LIVE: Donald Trump impeached for historic second time over US Capitol riots

Trump impeachment vote LIVE updates: US House impeaches Trump for a historic second time after deadly Capitol riot. Stay tuned for Latest LIVE news

5:00 AM

Trump says he unequivocally condemns violence seen last week

Trump says he unequivocally condemns violence seen last week. He said no true supporter of his could condone political violence and said, “If you do any of these things you are not supporting our movement”.

 

Trump also said he is asking everyone who has supported his agenda should look for ways to ease tensions.

 

4:55 AM

Trump does not mention impeachment in video remarks posted to Twitter

4:30 AM

Parler asks US court to order Amazon to restore service to social media app

Parler, a social media outlet favored by some supporters of US President Donald Trump, urged a court Wednesday to order Amazon.com Inc to put it back online.
 

Amazon had shut down Parler following the Jan. 6 riot by Trump supporters at the Capitol aimed at preventing Democrat Joe Biden from becoming president. Parler filed a lawsuit against Amazon on Jan. 11, accusing it of making an illegal decision to shut it down to benefit Twitter Inc.
 

In its filing, Parler argued that Amazon Web Services breached its contract by cutting it off. Amazon earlier had said it had warned Parler about ugly and threatening language on its site, citing posts with vile language used to describe former first lady Michelle Obama, as well as postings such as "the only good democrat is a dead one. Kill'em all." Parler defended the insults to Obama as hateful but covered by the Constitution. The threat, the respondent said, "has been passed on to our regulator contact for investigation." In its filing Wednesday, Parler said it had removed most problematic posts.
 

A second exhibit showed Parler postings that threatened specific acts of violence against people, some of whom are named while others are described as "liberals" or black, gay, Jewish or transgender.
 

"We explained that given the events at the US Capitol Building and the threats regarding the upcoming inauguration, we had real concern about this content leading to more violence," an unnamed Amazon executive said in a statement included with the exhibits, referring to Biden's inauguration on Jan 20.
 

Parler CEO John Matze said in an interview with Reuters that he was unsure if the app, which had more than 12 million users, will ever go back online. "It could be never," he said.
 

4:29 AM

McConnell says inauguration should be focus before trial

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told Republican senators he’s reached no decision on whether he’ll vote to convict President Donald Trump on the House’s impeachment charge, and he doesn’t plan to call an emergency session to begin the Senate trial before Jan. 19.
 

In a letter to GOP colleagues obtained by Bloomberg, McConnell said regardless of when the Senate trial begins, there won’t be time to reach a verdict before Trump leaves office on Jan. 20.
 

“There has never been any chance that any fair or appropriate trial would conclude before President-elect Biden is sworn in,” McConnell said. “In light of this reality, I believe it will serve our nation best if both 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.”
 

The House voted 232-197 Wednesday to impeach Trump on one article charging him with incitement of insurrection. Ten Republicans joined with all Democrats in favor of impeachment.
 

3:42 AM

No chance of "fair" trial until after Trump leaves office says Senate leader

3:29 AM

Parler CEO says social media app, favored by Trump supporters, may not return

Social media platform Parler, which has gone dark after being cut off by major service providers that accused the app of failing to police violent content, may never get back online, said its CEO John Matze.
 

As a procession of business vendors severed ties with the two-year-old site following the storming of the US Capitol last week, Matze said in an interview with Reuters on Wednesday that he does not know when or if it will return.
 

"It could be never," he said. "We don't know yet." The app said in a legal filing it has over 12 million users.
 

Matze said that Parler was talking to more than one cloud computing service but refused to disclose names, citing the likelihood of harassment for the companies involved. He said the best thing would be if Parler could get back on Amazon.
 

Parler on Monday filed a lawsuit against the company, which Amazon.com Inc said has no merit. Matze said the company was considering suing other vendors but declined to say more.
 

Amazon cut Parler, a platform favored by supporters of US President Donald Trump, off its servers this weekend for failing to effectively moderate violent content. Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google also kicked Parler from their app stores.

 

"It's hard to keep track of how many people are telling us that we can no longer do business with them," said Matze.
 

