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Trump confirms he 'will not be going to' Biden's inauguration
President Donald Trump confirmed he won't attend President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration on January 20.
The move undercuts his message just a day earlier that he would work to ensure a "smooth, orderly and seamless transition of power" to his successor.
"To all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th," he said in a tweet Friday morning US time (2.44am Saturday AEDT).
RELATED: Donald Trump admits defeat but stops short of conceding election
He will be the first incumbent president since Andrew Johnson in 1869 to skip his successors inauguration.
Traditionally, the incoming and outgoing presidents ride to the US Capitol together for the ceremony, as a symbol of the nation's peaceful transition.
Trump offered no clues as to how he would spent his final hours in office.
READ MORE: US faces 13 potentially perilous final days of Donald Trump's presidency despite transition pledge
Trump's comments come two days after a violent mob of his supporters occupied the Capitol for several hours as lawmakers were tallying the electoral votes that certified Biden's victory.
Biden will become president at noon on January 20 regardless of Trump's plans.
The move had been widely expected, as Trump for months falsely claimed victory in the election and promulgated baseless claims of voter fraud. His own administration said the election had been fairly run.
Vice President Mike Pence is still expected to attend the inauguration.
Biden's transition team had no immediate comment on Trump's announcement. But Jen Psaki, the president-elect's incoming White House press secretary, said last month that whether Trump attended the inauguration was not top of mind for Biden.
– Reported with Associated Press
12 Days Left in Office Trump May Face Impeachment for Causing Capitol Invasion
(CNN) Washington DC- Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her leadership team are considering a lightning-quick impeachment process if Vice President Mike Pence and the Cabinet refuse to take unprecedented steps to remove President Donald Trump from office in less than two weeks’ time, according to multiple Democratic sources.
The stunning intervention to remove a sitting president would need significant bipartisan support to succeed in the Senate, something Democrats don’t have yet. But Pelosi has bluntly warned the White House that the House would impeach Trump for “seditious acts” in inciting riots at the Capitol on Wednesday.
“This is urgent — this is an emergency of the highest magnitude,” the California Democrat told reporters Thursday. “My phone has been exploding with ‘impeach, impeach, impeach.’ “
Pelosi and her leadership team spoke Thursday night about whether to hold a quick impeachment vote, and the overwhelming sentiment was to move ahead, according to multiple sources. While there were some dissenters concerned that the move could be perceived as an overreach and turn off Trump supporters in their districts, the view among most top Democrats — including Pelosi — is that Trump should be held accountable for his actions.
The full Democratic caucus will speak Friday at 12 p.m. ET. Moving ahead with impeachment, of course, doesn’t mean Congress would be able to remove Trump from office. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell could let the clock run out and not hold an impeachment trial in his chamber given that President-elect Joe Biden will be President on January 20.
McConnell, sources said, hasn’t spoken to Trump for weeks — fallout from the Kentucky Republican acknowledging Biden won the presidency in mid-December.
For his part, Biden has no appetite for opening an impeachment proceeding, people familiar with the matter said Thursday night, as he prefers to keep his focus on taking office in less than two weeks. “Impeachment would not help unify this country,” a person close to Biden said, who added that “this is a matter to be decided by the Congress.” Sources told CNN earlier Thursday the President-elect had no intention of weighing in on the 25th Amendment talks either.
If Pence and the Cabinet don’t invoke the 25th Amendment, Democrats have been discussing a process that would allow them to bypass the committee proceedings and move articles of impeachment directly to the floor within two days.
The discussions are expected to intensify Friday, when House Democrats hold their first full-caucus call since the attack on the US Capitol as a growing number of members press for impeachment.
This call, scheduled for noon ET, will be an important moment in terms of what’s going to transpire over the next two weeks. While House Democrat after House Democrat has backed a second impeachment, the caucus itself hasn’t gathered since the dramatic events transpired. The call will be the first opportunity for lawmakers to talk to leadership about the impeachment issue, the 25th Amendment issue and significant security concerns related to the Capitol.
Indeed, given the tight timeline, it isn’t possible to launch a formal impeachment inquiry like in 2019, an arduous undertaking that took several months.
But one option Democrats are exploring: offering articles of impeachment through a privileged resolution. That would allow the chamber to move ahead with a vote to impeach Trump within two days, skip hearings, approving an organizing resolution, an investigation and moving straight to a vote.
Top Democrats in both chambers seem to embrace this approach.
“We don’t need a lengthy debate,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Wednesday.
The first step is to draft the resolution, something that multiple Democratic members are now circulating.
The one with the most traction is being drafted by Reps. David Cicilline of Rhode Island, Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Ted Lieu of California — three members of the House Judiciary Committee. Others have proposed options as well, including Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, a member of the House Judiciary Committee and part of his party’s leadership, reiterated to CNN that the preferred route is for the Trump administration to invoke the 25th Amendment.
“The sooner the better,” Jeffries said of forcing Trump out of office. “It’s a weighty constitutional matter to go down the road of impeachment, ultimately some form of a trial, conviction or removal.”
Any member could offer a privileged resolution, but it has to be when the House is in session. It cannot be a brief pro forma session when no legislative business is conducted. Right now, the House is not scheduled to be back until January 19, but House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, has not ruled out bringing the House back into session next week.
What’s the 25th Amendment and how does it work?
Once the resolution is offered, it would automatically be put up for a vote within 48 hours. With majority support, the House would impeach Trump, sending it to the Senate for a trial about whether to remove him from office.
But with so little time left in Trump’s presidency, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell would essentially be able to run out the clock and avoid a Senate impeachment trial in Trump’s remaining few days in office, according to Hill sources.
McConnell declined to comment on the Kentucky Republican’s views on invoking the 25th Amendment.
Impeachment wasn’t the preferred route going into the day, nor was it considered a likely option for Democratic leaders. But the momentum of members getting behind it creates momentum for something leaders weren’t initially planning to pursue.
Given the tight timeline and volatile dynamics, at this point nothing is a sure thing and there’s a sense that the dust needs to settle a bit before an actual course of action is laid out.
It’s possible for Congress could take steps to make sure that if Trump were impeached, the Senate could make it so he could never be elected to office again. But that still would require the support of two-thirds of the Senate to make that happen.
This story has been updated with additional reporting and developments.
CNN’s Jeff Zeleny contributed to this report.
The post 12 Days Left in Office Trump May Face Impeachment for Causing Capitol Invasion appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.
Queensland now cut off from WA
Western Australia reinstated its hard border controls with Queensland at 12.01am (2am AEST) today.
Queensland is now categorised as a medium-risk state, after the recent case of the mutant COVID-19 strain found in Brisbane, meaning travel into WA from the Sunshine State will no longer be permitted.
There are some exemptions to the ban, which are the same as it currently stands for NSW and Victoria.
Live updates: Brisbane to go into three-day lockdown
Premier Mark McGowan announced the decision yesterday, following a National Cabinet meeting.
"The case of the hotel quarantine cleaner in Brisbane is extremely concerning," Mr McGowan said.
"This is a dangerous situation, not only for Brisbane, but for the whole of Australia," he said.
Anyone who arrived into WA from Queensland — previously listed as a very low-risk state — since January 2, will be required to get tested and complete 14 days of self-isolation.
Since January 2, 7500 passengers have arrived in WA.
It is advised these arrivals be tested by Tuesday.
Nine flights from Queensland are expected to arrive in Perth today.
All passengers on these flights will be granted entry into the state and will need to be tested, as well as immediately go into self-isolation for 14 days and be tested again on day 11.
"Return to Queensland, unless you have personal circumstances that require you to stay in WA," Mr McGowan said to any Queenslanders currently in the state.
"We need to take this course of action to protect Western Australians,
"We're not just dealing with COVID-19 of 2020, this is a whole new beast."
If you have recently arrived in WA from Queensland you are free to depart the state today.
The Western Australia community has been COVID-free for 272 days.
"All the way along, throughout the pandemic, out best defence has been our border controls,
"2021 looks a lot like 2020 right now."
Mr McGowan advised all WA residents against travelling outside of the state amid the evolving situation.
Following recent advice from the AHPPC, which includes limiting international arrivals nationally, Western Australia will be capping its international arrivals at 512 a week, down from 1025.
Changes to hotel quarantine workers include daily saliva tests for all workers on top of the weekly testing regime already in place.
House Democrats could vote on Trump impeachment mid-next week
House Democrats are furious at President Donald Trump and are quickly building momentum to move on impeachment of Trump in the next several days — as soon as the middle of next week.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her leadership team ran through their options Thursday night (local time) and the overwhelming sentiment was impeachment was the way forward, according to multiple sources.
While there were some dissenters concerned that the move could be perceived as an overreach and turn off Trump supporters in their districts, the view among most top Democrats, including Pelosi, is that Trump should be held accountable for his actions.
READ MORE: What is the 25th amendment? The backdoor method for removing a president
This process is not going to be anything like 2019. This would be fast: No investigations and no weeks-long hearings. The most likely scenario is that a member brings a privileged resolution to the House floor and offers it during session.
This requires Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, to bring members back, which folks expect to be announced sometime after the 12pm ET caucus call.
RELATED: Second Trump cabinet member quits in protest of president's rhetoric
Once they do, it kicks off the process for a vote in a matter of days. A simple majority is enough to impeach the President.
If they do this, it would make Trump the first President to be impeached twice.
That would not mean he would be removed from office, which would require the Senate to vote to do so.
House Judiciary Committee aides are consulting with the authors of one of the Democratic impeachment resolutions — Reps. David Cicilline, Jamie Raskin and Ted Lieu — in order to prepare for moving quickly to a potential impeachment vote on the House floor next week, according to three sources.
The aides are helping to edit and fine-tune the impeachment resolution, the sources said, which includes an article of impeachment for abuse of power, charging that Trump incited the insurrection at the Capitol.
The impeachment resolution introduced Thursday also includes Trump's call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, but some moderate members are urging that impeachment should be kept as straightforward as possible in order to keep focus on Wednesday's events.
What to watch
This is moving fast. Members weren't in this place two days ago.
The events of Wednesday, the images that have played across television screens, the accounts of what happened throughout the Capitol complex and the President's approach to all of it before and after have all culminated in members feeling like something has to happen now. Pelosi said it Thursday at her presser, members have been texting her nonstop "impeach, impeach."
Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, the assistant House Speaker, told CNN's John Berman on New Day on Friday that they could bring articles of impeachment to the floor as "early as mid-next week." She later tweeted that Democrats were "actively working" to find the quickest timeline for a vote.
This isn't just Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and liberals asking for impeachment. There were notable comments Thursday from Rep. Elissa Slotkin, a moderate from Michigan who didn't vote for Pelosi for speaker less than a week ago, who pushed for invoking the 25th Amendment.
Rep. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia also released a statement pushing for the 25th Amendment, but then saying, "if the Vice President fails to act, it will become necessary for every member of Congress bound by our Constitutional oaths to take further action. If we refuse to respond to a US President inciting an uprising against our democracy, we risk losing it forever."
More than 60 Democrats, led by Reps. Dean Phillips of Minnesota, Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida and Tom Malinowski of New Jersey, sent a letter to Democratic leaders Friday asking they reconvene and work to impeach Trump following Wednesday's Capitol breach.
"We write to ask respectfully that the House reconvene immediately to reckon with the assault on our democracy that we experienced on January 6th," the Democrats wrote. "We could take up the question of whether President Trump should be censured or impeached for encouraging a violent attack on the United States Congress, as well as Representative Raskin's proposal that Congress appoint a body, as provided by the 25th Amendment, to determine whether the President is fit to discharge the powers and duties of his office.
House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff, a California Democrat who led the House's impeachment inquiry against Trump in 2019 over his efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate President-elect Joe Biden in the early stages of the 2020 campaign, said in a statement Friday he supported removing Trump through the 25th Amendment or impeachment.
"Every day that he remains in office, he is a danger to the Republic, and he should leave office immediately, through resignation, the 25th Amendment or impeachment," Schiff said.
What would happen in the Senate
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has not spoken on this. But given that the House would likely pass this with just days left in Trump's Presidency, it's likely McConnell would just run out the clock.
The GOP is frustrated, exasperated by Trump at this point. CNN reported that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy had a yelling match Wednesday with Trump as rioters were overrunning the Capitol Building. But, McConnell likes to avoid intra-party fights and forcing members to take a vote on impeachment when there are only days left of Trump's presidency wouldn't be a good way to keep his members united.
Sen. Ben Sasse, the Nebraska Republican who was an early critic of Trump's election fraud rhetoric, told CBS Morning News he'd consider any articles of impeachment from the House.
"The House, if they come together and have a process, I will definitely consider whatever articles they might move because, as I've told you, I believe the President has disregarded his oath of office," Sasse said Friday.
Successes outweigh challenges in family counselling
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts –- Despite the challenges posed by family counselling, the Counselling Unit has witnessed successes in how families have benefited from its Family Matters Programme according to officials from the Counselling Unit within the Ministry of Social Development.
The Counselling Unit is piloting the Families Matters Programme, an evidence-based, parent-focused intervention programme funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This programme has been adapted and implemented in countries throughout the world and is designed to promote positive parenting and improve parent-child communication.
“Our first year was the most challenging year because it was a new approach,” explained Family Counsellor Alicia Collins, a member of the Counselling Unit. “No service provider (Counselling Unit staff) was entering into any home because families were sceptical of their new methods and did not trust their motives.”
“The training received from the USAID allowed staff members to change their perspectives on these challenges,” said Counselling Unit Director, Michele de la Coudray-Blake. “It enabled them to take steps in the right direction toward achieving their overall goal of reducing risk factors within the family so as to better protect children.”
As a result, families were more accepting of the message and welcomed counsellors into their space. The family counsellors interacted with the families, engaging in positive reinforcement of parenting skills.
“Children have seen parents who may not have spoken to each other for years, come together and work while developing a different relationship,” said Mrs. Coudray-Blake.
Another success highlighted was that of parents changing their strategy of discipline as “they moved it away from that punitive way to having more conversations that then yield results.”
“We’ve seen young children step up to the plate and be engaged in the household and what’s going on there as well,” said Mrs. Coudray-Blake. “These successes were a direct result of engagement through the Families Matters Programme.”
The post Successes outweigh challenges in family counselling appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.
Giant sinkhole consumes cars in Italian hospital parking lot
A giant sinkhole opened on Friday in the parking lot of a hospital in Naples, Italy, forcing the temporary closure of a nearby residence for recovering COVID-19 patients because utilities were severed.
Operations weren't affected at the Hospital of the Sea, and firefighters said it didn't appear anyone was injured.
The sinkhole consumed three cars in the hospital's otherwise empty visitors' parking lot.
The local hospital district said the 20-metre-deep, 2000-square-metre sinkhole opened at dawn.
Chief firefighter Commande Ennio Aquilino told Italian television channel SkyTG 24 the implosion could have been caused by an infiltration of water underground as a result of recent heavy rains.
At the time, six people were recovering at the residence for COVID-19 patients.
They have been relocated.
Regional Governor, Vincenzo De Luca, said the residence would reopen within days after electricity and water service are restored.
Both were also interrupted at the hospital, but backup systems allowed care to continue.
"Frankly, we were also worried about the collapse of all utilities and that the activity of the hospital could be jeopardised," Gov. De Luca said.
"Thank God, this did not happen.
"We had a power break, but electricity was restored and now we don't have any problem in providing care."
Shoppers on alert after COVID-19 infected cases visited a Sydney Westfield
An array of stores at Burwood, in Sydney's inner-west, have been added to an ever-growing list of locations visited by confirmed coronavirus cases as authorities continue to track down people potentially infected.
Confirmed cases of COVID-19 visited the Artisaint Café at 60 Burwood Road on Wednesday 6 January between 10.30am and 11am, and Bing Lee at 103 Burwood Road between 11.25am and 11.40am.
Anyone who visited the venues between these times must get tested immediately and self-isolate until they receive further advice from NSW Health.
Westfield Shopping Centre at Burwood was also visited by infected cases on Wednesday January 6 and Thursday January 7.
Anyone who visited the shopping centre between 11.45am and 1.30pm on Wednesday January 6, or between 1pm and 2pm on Thursday January 7 should monitor for symptoms and get tested if any arise.
https://twitter.com/NSWHealth/status/1347507600410046466?s=20
The same advice applies to the following:
– Kmart Westfield Burwood Shopping Centre on January 6 between 11.45am and 12.15pm.
– House Westfield Burwood Shopping Centre on January 6 between 12.20pm and 12.30pm.
– Coles Burwood on January 6 between 12.40pm and 1.20pm, and January 7 between 1.20pm and 1.55pm.
– Artisaint Cafe Burwood on January 7 between 1.10pm and 1.20pm.
– Costume at Avalon Beach on December 31 between 2pm and 2.15pm.
NSW Health also revised its advice for the Sydney Marina Dine In and Take Away at Pendle Hill on January 3 between 12.30pm and 12.50pm.
Anyone who attended the previously announced venue must get tested immediately and self-isolate until a negative result is received.
Anyone in Merrylands West, Greystanes, South Wentworthville, Merrylands, Westmead, Wentworthville, Pendle Hill, Northmead, North Rocks, Parramatta or Constitution Hill are urged to monitor for symptoms after COVID-19 fragments were detected in sewage.
NSW records four new local cases
New South Wales has recorded four local cases of COVID-19 overnight.
Two were close contacts of the Berala cluster, one is connected to the Croydon cluster and the fourth case was announced yesterday and is connected to the Avalon cluster.
Seven cases were diagnosed in hotel quarantine.
More than 26,000 people were tested for the virus overnight and NSW Acting Premier John Barilaro issued a plea for more people to get tested.
READ MORE: Greater Brisbane to enter three-day lockdown after new locally acquired case
LIVE UPDATES: US Capitol Police officer dies; Nancy Pelosi calls for Trump to be removed or impeached
Of the four locally acquired cases two cases are linked to the Berala cluster – a woman in her 50s and a teenage boy, both household contacts of previously recorded cases.
"Pleasingly the cases were in isolation for their full infectious period," NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said.
Another case is linked to the Croydon cluster, and is a child who was a close contact of a previously recorded case. They were also isolating for the full infectious period. There are now 11 cases in this cluster.
The man in his 40s from the northern zone of the Northern Beaches who tested positive yesterday remains under investigation.
"He was asymptomatic through his isolation and tested negative on three occasions through his isolation period," Dr Chant said.
Authorities have not yet been able to identify the source of his infection.
"We are having a couple of test results pending on some more casual contacts, and we have issued some additional guidance in relation to some venue information."
Despite this mystery case, people under lockdown in the northern zone of the Northern Beaches will still be able to leave their homes as of midnight on Sunday.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the government does have "reservations" about easing the lockdown due to the positive case in Avalon.
But, due to the response from local residents over the holiday period, Mr Hazzard said restrictions would be lifted as planned.
He said the northern part of the Northern Beaches will become part of Greater Sydney again at 12.01am on Sunday.
"And have the same rules applying to that area as applies for the rest of Sydney."
Additionally, the lockdown restrictions being introduced in Queensland today will now apply for people who have travelled to NSW from the listed hotspot areas in Greater Brisbane.
From midday, people currently travelling from Brisbane to NSW from the hotspot locations will be required to abide by the three-day lockdown rules.
"By lunchtime, what we will be saying is clear, if you are in the midst of travelling from Brisbane as we speak to NSW and you come from those areas, we expect you to abide by the isolation rules that would have applied to you as if you were in Brisbane," Mr Barilaro said.
"If you have visited Brisbane and you are on your way to NSW isolation rules will apply to you.
"If you are already in NSW and you have travelled to NSW from those locations since 12:01am on January 2, we expect you to stay isolated."
However borders between NSW and Queensland will remain open despite the lockdown restrictions.
"At no point during this pandemic have we ever had a knee jerk reaction or treated the border like a light switch," Mr Barilaro said.
"If you are driving over the border that is not going to be some border closure but please try to document exactly travel itinerary so that if something occurs and we get in touch, you are able to accurately give us your itinerary to help us minimise any impacts going forward."
Greater Brisbane's lockdown is in response to a cleaner testing positive to the UK strain of the virus, which is reported to be much more infectious.
This new mutation of the virus has also been detected in six returned travellers in NSW hotel quarantine.
Attention is also being turned to a new strain from South Africa which has now been identified in overseas travellers in the state.
Four overseas travellers have returned positive preliminary tests for the South African virus strain overnight.
The group has now been transported to another quarantine hotel and further testing is under way to confirm these results.
"As a precaution the 16 people who were accompanying that flight, have as a precaution moved to the Shah(sic.)," Dr Chant said.
"That is because there are concerns that this South African strain does share a similar mutation from the UK, but may be associated with increased transmissibility.
"That is why we are taking a very cautious approach there.
"The remaining two cases with the UK strain, and the four cases with a possible South African strain, receiving care…and will be cleared when they are assessed to be no longer infectious."
US Capitol Police Chief Resigning in Wake of Deadly Riot
Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund said Thursday that he will resign later this month after his police force failed to contain mobs who tried to prevent Congress from ratifying President-elect Joe Biden‘s victory.
His resignation letter came hours after Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called for him to step down.
Sund will have only been on the job for about seven months when he resigns effective Jan. 16. He made no mention in the letter of Wednesday’s riots in the Capitol, but noted he will transition into a “sick leave status” starting Jan. 17 until he uses up his available sick leave balance of about 440 hours.
“It has been a pleasure and true honor to serve the United States Capitol Police Board and the Congressional community alongside the men and women of the United States Capitol Police,” Sund wrote to the other members of the Capitol Police Board.
Other members of the Capitol Police Board are also resigning or are under pressure to follow suit.
Pelosi announced Thursday that the House sergeant at arms, Paul Irving, had tendered his resignation. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) also said Thursday that he would fire the Senate sergeant-at-arms, Michael Stenger, when Democrats take over the majority later this month.
Irving has served in his role since 2012.
“I think we have to have a full review,” Pelosi told reporters in the Capitol earlier Thursday. “What was underestimated? That the president of the United States would not be as inciteful? Perhaps somebody thought for a moment that he would be patriotic before he leaves office for just this once.
A 35-year-old woman participating in the violent riots was shot by a Capitol Police officer as she tried to force her way toward the House chamber. Glass panels adorning the Speaker’s Lobby — where she was trying to enter — are now cracked and broken due to the mob.
Sund said in a statement Thursday that the officer involved has been placed on administrative leave and is under investigation.
Sund also said that more than 50 Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police officers were injured, including several who were hospitalized with serious injuries.
Most of the insurrectionists were not wearing masks despite the COVID-19 pandemic and attacked police officers with metal pipes and chemical irritants.
The Capitol Police said earlier this week that it would have additional personnel on duty Wednesday in anticipation of demonstrations over Congress meeting in a joint session to formally certify the Electoral College votes.
But the Capitol Police were vastly overwhelmed by the raging mob. The D.C., Virginia and Maryland National Guard and state troopers were all called in to help contain the terror attack and it took about four hours to clear the Capitol complex.
Sund said in the earlier statement Thursday that the Capitol Police is conducting a “thorough review” of Wednesday’s security planning and procedures but defended his force’s actions.
“Maintaining public safety in an open environment – specifically for First Amendment activities – has long been a challenge. The USCP had a robust plan established to address anticipated First Amendment activities. But make no mistake – these mass riots were not First Amendment activities; they were criminal riotous behavior. The actions of the USCP officers were heroic given the situation they faced, and I continue to have tremendous respect in the professionalism and dedication of the women and men of the United States Capitol Police,” Sund said.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), who chairs the House Administration Committee, said that she had been misled about the state of preparedness in a briefing with Sund and House Sergeant at Arms Paul Irving earlier in the week.
