Democrats explore various punishments for Capitol attack

Pelosi opens door to expulsions of GOP members for supporting insurrection

New video shows Trump supporters brutally attacking police. Democrats to talk strategy about censure, expulsion, and impeachment. After one week in office, a new Republican deletes his Twitter account. This is "Regular Order" for January 11, 2021.

IMPEACHMENT WEEK. House Democrats today will force the GOP to block a bill to make Vice President Pence use the 25th Amendment to boot out President Trump over the U.S. Capitol attack. On Tuesday, the House will vote on that bill. Wednesday could be House votes on impeachment. As of Sunday night, 210 Democrats had signed on to one impeachment resolution. Democrats will meet virtually later today.

• 14TH AMENDMENT, SECTION 3. What caught my eye in the latest letter to Democrats from Speaker Pelosi? She's taking ideas about Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. That bars anyone from serving in Congress if they 'have engaged in insurrection or rebellion.' Some Democrats want to try to expel GOP lawmakers who regularly spread false election fraud claims. The idea is gaining support.

Cori Bush @CoriBush

Tomorrow, I’m introducing my resolution to expel the members of Congress who tried to overturn the election and incited a white supremacist coup attempt that has left people dead. They have violated the 14th Amendment. We can’t have unity without accountability.

NEW VIDEOS OF CAPITOL ATTACK. President Trump has always proclaimed his strong support for the police. But the video emerging from the U.S. Capitol attack show his supporters savagely and repeatedly beating police officers. The entrance in these two videos is just behind the stand built for Joe Biden's inauguration, at a door which was closed to the public after the Nine Eleven attacks. Watch the videos.

Ryan Lizza @RyanLizza

This is closeup footage of what becomes like a war zone at the entrance to the Capitol with Trump rioters attacking police with a hockey stick, a baseball bat, wooden furniture looted from the building, and shining a high-powered light in their eyes. 1/2

Caleb Hull (I'm With the CCP Don't Ban Me) @CalebJHull

Man, this is hard to watch. This video appears to show a police officer being dragged down the stairs face down while Trump supporters beat him to a pulp, even using American flags. Unclear if this was Officer Sicknick but this is deeply disturbing.

SENATE CALENDAR HINTS AGAINST IMPEACHMENT. Without boring you with the parliamentary procedure, the earliest the Senate could likely start work on an impeachment trial would be January 19. That's the day before the President leaves office. So, it won't surprise me if there is a House vote - but no Senate impeachment trial for months. That would give more time for Democrats to gather evidence about the Capitol attack. And a censure resolution is also possible as well.

• TRUMP NOTES SLAIN OFFICER. President Trump on Sunday finally issued an order for flags to be flown at half-staff for police officer Brian Sicknick, who died in the Capitol attack. In a statement, the White House honored both Sicknick and fellow USCP officer Howard Liebengood - who reportedly committed suicide this weekend. But there was no direct White House comment about Wednesday’s attack by a pro-Trump mob.

BUSINESS FROWNS ON TRUMP. Business interests continue to give the thumbs down to the GOP effort to overturn President Trump's election loss. Blue Cross Blue Shield and Marriott International said this weekend that they will suspend campaign donations to Republicans who voted to overturn the 2020 election results. Last week, the National Association of Manufacturers urged President Trump's removal.

DELETE YOUR ACCOUNT. An hour after I pointed out a pair of weekend tweets by Rep. Barry Moore (R-AL) about the Capitol attack, the GOP lawmaker deleted his personal Twitter account. In one tweet, Moore mocked the arrests of Trump supporters who ransacked the Capitol, saying it didn't compare to election fraud allegations - citing cities with lots of black voters. In another tweet, Moore introduced a racial angle to the shooting death of a Trump supporter just off the House floor.

Jamie Dupree @jamiedupree

Moore also made this tweet on Saturday night about the US Capitol Police officer who shot and killed a woman as she tried to get into a lobby off the House floor, where lawmakers were sheltering from the attack by Trump supporters.

THE MILITARY REACTION. There’s been a lot of questions about how the military reacted - or didn’t react - when urgent calls for help came from Capitol Hill. Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO) released notes of a Sunday call he had with the Army Secretary. It gives some interesting details, as Crow says the Pentagon is pursuing about two dozen cases of military service members under investigation for being involved in the riots.

THE BATTLE OF CAPITOL HILL. This last item is a little longer than usual. I've worked at the Capitol for almost 35 years. This attack on the Capitol was very personal. I know the hallways. I’ve watched the videos. I've seen the descriptions. Let's walk through a few things. First, watch this unbelievable video from reporter Igor Bobic of the Huffington Post. These are the steps that I take every day to walk up to the press gallery on the Senate side of the Capitol. One lonely officer is down on the first floor, trying to hold off the mob.

Igor Bobic @igorbobic

Here’s the scary moment when protesters initially got into the building from the first floor and made their way outside Senate chamber.

Somehow that heroic police officer lured the marchers away from the direct entrance to the Senate floor, while Senators and staffers were urgently seeking refuge. But with the mob just outside the doors, Senators stayed on the floor for a few agonizing minutes, before being rushed to a secure room. They passed right by rioters in the hall. “The police held the line,” one person told me.

Jamie Dupree @jamiedupree

Wide shot of the Senate chamber. Police officer standing by the Chair.

Across the Capitol, lawmakers were also sheltering on the House floor. One female rioter would soon be shot dead by police. Both inside and outside, Trump supporters were battling with police. This is video from the area known as "The Crypt," which is just underneath the Rotunda, in the middle of the building.

Jimmy @JimmySecUK

Pro-Trump rioters inside the Capitol building, sparring with Capitol Police.

I don't say this to be flip. The nation barely avoided an absolute catastrophe. There could have been hundreds of lawmakers held hostage, or even harmed and killed. Don't let anyone tell you that what happened last Wednesday in the Capitol was harmless. It was timed to stop the counting of the electoral votes. It was timed to stop Congress from confirming the victory of President-Elect Joe Biden.

UPCOMING LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:

House meets at 11 am.

Senate meets Tuesday at 12:30 pm.

President Trump is in Washington.

Follow me on Twitter @jamiedupree

Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com

See the archive at http://jamiedupree.substack.com

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