Amazon on Tuesday filed exhibits that showed it had warned Parler late last year about vile and threatening language on its site before cutting off the platform after the attack on the US Capitol.
 

Matze said Parler had also been booted from online payments service Stripe and from American Express and had lost its Scylla Enterprise database. Parler could not send SMS messages after being banned by Twilio and could not use Slack to contact its "jury" of paid and volunteer users who make Parler content moderation decisions after being ditched by the workplace messaging app.
 

The vendors did not immediately respond to Reuters requests to comment.
 

Matze said that some Parler employees had requested to take a few weeks off work and also said he and staff had received threats and people showing up at their houses.
 

He said there had been no changes to investors in Parler, which gets funding from hedge fund investor Robert Mercer and his daughter Rebekah Mercer.
 

3:26 AM

House impeaches Trump after US Capitol siege; his fate in Senate hands

The House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to make Donald Trump the first US president ever to be impeached twice, formally charging him in his waning days in power with inciting an insurrection just a week after a violent mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol.

 

The vote in the Democratic-controlled House was 232-197 following a deadly assault on American democracy, with 10 Republicans joining the Democrats in backing impeachment.
 

But it appeared unlikely that the extraordinarily swift impeachment would lead to Trump's ouster before the Republican president's four-year term ends and Democratic President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated on Jan. 20. The Senate's Republican majority leader, Mitch McConnell, rejected Democratic calls to convene the Senate in emergency session to begin an immediate impeachment trial, according to a spokesman.
 

The House passed a single article of impeachment - a formal charge - accusing Trump of "incitement of insurrection," focused upon an incendiary speech he delivered to thousands of supporters shortly before the pro-Trump mob rampaged through the Capitol. The mob disrupted the formal certification of Biden's victory over Trump in the Nov. 3 election, sent lawmakers into hiding and left five people dead, including a police officer.

 

During his speech, Trump repeated false claims that the election was fraudulent and exhorted supporters to march on the Capitol. Read more

3:12 AM

Majority of House votes to impeach Trump after US Capitol siege

A majority of the House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to make Donald Trump the first US president ever to be impeached twice, formally charging him in his waning days in power with inciting an insurrection just a week after a violent mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol.
 

With the vote ongoing, a majority of lawmakers in the Democratic-controlled chamber voted in favor of impeachment over an incident that represented a deadly assault on American democracy.
 

But it appeared unlikely that the extraordinarily swift impeachment would lead to Trump's ouster before the Republican president's four-year term ends and Democratic President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated on Jan. 20. The Senate's Republican majority leader, Mitch McConnell, rejected Democratic calls to convene the Senate in emergency session to begin an immediate impeachment trial, according to a spokesman.
 

The House passed a single article of impeachment - a formal charge - accusing Trump of "incitement of insurrection," focused upon an incendiary speech he delivered to thousands of supporters shortly before the pro-Trump mob rampaged through the Capitol. The mob disrupted the formal certification of Biden's victory over Trump in the Nov. 3 election, sent lawmakers into hiding and left five people dead, including a police officer.
 

2:54 AM

Donald Trump impeached, again

2:49 AM

US House begins vote to impeach Trump for a second time

2:19 AM

Wall Steet gains steadily while impeachment hearings get underway

Wall Street's three major indexes were advancing slightly after Wednesday's choppy morning session as investors appeared to be taking a wait-and-see approach while Congress began impeachment hearings.
 

Intel Corp was the S&P's biggest percentage gainer, up more than 7%, after the chipmaker announced the replacement of its Chief Executive Officer Bob Swan with VMware Inc CEO Pat Gelsinger next month.
 

The S&P added to gains later in the afternoon right after the Federal Reserve released its "Beige Book" report. It, however, showed US economic activity increasing modestly in recent weeks as employment dropped in a growing number of Fed districts due to a surge in coronavirus infections.
 

Wall Street's main indexes had hit record highs last week on expectations for a hefty Covid-19 relief package even as an attack on Capitol Hill ramped up political uncertainty.
 

As US House of Representatives gathered to consider a second impeachment for President Donald Trump after the Capitol invasion by his supporters which left five dead, some investors worried that was whether impeachment could delay stimulus or other parts of in-coming President Joe Biden's agenda.
 

