we've roofed the top of the hour in our special coverage of the second impeachment of president trump. i'm andrea mitchell in washington along with my colleagues hallie jackson and craig melvin. we continue to keep our focus on the house of representatives this hour and the historic bipartisan vote that we will witness this afternoon. >> we have been watching two procedural votes on the house floor through this morning. we are in the second one now. we are looking ahead to two hours of debate. within about 15 minutes that will begin. hundreds of lawmakers, the entire house democratic caucus and at least five house republicans, including liz cheney, expected to vote to impeach president donald trump for a second time. that would put the ball in the senate's court. >> hallie, that is where things get interesting. there are critical questions on the senate side about when

another impeachment trial would start and whether 17 republican senators would actually join the democrats to convict president trump for inciting an insurrection last week. nbc's leigh ann caldwell is at they are post on capitol hill. again, leigh ann, 15 minutes from now we expect the debate to start. for folks watching or listening on sirius satellite radio, bring us up to speed on where things stand both on and off the house floor there at the capitol. what's happening? >> reporter: there's a lot happening. let's start with the vote happening now. this is a vote on the rule which just sets the parameters of the debate on this article of impeachment. a few more members still have to vote, so with covid precautions it does take some more time. once this passes, which it's expected to, then the actual debate will begin on this one

article of impeachment, incitement of an insurrection is what they're charging the president with. house speaker nancy pelosi is going to start off debate. she'll be the first speaker. we'll be watching to see what she says about this and how she frames this perhaps as an thank thousands of national guard troops who have now come to the capitol to guard it, not only the building but the people as well. it looks like a military state outside the capitol. driving here was nearly impossible. it is a much, much different posture than it was a week ago before this insurrection. so what we're going to be watching on this actual vote that's happening right as we speak, even though this isn't the final vote on impeachment, it's a good test vote. it's a procedural vote. but it will tell us how many

republicans and how many republicans vote with democrats on this article to give us an indication on where republicans stand on the final article of impeachment when they do vote on that in a couple hours from now. >> leigh ann caldwell live for us on capitol hill at her post. that vote will happen after the two hours of debate we expect to bring about 12 minutes from now. former missouri democratic senator claire mccaskill, chuck rosenberg, and former maryland democratic congresswoman donna edwards. thanks for being here. michael, let me start with you because we have heard -- excuse me, congressman edwards. we've heard republicans talk about not wanting to see this kind of accountability for president trump, not wanting an impeachment, right, other methods of accountability could be on the table. congressman edwards, we've also seen some republicans, five house republicans so far come out and say they would vote to

impeach. that is not a landslide yet. that's not the floodgates, but it is certainly five more than what we saw last time the president was impeached when zero republicans voted for it. an independent was the only one. how do you see this unfolding in the next 2 1/2 hours from now? >> of course we've been talking about liz cheney and the import of her coming out publicly and that really scathing statement. i'll be curious to see how many of her colleagues she is able to bring along because i suspect that there will be some. and so, you know, i think over the next two hours of debate, republicans getting an hour and democrats getting an hour, i think we're going to hear what the case is. remember, this wasn't presented in a committee where the committee takes evidence and then presents that to the house. this is being done on the house floor. so we will hear the step-by-step

evidence as though it might have been presented in a committee format for the house to consider. and so i'll be looking at the end of that vote to see how many in addition to that five who come on board, and that will be a great tell for the way that they're able to send this over to the senate. >> right now they're holding their fire, congresswoman, because right now there are 209 votes, democratic votes, in favor, 201 republicans against, and no republicans voting in favor yet. at least this is on the procedural rule to frame the debate as you know, being a former member of congress. chuck rosenburg, i want to follow up on pete williams' reporting of this arrest of a man wearing the camp auschwitz t-shirt. i had a question in my mind at the time as well as to whether there were hate crimes that could be associated with this and maybe more penalties if anybody is convicted of that.

