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Calls grow for Trump's removal after Capitol riot
By Meg Wagner, Melissa Mahtani, Melissa Macaya, Veronica Rocha, Mike Hayes and Fernando Alfonso III, CNN
Updated 7:38 p.m. ET, January 7, 2021
What you need to know
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19 min agoPelosi and Schumer tried calling Pence to urge him to consider invoking 25th Amendment
From CNN's Phil Mattingly
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tried to reach out to Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday to urge him to consider invoking the 25th Amendment to force President Trump's removal from office.
The Democrats issued a statement detailing their phone call attempt to Pence, whom they were unable to connect with.
Read their statement:
20 min agoTrump's CIA director and intel chief unlikely to resign over response to violence at Capitol
From CNN's Zachary Cohen
CIA director Gina Haspel is not currently expected to resign from her post in response to President Trump’s handling of Wednesday’s violence at the US Capitol, according to a source familiar with the situation, who told CNN there is no indication, at this time, that she intends to step down before President-elect Joe Biden is sworn into office, according to a source familiar with the situation.
Haspel’s relationship with Trump has deteriorated in recent months and CNN previously reported that she was on thin ice as the President has considered firing her during his final months in office. But the source told CNN that at this time, it is unlikely Haspel will resign, the source said.
While the situation involving Trump’s Cabinet continues to evolve after the resignation of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, the source told CNN that, for now, Haspel intends to stay in her role to help oversee the CIA’s ongoing operations and a smooth transition process. The CIA declined to comment on Haspel’s plans.
Some background: There have been calls for other Cabinet members to follow Chao’s lead amid bipartisan criticism of Trump’s response to the violence. But some of Trump’s top national security officials have received calls within the last 24 hours urging them not to resign following his widely panned response to the mob attack by his supporters on the US Capitol.
The message: it is important they stay on for the continuity of government in the national security realm.
Haspel has kept a relatively low profile since the election. Sources have consistently said Haspel prefers to remain as CIA director until Inauguration Day and step down on her own terms when the new administration takes over.
As of Thursday, it appears Trump’s Director of National Intelligence, John Ratcliffe, is also unlikely to resign.
At this stage, it remains unclear if Ratcliffe has been involved in any discussions about invoking the 25th Amendment but a source familiar with the issue, told CNN Trump’s intelligence chief is well aware that a growing list of Congressional lawmakers are calling on the Cabinet to take that step.
1 hr 6 min agoUS Capitol Police officer has died following riot at Capitol
From CNN's Kristin Wilson, Evan Perez and David Brooks
A US Capitol Police officer has died from events stemming from Wednesday's riot at the Capitol, three sources confirmed to CNN.
The police officer is now the fifth person to die as a result of the day's violence. One woman was shot and killed by Capitol Police as the crowd breached the building and three others suffered medical emergencies that proved fatal.
Rioters on Wednesday breached the Capitol building and the Senate chamber, ransacked the offices of Pelosi and other Capitol offices, and a laptop was stolen from the office of Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley.
1 hr 9 min agoBiden has no interest in opening impeachment proceedings
From CNN's Jeff Zeleny
President-elect Joe Biden speaks during an event at The Queen theater on January 7 in Wilmington, Delaware. Susan Walsh/AP
President-elect Joe Biden has no appetite for opening an impeachment proceeding against President Trump, people familiar with the matter say Thursday, as he prefers to keep his focus on taking office in 13 days.
Sources who told CNN earlier Thursday he had no intention of weighing in on the 25th Amendment talks, they said he feels the same about impeachment.
It’s unclear whether Biden will weigh in himself – he declined to answer questions today, but might Friday – but he has made his views known that he doesn’t favor impeachment.
“Impeachment would not help unify this country,” a person close to Biden said, who added that “this is a matter to be decided by the Congress.”
57 min agoColin Powell dismisses calls to remove Trump as a "distraction"
From CNN's Josiah Ryan
Former Republican Secretary of State Colin Powell speaks with CNN on Thursday, January 7. CNN
Former Republican Secretary of State Colin Powell dismissed growing calls for invoking 25th Amendment or an impeachment of President Trump as a "distraction," saying lawmakers should instead be focused on a successful transition.
"It really doesn't excite me," said the retired four-star general, when asked about removing Trump. "We've got about 13 days to go? Nothing will really happen in that 13-day period. Let's let it play out."
Powell suggested the danger Trump presents to the country would mitigate itself on Jan. 20, when President-elect Joe Biden assumes the presidency.
"I would not detour in different pieces of the Constitution we think would be helpful," he told CNN's Wolf Blitzer. "I just want him out... he's going to be out."
"I think it would be a distraction right now," he added.
Despite his opposition to removing Trump by a constitutional mechanism, Powell still suggested he believes Trump is unfit to occupy the Oval Office.
"You can't not have concerns about his mental fitness when you see the way he behaves, the way he acts and the things he does," said Powell.
