Is Another Shoe on Capitol Hill About To Drop?

It’s entirely possible we’re not done yet with the Capitol Hill insurrection that took place last Wednesday and that more violence and mayhem from extremists could spill out either before or on Inauguration Day, which is why former secret service agent Jonathan Wackrow said on a major network channel today that we’ve “got to zero in on pre-attack indicators and get a handle on the rioters before the attack begins.” On that same channel, Rep. Hank Johnson, who said he’s “for transferring articles of impeachment to the Senate immediately,” went on to say, “The president tried to wrestle democracy away from the American people,” and is now “inciting massive crowds to converge on January 20th.”

In the meantime, President Donald J. Trump, Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump, Jr., Mo Brooks, and others could be held criminally culpable and politically liable for their roles in helping to incite the riot on the U.S. Capitol, particularly after Trump said during the rally that led up to the riot, “If you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore,” Rudy Giuliani said, “trial by combat,” Don Trump, Jr. said, “Stand up and fight” and “If you don’t fight, you’re going to be a zero, not a hero,” and Rep. Mo Brooks said, “Kick ass.”

Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, who said today on a major network channel that President Trump made the impolitic decision to focus all his efforts on inciting the rioters instead of helping to solve the ongoing pandemic, is forging ahead with impeachment, along with the rest of the caucus. During that same interview, Rep. Maloney shared his horrifying experience of what it felt like having been “on the other side of the door when rioters broke the glass and shot an intruder.”

Earlier today on a major network channel, former U.S. Senator Jeff Flake expressed shock and horror that “the FBI is investigating members of their own constituents who may have stormed the Capitol last Wednesday,” saying, “Those who went along with the president’s falsehoods ought to face consequences,” after explaining it’s high time to “move away from the president after losing so many seats.” And Rep. Chrissy Houlahan voiced her concern that “some members of the National Guard might be sympathizers with the rioters.”

With only nine days left in office, it’s not likely President Trump is going to step down on his own, which is why, today, the House is planning to vote to call on Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment. If he and the cabinet don’t remove President Trump from office, the House vows to fast-track the resolution to impeach him for “incitement of an insurrection.” In addition, the House is asking Senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley to do the right thing and resign for helping to incite the Capitol Hill insurrection. As senior congressional correspondent Manu Raju reported today on CNN, presidential impeachment is in process because the president tried to “change the outcome of the voters” last Wednesday. Speaker Nancy Pelosi held back no words yesterday evening on Sixty Minutes when she said, “It was a violation of the first branch of government,” though a sharp divide continues to linger among Republicans when it comes to removing President Trump from office. Rep. Jim McGovern, Chairman of the House and Rules Committee, who is in favor of sending articles of impeachment to the Senate after the first 100 days of Biden’s presidency, said the president must be impeached to set an example and to reduce the risk of this riot ever happening again, saying, “He must be held to account and pay as actions have consequences,” and “This president is not fit to be in office.”

But make no mistake, removing the president would have grave consequences, not the least of which is the fact that it would prohibit him from receiving a federal government pension. In addition, Stripe and Shopify have canceled Trump’s business accounts; this action hits him where it really hurts — in the piggy bank.

And what are Senators Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz facing? Voices to quit or be expelled are mounting. Rep. Jim McGovern said Hawley and Cruz — who are both up for reelection in 2024 and have their eye on the presidency — “don’t belong in high-ranking positions.” He joins Senators Pat Toomey, Ben Sasse, Mitt Romney and Chris Coons in blaming Hawley and Cruz for helping to incite the riot on Capitol Hill and for objecting to count Joe Biden’s electoral college votes on January 6. Senator Hawley’s book deal with Simon and Schuster was also canceled because of his inflammatory words. Moreover, companies are already pulling donations from the senators for attempting to overturn the election results.

Without a doubt, fooling with our democracy has serious consequences.

In fact, just yesterday evening, Amazon made the decision to take down the social media platform Parler, a major communications tool President Trump was using to talk to his MAGA supporters and to plan last Wednesday’s coup attempt on Capitol Hill, forcing Trump to use other platforms such as Telegram.

Though everyone knows President Trump is not going to be present for the swearing-in ceremony of President-Elect Joe Biden on Inauguration Day, rumor has it he may not even be in Washington.