>> yeah, it's a very good question, andrea. in law enforcement, we have to make individualized determinations about criminal culpability. let me give you an example and go to your specific question. let's say a bank is robbed and somebody is sitting outside of the bank in a car. is that person guilty of a crime? the answer is we don't know. it could literally be an innocent bystander. it could be the getaway driver for the bank robber. that's why law enforcement has to take the time to make individualized determinations based on admissible evidence. we talked to everybody. we talked to the bank robber if he'll talk to us. we talk to the getaway driver. we look for communications between the two. we look for commonalities, text messages or phone calls, circumstantial evidence and direct evidence. might there be hate crimes? absolutely. but, again, we have to make individualized determinations. what someone has on their sweatshirt no matter how odious

it is, no matter how disgusting it is, may not in and of itself be a crime, but if they acted in a way that manifested and singled someone out based on race or religion or some other prohibited class, then, yeah, we might very well have hate crimes. we need to make individualized determinations of criminal liability, and we need to come down like a ton of bricks on people who broke the law. >> senator mccaskill, first of all, we can report that president trump is in the oval office right now. our kristen welker confirmed that the president does, in fact, appear to be in the office. it is unclear what he's doing. he obviously can't tweet. presumably, he is watching this unfold on cable news as he is prone to do. senator, this idea that part of the motivation here from senator mcconnell, this reporting in

"the new york times," that he is perhaps okay with the idea of impeaching the president and starting a trial, how much of senator mcconnell's motivation here is keeping the president off the ballot in 2024 and trying to use this as an opportunity to purge his party forever of donald j. trump? >> well, there's no question mitch mcconnell is very angry over what happened in georgia. you know, i think most people agree that one of the main reasons the democrats have taken control of the united states senate is, in fact, donald trump and how he behaved in the weeks prior to that special runoff election. so there are a number of republican senators that would like to banish donald trump and his ilk from the republican party. it will remain to be seen whether they have the political courage to do so. i do think that nancy pelosi

will send those articles right down. i think maybe her declining to say that she was sending them immediately might have had something to do with steny getting out ahead of her and her wanting to re-establish that she's the decisionmaker. but if you think about it, the urgency of this goes away if they hold them for any amount of time. an it becomes much more political if they hold them for any amount of time. the sooner these articles are transmitted for trial to the senate, the more it gives everybody in america the sense that there is a complete reaction to the horror that they witnessed a week ago. >> thanks so much, claire. we'll be getting back to you in a moment. i just want to first say that as the outgoing president, of course, he's facing this second impeachment, there is an incoming president who is focused on his first 100 days in office, president-elect joe biden, saying he hopes congress can multitask, expecting

democrats to mover forward with impeachment without hindering his agenda. our correspondent joins us from wilmington. what is the mood there? the president-elect saying you can do two things at once. >> reporter: just to put all this in perspective exactly one week from this moment, a president joe biden jr. will be delivering his first remarks as president to the country as president of the united states. in the conversations with the biden team, all their focus remains on that moment and the moments that follow when he inhartss the real and difficult challenges and crises that the country faces at this moment. i have to say, andrea, i feel a little bit of deja vu because some of the most jarring moments of the roughly year and a half i spent covering candidate joe biden a year ago at this time, chasing that no mularkey bus around iowa and trying to get

comment from candidate joe biden about an impeachment trial happening in washington while joe biden kept his focus on talking about his rural agenda for america. this was a candidate then who was very much trying to stay focused on the task at hand, which he said was defeating president trump at the ballot box while there was this very consequencial debate happening in washington. here we are in wilmington, 125 miles from washington, and we won't see the president-elect today. they've already declared a lid here in wilmington. but we expect to hear from him tomorrow when he addresses the nation about his plan for dealing with the coronavirus. yes, there are very real consequences to what's happening in washington today for his agenda and for his nominees. there's obviously questions about the degree to which a senate trial could stop the senate from doing the business of confirming his nominees. we know biden has been working the phones to try to have conversations both with mitch mcconnell, who is the outgoing majority leader, and chuck

schumer, the incoming majority leader, about how this could work. the biden team is very focused on trying to stay above the fray. everything biden is doing is about one of those very difficult challenges he inherits a week ago at this moment, which is uniting the country, and therefore he's staying out of the process in washington. >> in fact, they've already scheduled the confer hearings for a few of the people, particularly the secretary of state, on the 19th so that he can be -- at least have a hearing of a confirmation hearing. hallie? >> mike memoli live from wilmington, thank you. you have been looking at on the left side of your screen that second procedural vote wrapping up. we're almost done with it. only 13 votes outstanding. this vote has not been gaveling yet. so far it looks like it will be a party line vote. this was just a procedural rule to basically move on with the impeachment debate. that is going to happen within the next ten minutes. here's how it's going to unfold. you'll see this vote gavel closed, presumably at that