"The headlines coming in are causing some near term jitters but it looks like investors are looking past that to the rest of the year," said Shawn Cruz, senior market strategist at TD Ameritrade in Jersey City, New Jersey.
 

While defensive sectors such as utilities and real estate were leading percentage gains among the 11 major S&P sectors, the biggest losers were the more economically sensitive cyclical sectors such as materials and industrials.
 

"Investors are in wait-and-see mode for now ... if you're moving to the sidelines you probably might want to be moving out of cyclicals," said Cruz.
 

By 2:29 p.m. ET (1929 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 72.19 points, or 0.23%, to 31,140.88, the S&P 500 gained 18.68 points, or 0.49%, to 3,819.87 and the Nasdaq Composite added 93.67 points, or 0.72%, to 13,166.11.
 

Eight of the 11 major S&P sectors were gaining ground. After boasting a record closing high in the previous day's session, the Russell 2000 pulled back slightly and gains in the S&P growth index outperformed the value index.
 

2:18 AM

US Chamber expects high-level Chinese visit early in Biden administration

The US Chamber of Commerce sees "every indication" that a high-ranking delegation of Chinese officials will visit Washington early in the administration of President-elect Joe Biden, a top Chamber official said on Wednesday.
 

Myron Brilliant, head of international affairs for the business group, told reporters such a visit could help lay the groundwork for improved relations between the United States and China and progress in an expanded trade agreement.
 

"There are some challenges that we have to overcome in the relationship, and it's not going to be a straight line. It's going to be a bumpy road ahead," he said.

Brilliant gave no details and said he would not speculate on a possible date for the visit.
 

He said the Chamber would urge Biden and his top trade officials to offer some immediate relief to US companies and farmers from nearly $400 billion in tariffs imposed on Chinese imports by the Trump administration.
 

A spokesman for the Biden transition team declined comment on the prospects for a high-level visit by Chinese officials.
 

2:18 AM

YouTube resists pressure to ban Trump channel, sticks with three strikes rule

YouTube is reviewing US President Donald Trump's account the same as any other, meaning he will not be banned unless he violates the service's policies three times in 90 days, said Sundar Pichai, chief executive of Google parent Alphabet Inc, on Wednesday.
 

Trump violated YouTube's rules with an upload on Tuesday, generating one strike. It was among hundreds of political videos YouTube has removed since the United States certified the results of its presidential election, Pichai said.
 

Speaking during the Reuters Next conference, Pichai also said there were good "initial proposals" in the United States and Europe to regulate content moderation by requiring companies have clear policies and let users appeal decisions and modify posts.
 

"Those all to me make sense," he said in an interview with Reuters Editor-in-Chief Stephen Adler. "There are areas where there can be specific regulation based on the type of content, but we have to tackle that narrowly."
 

Pichai said the videos removed from YouTube violated company policies, without specifying which one. YouTube bans videos that incite violence or make false claims about widespread voter fraud.
 

YouTube also blocked Trump for posting for one week, but it has received employee criticism and been threatened with an advertiser boycott for not removing his account altogether.
 

Twitter Inc banned Trump's account after his supporters attacked the Capitol last week. Facebook Inc suspended his account for at least two weeks, though the company's Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg said during Reuters Next that she did not expect his access would be restored.
 

After the seven-day suspension ends, Pichai said YouTube will take future action based on what videos the Trump account posts.
 

2:15 AM

Companies donated $170 million to GOP election objectors: Report

Corporations and industry groups have donated at least $170 million in recent years to Republicans who rejected President-elect Joe Biden's victory over President Donald Trump, according to a new report by a government watchdog group.
 

The report by Public Citizen examines corporate and trade association contributions made since the 2016 election cycle to the 147 members of Congress who, at Trump's behest, last week objected to the certification of November's election.
 

Giving by such trade groups and corporate PACs has come under intense scrutiny in the wake of the deadly insurrection by Trump supporters, who stormed the Capitol to stop the vote.
 

Many companies have since said they will avoid making donations to members of the House and Senate who voted to overturn Biden's win.
 

