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