point, move then to the two hours of debate over impeachment. between that time, we are still living in a pandemic era. they'll have to come in and basically clean parts of the house floor there so the debate can begin. house speaker nancy pelosi is expected to open that debate. we are of course going to bring you live into that the second that it happens, live for every minute of this historic afternoon. e, the second potential impeachment of the president of the united states. on that note, i'll bring in nbc news chief white house correspondent kristen welker. kristen, we understand as craig reported a moment ago that the marines stationed at their post outside the door of the west wing, presumably indicating the president is inside the oval. we know he has an isolated circle, increasingly isolated inner circle with him. my reporting from talking with sources in the last 18 hours or so is that the president is doing nothing to expand that inner circle. what are you hearing? >> reporter: that underscores everything we're hearing here,

hallie, and an administration official confirmed that the president is, in fact, in the overall office at this hour. this could not be more starkly different, hallie, than when you and i covered the first impeachment of president trump. during that time, the west wing was filled with staffers, his legal advisers buzzing around the west wing, trying to respond to the press in real time. they were flooding the air waves. this is a ghost town. there are only a few staffers here in the west wing at work right now, and there are only a few people who are advising the president, who he's really listening to. he is increasingly isolated. what's becoming clear is that he doesn't have a communication strategy at this point in time and it seems as though he doesn't have a legal strategy, at least one that has been made clear to us. we understand that rudy giuliani is going to be among those leading his legal team if and when this does go to senate for a trial. some other names we're hearing, alan dershowitz. i spoke with him overnight and

he says he hasn't been contacted by anyone from the trump administration or any of the president's advisers for that matter. so this is a very different situation than his first impeachment when we had a very clear sense of who would be leading the legal team, and they were quite eager to talk to the president. i think that is because you are seeing so many of his former aides and allies start to frankly break with him. it replicates the cascade of resignations that have happened here behind the scenes. look, it's not everyone. we know he does still have some stand big him like senator lindsey graham, who appears to be the sole republican lawmaker who is reaching out to other senators and urging them not to break with president trump, not to vote for conviction. and we know that some of those in trump world are getting very concerned about that. they've been pushing talking points that the vast majority of republican voters don't want to see the president impeached. but we are just seeing this backlash grow and mount, and the president increasingly defiant, even sullen in the face of this

yesterday, of course, traveling to the board we are lindsey graham to talk about one of his key accomplishments, the border wall. that's part of his focus right now, thinking about his exit strategy and his messaging on his way out the door. there may be one, potentially two speeches he gives before he leaves office as he faces the very real reality that that is going to happen in just about a week from now. when will he leave? we are told it could be before the day of the inauguration, that he departs washington, d.c. but all of those details are still being worked out and it's just remarkable that we're not hearing more from him in the face of obviously his biggest political battle to date. hallie? >> kristen, just to follow up briefly, his megaphone and social media shut down. what is his thinking about that? >> reporter: what we're hearing is that he wants to in some way try to salvage his legacy, which

will undoubtedly be overshadowed by this distinction now, that he will be the first president in u.s. history to be impeached twice. and so he is trying to determine what specifically he wants to highlight. we know that some of his top advisers have started to work on potential speeches for him. and yesterday he gave us a very good indication, andrea, of i think what we can expect to see, a president who is defiant and defending his legacy. he's going the talk about some of those other key moments that he thinks he would like to be defined by, not just this moment of being impeached twice. the president yesterday was asked about all of this. he referred to impeachment as a witch-hunt. that's of course one of his most familiar talking points from the first impeachment and from the russia investigation and all of those political scandals that loomed so large over the early years of his presidency. but i think what's striking is that the president is still trying to determine exactly what that final messaging is going to

look like. i've been talking to some of his allies who say they're concerned about the fact that she's so isolated and they're wondering who is around him who cannot only help him with that messaging but who can help with the work that needs to be done in terms of governing the country for this final week, guys. >> thanks so much, kristen welker. hallie, as you know so well from covering the white house, is it ivanka, is it jared? is it cipollone? who has the trust of the president? i would think people would hope not just rudy giuliani reinforcing the delusions he can actually stay in office. if they think their legacy is not going to be defined by these days, by this week and weeks that preceded, months that preceded it since november and the denial of a concession, you know, it's more than a formality. the concession from one defeated president, a first-term president, we've seen numbers in

recent history, to his replacement is an important fact to his followers. in this case, there are so many. 74 million. >> right. the list is certainly short, andrea. the people who are with the president and who are in contact with him. dan scavino, his social media director, is there. johnny mcintee is another name we of heard. mark meadows, the chief of staff, of course, who is in some ways trying perhaps to manage some of the outreach to hill. he has certainly his detractors inside the administration as well who wonder what is he doing at this point. jared kushner, ivanka trump are always voices in the president's ear. at this point, listen, andrea, i started this administration saying this, right, inauguration day four years ago, and inauguration day four years later i'll still be saying the presidents is his own manager. the president is his own communications director, his own chief of staff. he is doing what he wants to be