Other companies have temporarily postponed political giving to both political parties. Read more

2:14 AM

US lawmakers' comments on impeachment of President Donald Trump

Following are comments on the US House of Representatives vote on Wednesday on the impeachment of President Donald Trump. Unless noted otherwise, remarks were made on the House floor.
 

HOUSE SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI, DEMOCRAT OF CALIFORNIA

 

"We cannot escape history. We know that the president of the United States incited this insurrection, this armed rebellion.

... He must go. He is a clear and present danger to the nation that we all love. The president must be impeached, and I believe the president must be convicted by the Senate, a constitutional remedy that will ensure that the republic will be safe from this man who was so resolutely determined to tear down the things that we hold dear and that hold us together. ... Democrats and Republicans, I ask you to search your souls and answer these questions: Is the president's war on democracy in keeping with the Constitution? Were his words and insurrectionary mob a high crime and a misdemeanor? Do we not have a duty to our oath to do all we constitutionally can to protect our nation and our democracy from the appetites and ambitions of a man who has self-evidently demonstrated that he is a vital threat to liberty, to self-government and to the rule of law?"

 

HOUSE MINORITY LEADER KEVIN MCCARTHY, REPUBLICAN OF CALIFORNIA
 

"I believe impeaching the president in such a short time frame would be a mistake. No investigations have been completed and no hearings have been held. What's more, the Senate has confirmed that no trial will begin until after President-elect Biden is sworn in. That doesn't mean the president is free from fault. The president bears responsibility for Wednesday's attack on Congress by mob rioters. He should have immediately denounced the mob when he saw what was unfolding. We must unite once again as Americans. I understand that for some this call for unity may ring hollow. But times like these are when we must remember who we are as Americans and what we as a nation stand for." Read more
 

2:13 AM

Six Republicans back Trump impeachment after storming of US Capitol

After spending four years defending President Donald Trump's behavior, a growing number of Republican lawmakers have said they will vote to impeach him on charges that he incited his supporters to carry out the deadly Jan. 6 attack on Congress.

 

Below are some of the Republicans who said they will vote for impeachment when the House of Representatives votes on Wednesday:
 

LIZ CHENEY
 

The No. 3 House Republican, Cheney was the most senior member of her party to vote against efforts to challenge the Jan. 6 Electoral College results confirming Trump's loss. The daughter of former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney is a rising star in the party.

 

DAN NEWHOUSE
 

Newhouse announced his intention to vote to impeach on the House floor during Wednesday's debate, drawing applause from the roughly two dozen Democrats on the floor.
 

ADAM KINZINGER
 

A frequent Trump critic, Kinzinger said Trump broke his oath of office by inciting his supporters to insurrection and used his position to attack the legislative branch of government.
 

JOHN KATKO
 

Katko was the first member of the House Republican caucus to say he would vote for impeachment.
 

FRED UPTON
 

Upton in November said Trump had shown no proof of his claims that his election defeat was the result of widespread fraud.
 

JAIME HERRERA BEUTLER
 

Herrera Beutler is a moderate from Washington state. "The president's offenses, in my reading of the Constitution, were impeachable based on the indisputable evidence we already have," she said in a statement.
 

2:12 AM

20,000 national guard with lethal weapons being deployed in Washington

The Pentagon is deploying 20,000 National Guards with lethal weapons here, a week ahead of the inauguration, to prevent any violence as experienced on January 6, with intelligence agencies receiving information about move to create violence and chaos across the country.
 

As many as 15,000 have already been deployed in and around the Capitol Hill and another 5,000 would be added around the January 20 inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden. This is now twice the number of American troops in Afghanistan and Iraq combined.
 

As US House of Representatives started the impeachment proceedings against Trump, security was tightened in and around the Capitol Hill.

 

Not only metal detectors were installed, but also eight-feet high metal walls were erected overnight around the Capitol Hill. Read more

Members of the National Guard were deployed at the US Capitol ahead of the House vote

2:11 AM

Trump admin shelves planned investment ban on Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu

The Trump administration has scrapped plans to blacklist Chinese tech giants Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu, four people familiar with the matter said, providing a brief reprieve to Beijing's top corporates amid a broader crackdown by Washington.
 

