Trump and January 6: The evidence of a planned political coup
The impeachment brief filed Tuesday by the nine impeachment managers from the House of Representatives makes an irrefutable case that former President Trump is guilty of advocating, preparing, fomenting and inciting the armed attack on Congress on January 6, 2021, with the goal of overturning the results of the 2020 election and maintaining himself in power.
The brief lays out coherently and in considerable detail the efforts by Trump over a period of six months. First, during the election campaign, he repeatedly cast doubt on the legitimacy of the vote if he did not win it. Then, after the polls closed, he denied the results as votes were counted by state officials, many of them Republicans, showing that Democrat Joe Biden had won by a margin of more than seven million in the popular vote, as well as in enough of the key “battleground” states to bring victory in the Electoral College.
Myanmar coup is test for Biden and US role as champion of democracy
By Anne Gearan and John Hudson
February 2, 2021 â 6.52am
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Washington: US President Joe Biden has condemned the military coup in Myanmar, calling the takeover âa direct assault on the countryâs transition to democracyâ - and setting up an early test of whether recent efforts to overturn the US presidential election result will weaken its role as a global champion of free and fair voting.
âIn a democracy, force should never seek to overrule the will of the people or attempt to erase the outcome of a credible election,â Biden said in a statement, suggesting that the United States may impose economic penalties and urging a coordinated international response.
As Biden pleads for unity, Senate Republicans overwhelmingly back Trump in impeachment trial
On Monday evening, Democratic House managers officially presented an article of impeachment to the Senate, formally initiating the trial of Donald Trump on charges of inciting the fascist mob that overran the US Capitol on January 6.
The next day, Senate Republicans made clear their contempt for constitutional norms and democratic rights by voting overwhelmingly to back Trump in a procedural motion put forward by far-right Kentucky Republican Rand Paul.
Trump talks to members of the press [Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian]
Among those voting for Paul’s motion seeking to scuttle the impeachment trial as unconstitutional was Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the object of lavish praise in recent days from President Joe Biden for his supposed fidelity to constitutional principles. In reality, McConnell, then the Senate Majority leader, played a central role in Tru