Former US President Donald Trump has not expressed remorse for the 6 January siege at the US Capitol that claimed the lives of at least five people, CNN quoted unnamed sources as saying on Thursday.
The remarks come as Democrats accuse the ex-POTUS of inciting the Capitol violence in the ongoing impeachment proceedings which saw the release of never-before-seen footage of the 6 January riots on Wednesday. Trump has repeatedly denied being responsible for the siege.
One of the sources described the new video as "undeniably powerful", claiming that as far as Trump is concerned, there's no greater offence to him than saying "sorry".
On the 6 January siege, the sources asserted that the former US president wanted to see a show of force from his supporters. "Trump likes force. He saw people forcefully fighting for him", they were cited by CNN as saying.
The insiders also argued that the Democrats realise that they may not be able to convict Trump and keep him from running again, which is why they will allegedly try to sway public opinion to the point where ex-POTUS decides not to run again.
Separately, the sources singled out former US Vice President Mike Pence who has not "quite patched up" his relationship with Trump following the 6 January events.
Pence and Trump "discussed everything" that took place at the time but they were also focused on just getting to Inauguration Day, one of the sources claimed, adding that the ex-vice president "got his point across at the meeting afterward".
The insider voiced hope that both men will finally be able to resuscitate their relationship, adding that "time will heal things".
In early January, then-vice president Pence made it clear that he had no intention of intervening in the certification of the 3 November presidential election results, explaining that only lawmakers can decide to either accept or reject the Electoral College vote, something that prompted criticism from Trump.