doing here with the help of the people around him because in many ways the people around him are looking to help him exqumes his own policies and strategy, not redirect him to new and different strategies. an example of that, there was some reporting from our colleagues at the "washington post," ashley parker, phil rucker, josh dossy, familiar to the folk who is watch msnbc as contribute or the contributors, the president trying to say something on the night of january 6th. he did it a day later but say something that would calm tensions on the night of january 6th. there were three different versions according to "the post" of that videotaped and the one that came out was determined to be the most palate nl by aitds. that was the version that the president told those rioters he loved them and they were very special people. that speaks volumes about what is happening inside the west wing and what has been in the

last week. this president did not want to be impeached the first time. he felt like that was going to stain his legacy. he was concerned about that. imagine a second impeachment. that is going to be, you have to imagine, the first line in the history books as this story is written. craig, i want to bring you in and reset where we are. have we gavelled that second procedural vote? i'll ask my team. i don't believe so. >> no. >> no gavel. so that second procedural vote is still open. that's the vote. when that concludes, as you can see 11 people remaining, when that concludes is when we will move into the portion of debate. that will be two hours. this is a live shot of house speaker nancy pelosi making her way through the capitol rotunda it appears, heading over. she will be presumably introduced by one of her democratic members. you can see members of the news media. boy, such a different image, craig, of this room than we saw one week ago today. >> yeah.

to your point, i think we shared with our viewers last hour house speaker nancy pelosi a short time ago was outside the capitol thanking the hundreds of national guardsmen who are stationed outside the capitol. of course we've seen the images of the national guardsmen, the armed guardsman inside the capitol. they slept there last night. they'll be sleeping there at least through wednesday, we're told. thousands of guardsmen descending on the capitol after what we saw unfold last night. it looks like one additional congressman has voted. oh, look at that. two additional congressmen or women have voted as we get ready to start this debate. to your point earlier, hallie, when this debate does start, this historic debate, we are committed to bringing it to you over the next few hours as these lawmakers make the case for and against impeachment. leigh ann caldwell will also of course be watching and listening

closely. leigh ann, for folk who is don't do this for a living, walk us through what we are going to see and hear unfold. we know that house speaker nancy pelosi will be speaking first. what happens after this? >> reporter: speaker pelosi will speak first and that's a strong signal how important this is and how historic this is. speaker pelosi doesn't speak often on the house floor for debates, for legislation or for amendments or resolutions. but she does when it's important. and this is obviously a very important critical day. after speaker pelosi speaks, then the debate will open up. there will be one hour for each side, the republican side and the democratic side. they will alternate by speakers. we think either jamie raskin, who is a lead impeachment manager when it goes to the senate and who co-authored this article of impeachment, is going to lead this debate or jerry

nadler, who is the chairman of the judiciary committee. what i'm going to be watching is how many republicans get up to speak and what they say. do they defend the president? do they defend their attempts to overturn the electoral college vote? or do they use the more mainstream republican line right now that impeachment is only dividing the country, that they need to put this aside, look forward, and not impeach the president for the sake of unity. so those are some of the things i'm going to be watching in this two-hour debate. then the actual vote on the article of impeachment is expected to take around -- start around 3:00, 3:30 p.m., craig. >> and we now know, leigh ann, what the final vote is. they are gaveling it down unless there's somebody changing their vote. 221 democrats, 209 republicans, nine not voting. so it was a party line vote, and we saw pelosi being accompanied

by congressman brad nadler, the house judiciary chair and also raskin. we know the terrible story about the death of his son just in the last week or two. so these are two -- raskin is certainly going to be the lead impeachment manager in this second impeachment and certainly pelosi, going in as well. let's listen to the clerk. >> -- of treason, bribery, or other crimes and misdemeanors. further, section 3 of the 14th amendment to the constitution prohibits any person who has engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the united states from holding any office under the united states and his conduct while president of the united states and in violation of his constitutional oath faithly to execute the office of the president of the united states and to the best of his ability preserve, protect, and defend the constitution of the

united states and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the law be faithfully executed, donald john trump engaged in high crimes and misdemeanors by inciting violence against the government of the united states and that on january 6th, 2021, pursuant to the 12th amendment to the constitution of the united states, the vice president of the united states, the house of representatives and the senate met at the united states capitol for a joint session of congress to count the votes of the electoral college in the months preceding the joint session, president trump repeatedly issued false statements asserting that the presidential election results were the product of widespread fraud and should not be accepted by the american people or certified by state or federal officials. shortly before the joint session commenced, president trump addressed a crowd at the ellipse in washington, d.c. there he reiterated false claims that we won this election and we

