FROM THE CORRESPONDENT IN WASHINGTON – Mike Pence, report the indiscretions of the American media, keeps open the possibility of having recourse to the 25th amendment of the Constitution, the measure that allows the removal of the president in case he is unable to perform his duties. Number two would be ready to intervene if his boss were to give further signs of instability.
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The opportunity is upon us: tomorrow, Tuesday 12 January, Trump will hold a rally in the town of Alamo, Texas, a few kilometers from the border (not to be confused with Davy Crockett’s Fort Alamo in San Antonio). The incumbent president, banned from virtually all digital platforms, will return to harangue his people, six days after the arsonist rally outside the White House that triggered the assault on Capitol Hill. It will be another day of great tension, with unpredictable developments.
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But the Democrats don’t want to and can’t wait either. In Washington, the party is seething with anger. Currently 195 progressive MPs, out of a total of 222, have signed the request for impeachment summarized in a single article: Incitement to insurrection. In the late American evening, Nancy Pelosi tweaked the schedule in Operation Trump Out of the White House. The Speaker of the House announced that today he will present a motion to formally invite Pence to apply the 25th amendment to the Constitution. Pelosi will wait a day. If the Vice President fails to act, the Speaker will incard the impeachment procedure in the House. Joe Biden officially noted this in the press conference on Friday 9 January: It is up to Congress to decide what to do. The elected president, however, is not convinced that this is the most useful way. Yesterday he tweeted: In 10 days we will move on and rebuild together. Putting Trump on trial in the House and then in the Senate, the reasoning that comes from Biden’s team, would mean nailing the country in a conflict situation.
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The group leader in the Chamber, Jim Clyburn, one of the most influential leaders in the African American community, has spoken out for Biden’s concerns. The Chamber – said in an interview with Fox News– could incardinate the impeachment this week and then transmit the dossier to the Senate in a few months, in order to leave the new president the 100 days necessary to pass the appointments of ministers and set his program.
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There is something unspoken in this strategy. Biden and several moderates are convinced Trump will be indicted by the Attorney General. And delayed impeachment could garner more support even in the conservative camp.
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Republicans are increasingly in trouble. The leader of the senators, Mitch McConnell, has made it known that the Upper House will meet again on January 19, that is, one day before Biden’s inauguration. Almost all parliamentarians are silent. With a few exceptions. Senator Pat Toomey, Pennsylvania joins Alaska colleague Lisa Murkowski: President must resign immediately. Probably two or three other senators, including Mitt Romney, Ben Sasse and possibly Susan Collins, would vote for Trump’s condemnation. Still too few to reach the two-thirds quorum set by the Constitution.
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January 10, 2021 (change January 11, 2021 | 03:05)
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