Senior officials in the administration had been considering plans to add the firms to a list of alleged Chinese military companies, which would have subjected them to a new US investment ban.

 

But Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who is widely seen as taking a more dovish stance on China, pushed back, freezing the plans, the people said. Even so, the Trump administration plans to move forward this week with a bid to add as many as nine other Chinese companies to the list, one of the people said.

The Treasury and State Departments and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Read more


 

2:10 AM

Republican Senate leader McConnell not ruling out voting to convict Trump: office

2:09 AM

US House sets stage for Donald Trump's historic second impeachment

A week after President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the U. S. Capitol, the US House of Representatives gathered on Wednesday to impeach the president for his role in an assault on American democracy that stunned the nation and left five dead.
 

At least five Republicans have said they would join Democrats to impeach Trump for the second time.
 

A vote of the House majority to impeach would trigger a trial in the still Republican-controlled Senate, although it was unclear whether such a trial would take place in time to expel Trump from the White House.
 

Washington is on high alert after the riot and with a week to go in Trump's term. Thousands of National Guard troops were planned to be on hand and some members in fatigues, with weapons at hand, could be seen sleeping inside the Capitol building on Wednesday ahead of the session.
 

Democrats moved forward on an impeachment vote after Vice President Mike Pence rejected an effort to persuade him to invoke the 25th Amendment of the US Constitution to remove Trump.
 

“I do not believe that such a course of action is in the best interest of our Nation or consistent with our Constitution,” Pence said in a letter Tuesday evening to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

 

Despite the letter, the House passed a resolution formally calling on Pence to act. The final vote was 223-205 in favor.
 

As the House prepared for the impeachment vote, there were signs Trump's once-dominant hold on the Republican Party was beginning to ebb. At least five House Republicans, including Liz Cheney, a member of her party’s leadership team, said they would vote for his second impeachment — a prospect no president before Trump has faced. Read more

12:09 AM

US impeachement debate: Top Republican says it is 'mistake' to remove Trump quickly

11:36 PM

Trump will sit in dustbins of American history, says Congressman Ami Bera

Indian-American Congressman Dr Ami Bera said on Wednesday that he will vote to impeach outgoing President Donald Trump, who "will sit in the dustbins" of the American history for his role in inciting insurrection against the great country. "The President will sit in the dustbins of American history for his role in inciting insurrection against our great country. I will vote to impeach President Trump," Dr Bera said on the floor of the US House of Representatives as it started the impeachment proceedings against Trump.

In an stinging attack on Trump, as the House started impeachment proceedings against him, the Indian American Congressman said that January 6th was a dark day in American history. "An armed mob of domestic extremists stormed the United States Capitol the seat of our democracy in an attempt to stop Congress from fulfilling its constitutional duty to certify the results of the presidential election, he said.

Trump, he alleged, laid the foundation for this insurrection. He spent months fomenting distrust in America's democratic process with wild conspiracy theories, used mob-like tactics to try to coerce state legislatures into overturning the votes of millions of Americans, and he encouraged his supporters to march on the Capitol with "strength," Bera said.

11:35 PM

New York City ending business ties with Trump Organization, says Mayor Bill De Blasio

New York City will sever three contracts with the Trump Organization, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Wednesday, accusing outgoing President Donald Trump of inciting the crowds that stormed the U.S. Capitol last week. "The president incited a rebellion against the United States government that killed five people and threatened to derail the constitutional transfer of power," de Blasio said in a statement. "The city of New York will not be associated with those unforgivable acts in any shape, way or form."

The company's contracts to operate a carousel in Manhattan's Central Park, skating rinks and a golf course in the Bronx are worth about $17 million a year, de Blasio said on MSNBC. Cancelling the golf course contracts could take "a number of months", while the others could be severed in 25-30 days, the mayor's office said in a statement. The New York-based Trump Organization did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

On Jan. 6, Trump addressed thousands of supporters, reiterating his unsupported claim that his re-election was stolen. He urged them to march to the Capitol where Congress was affirming President-elect Joe Biden's election by the Electoral College.