Calls grow for Trump's removal after Capitol riot
By Meg Wagner, Melissa Mahtani, Melissa Macaya, Veronica Rocha, Mike Hayes and Fernando Alfonso III, CNN
Updated 7:38 p.m. ET, January 7, 2021
What you need to know
- Congress affirmed President-elect Joe Biden's 2020 election victory after a pro-Trump mob assaulted the Capitol yesterday. At least four people are dead.
- Federal prosecutors are looking into everyone involved in the unrest, including the role President Trump played in inciting the crowd.
- A growing number of Republican leaders and Cabinet officials told CNN they believe Trump should be removed from office before Jan. 20.
- All
- 25th Amendment
- Investigation
- Resignations
- Talk To Us
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19 min agoPelosi and Schumer tried calling Pence to urge him to consider invoking 25th Amendment
From CNN's Phil Mattingly
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tried to reach out to Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday to urge him to consider invoking the 25th Amendment to force President Trump's removal from office.
The Democrats issued a statement detailing their phone call attempt to Pence, whom they were unable to connect with.
Read their statement:
20 min agoTrump's CIA director and intel chief unlikely to resign over response to violence at Capitol
From CNN's Zachary Cohen
CIA director Gina Haspel is not currently expected to resign from her post in response to President Trump’s handling of Wednesday’s violence at the US Capitol, according to a source familiar with the situation, who told CNN there is no indication, at this time, that she intends to step down before President-elect Joe Biden is sworn into office, according to a source familiar with the situation.
Haspel’s relationship with Trump has deteriorated in recent months and CNN previously reported that she was on thin ice as the President has considered firing her during his final months in office. But the source told CNN that at this time, it is unlikely Haspel will resign, the source said.
While the situation involving Trump’s Cabinet continues to evolve after the resignation of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, the source told CNN that, for now, Haspel intends to stay in her role to help oversee the CIA’s ongoing operations and a smooth transition process. The CIA declined to comment on Haspel’s plans.
Some background: There have been calls for other Cabinet members to follow Chao’s lead amid bipartisan criticism of Trump’s response to the violence. But some of Trump’s top national security officials have received calls within the last 24 hours urging them not to resign following his widely panned response to the mob attack by his supporters on the US Capitol.
The message: it is important they stay on for the continuity of government in the national security realm.
Haspel has kept a relatively low profile since the election. Sources have consistently said Haspel prefers to remain as CIA director until Inauguration Day and step down on her own terms when the new administration takes over.
As of Thursday, it appears Trump’s Director of National Intelligence, John Ratcliffe, is also unlikely to resign.
At this stage, it remains unclear if Ratcliffe has been involved in any discussions about invoking the 25th Amendment but a source familiar with the issue, told CNN Trump’s intelligence chief is well aware that a growing list of Congressional lawmakers are calling on the Cabinet to take that step.
1 hr 6 min agoUS Capitol Police officer has died following riot at Capitol
From CNN's Kristin Wilson, Evan Perez and David Brooks
A US Capitol Police officer has died from events stemming from Wednesday's riot at the Capitol, three sources confirmed to CNN.
The police officer is now the fifth person to die as a result of the day's violence. One woman was shot and killed by Capitol Police as the crowd breached the building and three others suffered medical emergencies that proved fatal.
Rioters on Wednesday breached the Capitol building and the Senate chamber, ransacked the offices of Pelosi and other Capitol offices, and a laptop was stolen from the office of Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley.
1 hr 9 min agoBiden has no interest in opening impeachment proceedings
From CNN's Jeff Zeleny
President-elect Joe Biden has no appetite for opening an impeachment proceeding against President Trump, people familiar with the matter say Thursday, as he prefers to keep his focus on taking office in 13 days.
Sources who told CNN earlier Thursday he had no intention of weighing in on the 25th Amendment talks, they said he feels the same about impeachment.
It’s unclear whether Biden will weigh in himself – he declined to answer questions today, but might Friday – but he has made his views known that he doesn’t favor impeachment.
“Impeachment would not help unify this country,” a person close to Biden said, who added that “this is a matter to be decided by the Congress.”
57 min agoColin Powell dismisses calls to remove Trump as a "distraction"
From CNN's Josiah Ryan
Former Republican Secretary of State Colin Powell dismissed growing calls for invoking 25th Amendment or an impeachment of President Trump as a "distraction," saying lawmakers should instead be focused on a successful transition.
"It really doesn't excite me," said the retired four-star general, when asked about removing Trump. "We've got about 13 days to go? Nothing will really happen in that 13-day period. Let's let it play out."
Powell suggested the danger Trump presents to the country would mitigate itself on Jan. 20, when President-elect Joe Biden assumes the presidency.
"I would not detour in different pieces of the Constitution we think would be helpful," he told CNN's Wolf Blitzer. "I just want him out... he's going to be out."
"I think it would be a distraction right now," he added.
Despite his opposition to removing Trump by a constitutional mechanism, Powell still suggested he believes Trump is unfit to occupy the Oval Office.
"You can't not have concerns about his mental fitness when you see the way he behaves, the way he acts and the things he does," said Powell.
