#GoodMorningDC. Dems and old-guard Republicans will vote to convict Trump in the Senate.
Good Morning DC.
Impeachment express vote concluded last night. 232 to 197 votes for impeaching the President. McCarthy said that Trump “bears responsibility for the attack on Congress by mob rioters,” but he opposed impeachment. The House Minority Leader kept playing along, trying to keep everyone happy, including President Donald Trump, his audience of one.
10 out of 211 Republicans joined Democrats in voting to impeach Trump: Liz Cheney, Tom Rice, Dan Newhouse, Adam Kinzinger, Anthony Gonzalez, Fred Upton, Jaime Herrera Beutler, Peter Meijer, John Katko, and David Valadao.
Although there was plenty of hand-wringing going on inside the beltway with regards to how many Republicans would vote for impeachment, in the end, with the Democrats’ power in numbers, it did not matter. “It’s all about the Senate Trial,” an insider involved told Good Morning DC.
“With Mitch McConnell not calling a special session, even more evidence will be collected and produced in between now and next week, which will make it easier for Republicans to convict Trump and purge him and his stalwart supporters from the party for good.”
Sources familiar with McConnel’s thinking say that he is not calling a special session because he knows that the ongoing police investigation into January 6 will uncover more information.
For old-guard Republicans who want to send Trump packing, the key was that Trump got impeached. “Stay focused on the prize,” they tell each other. The end game Democrats and old-guard Republicans share is to vote Trump out of ever running for public office again.
“The Senate will vote to convict him guilty of the incitement of insurrection. They can do that after he leaves office, which is what they are preparing to do. Mitch is going to stick it to Trump,” a source involved told Good Morning DC.
Mitch McConnell’s statement that he has not made up his mind yet and will rule on the evidence laid out in trial is designed to take the air out of Trump’s base in the face of new possible violent scenarios and leave space for McConnell negotiations with the Democrats.
GOP Senators Mitt Romney, Ben Sasse, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Pat Toomey, John Barrasso, John Thune, Dam Sullivan are willing to vote to convict Trump, sources in the GOP tell Good Morning DC. So far these are 9 out of 17 Republicans who will need to join Democrats in the Senate.
In the meantime, the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump are getting death threats. Good Morning DC has learned that there were other Republicans who wanted to vote to impeach Trump, but they did not because they fear for their families and themselves.
Jim Jordan and Trump’s loyalists are calling for Liz Cheney’s removal. But, Dick Cheney’s daughter is a tough cookie. “Liz had more balls as a woman than most Republican male politicians,” a GOP member commented for Good Morning DC. Only those who do not know Liz are willing to put their money on Trump’s faction. In Adam McKay’s film VICE, Dick Cheney’s biopic is an excellent reminder of what type of a player Liz is.
Lindsey Graham is calling for Joe Biden to reject impeachment and heal the nation.
North Carolina’s senator went from denouncing Trump on the Senate floor to flying with him just five days after on Air Force One to Alamo, Texas.
James Comey went on BBC Newsnight to say that Biden should at least consider pardoning Trump to heal the nation. He also expressed concern over the possibility of the second insurrection erupting in the US saying that the “threat is real.” Considering what’s best for the American nation moving forward, Comey said that it would not be the best decision to prosecute Trump.
With only six days left, what’s next? One scenario that’s being discussed as a possibility is for Trump to “take a day off” of being President on the 19th, giving it to Pence for the day in exchange for a pardon. “POTUS for a day and to pardon Trump would be a good thing for Pence going into 2024,” an insider involved told Good Morning DC.
In the post-impeachment vote evening address, Trump addressed the nation in a televised form posted to the official White House Twitter account. He spoke against violence, and he confirmed the law enforcement findings that the new violence has been planned in the face of Inauguration.
“Trump is scared, I have never seen him like this,” senior White House official told Good Morning DC.
The President’s legal counsel wants him to have as many as possible recorded messages stated on record to condemn violence and insurrection. His defense will play these messages on loop to try to salvage his legacy.
Blood is in the water, and sharks are circling.
Washington insiders think that Trump will pardon himself. “There is no way for that to stand in the court, but as always, he knows best,” a White House official told Good Morning DC.
That’s a wrap for this January 14 Thursday morning. You can’t turn a ‘no’ into a ‘yes’ without a ‘maybe’ first, said Frank Underwood. Mitch McConnell is waiting for the tide to turn. That’s DC for you. New day, new showdown. Stay tuned. More news is coming tomorrow.