10:37 PM

Shripad Naik's health normal, says Goa Medical College

Union Minister Shripad Naik's blood pressure is normal. Urinary and blood parameters are normal. AIIMS team is continuously monitoring his progress along with GMC doctors and said that there is no need to shift him to Delhi: Goa Medical College

10:23 PM

As House deliberates, Senate Republicans mull starting Trump impeachment trial Friday

Republican leadership in the U.S. Senate is mulling the possibility of beginning an impeachment trial of President Donald Trump as early as Friday if the House of Representatives approves one article of impeachment, according to a Reuters.

The internal Senate discussions were unfolding as the Democratic-controlled House sped toward impeaching the president for his role in last week's siege of the U.S. Capitol, when Trump supporters breached the building's security, sent lawmakers fleeing and left five dead in their wake, including a police officer.

10:04 PM

US Senate Republican leadership weighs possible start of impeachment trial

Republican leadership in the US Senate is mulling the possibility of beginning an impeachment trial of President Donald Trump as early as Friday if the House of Representatives approves one article of impeachment, according to Reuters.


The senior Senate Republican aide, who asked not to be identified, stressed that no decisions had yet been made on whether to take that step, Reuters reported.

9:49 PM

Google to pause all political ads a week before Biden inauguration

Alphabet Inc's Google will pause political ads on all of its platforms starting Jan. 14, following last week's violence at the U.S. Capitol, according to an email to advertisers seen by Reuters. The email said the action was taken "following the unprecedented events of the past week and ahead of the upcoming presidential inauguration." It said Google was planning to keep this policy in place until at least Jan. 21, the day after the inauguration.

Google had lifted its temporary ban on election-related advertisements, which came into effect after polls closed in the U.S. presidential election and aimed to curb misinformation and other abuses on its platforms, on Dec. 10. It said it was now extending the limited version of its "Sensitive Event" policy that had been in place since protesters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6. In a statement, Google said it would "temporarily pause all political ads in addition to any ads referencing impeachment, the inauguration, or protests at the U.S. Capitol."

It said there would not be any carve-outs for news or merchandise advertisers. Facebook Inc also paused political ads after the Nov. 3 presidential election, only briefly unfreezing ads around the Georgia Senate runoffs earlier this month. In the email, which was first reported by Axios, Google also reminded advertisers of its policy against ads that promote hate or incite violence: "Given the events of the last week, we are extremely vigilant about enforcing on any ads that might reasonably be construed as crossing this line," it said.

 

9:34 PM

US House charges toward Trump impeachment as some Republicans join effort

A week after President Donald Trump's supporters stormed the US Capitol, the House of Representatives began an emotional debate on Wednesday on impeaching him for his role in an assault on American democracy that stunned the world and left five dead.

 

At least five Republicans have said they would join Democrats in voting for an article of impeachment - a formal charge - of inciting an insurrection, although just seven days remain for a Senate trial to expel Trump from office. If the Democratic-led House approves it, Trump would become the first president impeached twice.

9:27 PM

Major blaze in Kolkata's Bagbazar, 24 fire tenders at spot

A major fire broke out at a slum in Kolkata's Bagbazar area on Wednesday evening, officials said. At least 24 fire tenders were pressed into service as the blaze engulfed several houses in the slum on Kshirode Vidyavinode Avenue beside the Bagbazar Women's College near the Chitpore Lock Gate Bridge, they said. Blasts were heard in the slum which police suspect to be of gas cylinders at the houses on fire, officials said.

There were no reports of any casualty as most of the people were evacuated on time, they said. The blaze also spread to the adjacent Sarada Mayer Bari as the firefighters escorted the saints out, an officer of the fire department said. "The reason for the fire is not yet known. The firemen are fighting it tooth and nail and hopefully, it will soon be under control. We have emptied the entire area. There were several blasts, which could be because of the gas cylinders," a senior officer of the Kolkata Police said.

Locals alleged that firefighters reached the spot at least an hour late, because of which the blaze went out of control. A couple of police vehicles were vandalised, following which a team of the Rapid Action Force (RAF) was deployed to control the irate mob, the officer said.

9:26 PM

Airbnb cancels all Washington reservations during Biden inauguration on Jan 20