exceptions would be allowed only when there is some reasonable and articulable connection between the function to be performed and the safety of human life or the protection of property.[9] However, even after the Civiletti opinions, not all funding gaps led to shutdowns. Of the nine funding gaps between 1980 and 1990, only four led to furloughs. Shutdowns of the type experienced by the United States are nearly impossible in other forms of government. Under the parliamentary systems used in most European nations, the executive must maintain the approval of the legislature to remain in power (confidence and supply), and typically an election is triggered if a budget fails to pass (loss of supply). In other presidential systems, the executive branch typically has the authority to keep the government functioning even without an approved budget.