WTF Just Happened Today

Wednesday, January 13, 2021

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1/ The House voted to impeach Trump, making him the only American president to be impeached twice. Ten Republicans, including the House’s No. 3 Republican, Liz Cheney, joined with all Democrats in a 232 to 197 vote to impeach Trump for “willful incitement of insurrection” – the gravest charge ever lodged against a sitting president – for his role in a riot by his supporters that left five dead and the Capitol ransacked. “We know that the President of the United States incited this insurrection, this armed rebellion against our common country,” Nancy Pelosi said on the House floor ahead of the vote. “He must go. He is a clear and present danger to the nation that we all love.” (Washington Post / New York Times / CNN / Politico / The Guardian / CNBC / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / CBS News / ABC News / NBC News)

• EARLIER: The House approved a resolution encouraging Pence to use the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office before his term ends on Jan. 20. Pence, however, told Pelosi that he does not believe invoking the 25th Amendment “is in the best interest of our nation.” (NBC News)

• Trump issued a statement calling on Americans to “ease tensions and calm tempers.” The statement was released as the House was debating his impeachment. (NPR / New York Times)

• YouTube suspended Trump’s channel over concern about “ongoing potential for violence.” (New York Times)

• ???? Portrait of a President: Pence Reached His Limit With Trump. It Wasn’t Pretty. “You can either go down in history as a patriot,” Trump told him, “or you can go down in history as a pussy.” (New York Times)

• ???? Portrait of a President: Trump grows defiant as the White House becomes a ghost town. As he becomes the first president to be impeached twice, Trump lacks a robust response for the first time. (NBC News)

• Trump Impeachment 2.0 Live Blogs: