Live Updates: House Speaker Pelosi Signs Trump Impeachment Article, Document Heading to Senate

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – US President-elect Joe Biden has accused outgoing President Donald Trump of inciting his followers to stage an attack on the Capitol.

In his Wednesday statement, Biden described the recent takeover of the Capitol as an unprecedented attack on democracy.

"This criminal attack was planned and coordinated. It was carried out by political extremists and domestic terrorists, who were incited to this violence by President Trump," Biden said.

He added that those responsible for the violence must be held accountable.

.@SpeakerPelosi signs Article of Impeachment against President Trump.

Full video: https://t.co/J2P6CuMiM7 pic.twitter.com/MuVHpsOXd4

— CSPAN (@cspan) January 13, 2021

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – US Congressmen Peter Meijer and Anthony Gonzolez announced on Wednesday that they would vote in favor of impeaching President Donald Trump, joining at least six other Republican members to make this commitment.

“Today, my job is to apply my best judgement to the article of impeachment that is on the floor of the US Congress. With the facts at hand, I believe the article of impeachment to be accurate The President betrayed his other of office by seeking to undermine our constitutional process, and he bears responsibility for inciting the violent acts of insurrection last week. With a heavy heart, I will vote to impeach President Donald J. Trump,” Meijer said in a statement posted to Twitter.

Gonzales, in a separate statement, said he was likewise "compelled to support impeachment."

Six other Republicans – Dan Newhouse, Liz Cheney, John Katko, Adam Kinzinger, Fred Upton and Herrera Beutler – have also pledged to vote in favor of impeaching the sitting US president.

No House Republicans voted in favor of the articles of impeachment brought forward against Trump last year.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US House of Representatives began voting on Wednesday to impeach President Donald Trump on charges of inciting the riot at the Capitol building.

If the House adopts the article of impeachment, Trump will be the first US president to be impeached twice.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell in a statement released by his spokesperson on Wednesday said he has not yet made a final decision on how he will vote in the forthcoming impeachment trial for President Donald Trump.

"While the press has been full of speculation, I have not made a final decision on how I will vote and I intend to listen to the legal arguments when they are presented to the Senate," McConnell said in the statement.

The US House later on Wednesday is expected to vote to impeach Trump for "incitement" of last week's deadly Capitol riot, sending the measure to the Senate for a full trial.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – US Congressman Dan Newhouse told the House of Representatives on Wednesday that he would vote in favor of impeaching President Donald Trump, becoming the sixth Republican member to make this commitment.

“A vote against this impeachment is a vote to validate the unacceptable violence we witnessed in our nation’s capital. It is also a vote to condone President Trump’s inaction … I will vote yes on the articles of impeachment,” Newhouse said as the House debated an impeachment resolution.

Five other Republicans - Liz Cheney, John Katko, Adam Kinzinger, Fred Upton and Herrera Beutler – have also pledged to vote in favor of impeaching the sitting US president.

No House Republicans voted in favor of the articles of impeachment brought forward against Trump last year.

"Somehow when Republicans condemn all the violence - the violence this summer, the violence last week - somehow we're wrong," GOP Rep. Jim Jordan pointed out, referring to the large-scale BLM protests across the US last summer.

"Democrats can investigate the President of the United States... but will not look at an election that 80 million Americans, Republican and Democratic, have their doubts about", he went on, concluding he has no idea "where all this goes and this is frightening for the country".

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, part of the so-called "Squad" of progressive Democrats that also includes Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, another fierce Trump critic, said POTUS "not only incited an insurrection but has in word and deed led a rebellion".

I spotted the National Guard sleeping in the hallways of the Capitol as I walked in this morning. pic.twitter.com/PzVpQCo5yU

— Daniella Diaz (@DaniellaMicaela) January 13, 2021

The US House of Representatives on Wednesday convened a session to impeach President Donald Trump for a second time over his "incitement of an insurrection" following last week's deadly riot at the Capitol.

"We are debating this historic measure at an actual crime scene, and we wouldn't be here if it weren't for the President of the United States," House Rules Chairman Jim McGovern said as the session got underway shortly after 9:00 a.m. local time.

The Democrat-majority House is expected to easily pass the resolution impeaching Trump for "high crimes and misdemeanours" over his role in the storming of the Capitol, making him the only president in US history to have been impeached twice.

The House is now proceeding with one hour of debate on the rule governing impeachment debate and will hold a vote on the rule afterwards. Lawmakers will then proceed with two hours of debate on the impeachment resolution before holding a final vote.