“We were told that was all in place and there was no doubt completely able to keep us secure in the Capitol,” she said, specifying that she had been told that the coordination with the National Guard was ready to go.
“Well that was not correct. Not only were they not prepared, what they told me about the National Guard was just not true. The guard was not even activated,” she said.
Lofgren also indicated that President Trump was slow to react to requests to mobilize the National Guard, an issue that normally falls to governors, but rests on the commander-in-chief when it comes to the District of Columbia.
A call from Congress’s bipartisan leaders, she said, was necessary to get the Defense Department to mobilize the National Guard.
The post US Capitol Police Chief Resigning in Wake of Deadly Riot appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.
Federal murder investigation to be opened in Capitol Police officer's death
Prosecutors in the US Attorney's office plan to open a federal murder investigation into the death of Brian D. Sicknick, a US Capitol Police officer who died Thursday night, a law enforcement official tells CNN.
Sicknick was injured Wednesday when a mob of President Donald Trump's supporters stormed the US Capitol. He died at approximately 9:30pm ET Thursday (1.30pm Friday AEDT) "due to injuries sustained while on-duty," Capitol Police officials said in a statement.
The death is being investigated by the DC Metropolitan Police Department's homicide branch, the US Capitol Police and their federal partners.
"Officer Sicknick was responding to the riots on Wednesday, January 6, 2021, at the US Capitol and was injured while physically engaging with protesters. He returned to his division office and collapsed. He was taken to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries," the statement read.
READ MORE: What we know about the four dead in the Capitol riots
Sicknick had joined the Capitol Police in July 2008, and most recently served in the department's First Responders Unit.
"The entire USCP Department expresses its deepest sympathies to Officer Sicknick's family and friends on their loss, and mourns the loss of a friend and colleague," Capitol Police said.
Sicknick is the fifth person to die as a result of Wednesday's insurrection. One woman was shot and killed by Capitol Police as the crowd breached the building and three others suffered medical emergencies that proved fatal.
Shortly after 1pm ET Wednesday (5am Thursday AEDT) hundreds of pro-Trump protesters pushed through barriers set up along the perimeter of the Capitol, where they tussled with officers in full riot gear, some calling the officers "traitors" for doing their jobs.
About 90 minutes later, police said demonstrators got into the building and the doors to the House and Senate were being locked. Shortly after, the House floor was evacuated by police. Vice President Mike Pence was also evacuated from the chamber, where he was to perform his role in the counting of electoral votes.
An armed standoff took place at the House front door at about 3pm ET (7am Thursday AEDT), and police officers had their guns drawn at someone who was trying to breach it.
As a result of the episode, US Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund is resigning. He said in a statement earlier Thursday that Capitol Police and other law enforcement officers were "actively attacked" with metal pipes and other weapons.
"They were determined to enter into the Capitol Building by causing great damage," Sund said.
"The violent attack on the US Capitol was unlike any I have ever experienced in my 30 years in law enforcement here in Washington, D.C.," he added. "Maintaining public safety in an open environment — specifically for First Amendment activities — has long been a challenge."
Still, lawmakers say they are perplexed at the lack of preparedness among law enforcement given that it had been known for weeks that Trump was promoting a rally he said was aimed at preventing the certification of Biden's win.
Rep. Mike Quigley, an Illinois Democrat who was locked in the House chamber during an armed standoff between Capitol Police and a rioter, praised the officers who were in the building that put their lives on the line, but made clear that they were outnumbered and law enforcement was under prepared.
"The Capitol Police I was around did an amazing job under difficult circumstances," Quigley told CNN. "My concern wasn't with how valiant the Capitol Police were. It was that an hour before the debate started, I looked at the throngs of people surrounding different sections of the Capitol and said, we don't have enough security."
Quigley added: "I'm no expert in security, but you can tell we were out-manned in an hour before the debate," referring to Congress' proceedings to certify Biden's win.