won it by a landslide. he also willfully made statement nas in context encouraged and foreseeably resulted in lawless action at the capitol such as if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore. that's incited by president trump. members of the crowd he had addressed in an attempt to, among other objectives, interfere with the joint session's solemn constitutional duty to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election. unlawfully breached and vandalized the capitol, injured and killed lafrlt personnel, members of congress, the vice president, and congressional personnel and engaged in other violent, deadly, destructive and se dashs acts. president trump's conduct on january 6th, 2021, followed his prior efforts to subvert and obstruct the certification of the results of the 2020 presidential election. those prior efforts included a phone call on january 2nd, 2021,

during which president trump urged the secretary of state of georgia, brad raffensperger, to find enough votes to i don't ever turn the election results and threatened secretary raffensperger if he failed to do so. in all of this, president trump gravely endangered the security at the united states and it institutions of government. he threatened the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with a peaceful transition of power, and imperiled a co-equal branch of government. he thereby betrayed his duty as president to manifest injury to the people of the united states, wherever donald john trump, by such conduct, has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to the national security, democracy, and the constitution if allowed to remain in office and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with self-governance and the rule of law. donald john trump warrants

impeachment, removal from office, disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust, or profit under the united states. >> the resolution shall be debatable for two hours, equally divided and controlled by the chair and the ranking minority member of the committee on the judiciary. the gentleman from new york, mr. nadler, and the gentleman from ho host, mr. jordan, will each control one hour. the chair recognizes the gentleman from new york, mr. nadler. >> madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material under hs-224. >> without objection. >> madam speaker, i yield one minute to the distinguished speaker of the house, the gentlelady from california, miss pelosi. >> the gentlewoman from california is yielded one minute. >> i thank him for yielding and

for his leadership. madam speaker, in his annual address to our predecessors in congress in 1862, president abraham lincoln spoke of the duty of the patriot in an hour of decisive crisis for the american people. fellow citizens, he said, we cannot escape history. we will be remembered in spite of ourselves. no personal significance or insignificance can spare one or another of us. the fiery trial to which we pass will light us down in honor or dishonor to the latest generation. even we here, he said, hold the power and bear the responsibility. in the bible, st. paul wrote, "think on these things." we must think on what lincoln

told us. we, even here, even us here, hold the power and bear the responsibility. we, you and i, hold in trust the power that derives most directly from the people of the united states. and we bear the responsibility to fill that oath that we all swear before god and before one another, the oath to defend the constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic, so help us god. we know that we face enemies of the constitution. we know we experience the insurrection that violated the sanctity of the people's capitol and attempted to overturn the duly recorded will of the american people. and we know that the president of the united states incited this insurrection, this armed rebellion, against our common country. he must go. he is a clear and present danger

to the nation that we all love. since the presidential electio president lost, he has repeatedly lied about the outcome, sewing self-serving doubt about democracy and unconstitutionally sought to influence state officials to repeal reality. and then came that day of fire we all experienced. the president must be impeached, and i believe the president must be convicted by the senate, a constitutional remedy that will ensure that the republic will be safe from this man who was so resolutely determined to tear down the things that we hold dear and that hold us together. it gives me no pleasure to say this. it breaks my heart. shd break your heart. tshtd break all of our hearts. your presence in this hallowed chamber is testament to your

love for our country, for america, and to your faith in the work of our founders to create a more perfect union. those insurrectionists were not patriots. they were not part of a political base to be catered to and managed. they were domestic terrorists and justice must prevail. but they did not appear out of a vacuum. they were sent here, sent here by the president with words such as a cry to fight like hell. words matter. truth matters. accountability matters. in his public dissertations to him, the president saw the insurrectionists not as a face of foes of freedom as they are but as a means to a terrible goal, the goal of his personally clinging to power, the goal of thwarting the will of the people, the goal of ending in a

fiery and bloody clash nearly 2 1/2 centuries of our democracy. this is not theoretical. and this is not motivated by partisanship. i stand before you as an officer of the constitution as speak oemp the house of representatives. i stand before you as a wife, a mother, a grandmother, a daught father served in this congress, thomas d'alesandro from maryland, one of first italian-americans to serve in the congress. and i stand here before you today as noblist of things, a citizen of the united states of america. with my voice and my vote, with a plea to all of you, democrats and republicans, i ask you to search your souls and answer these questions. is the president's war on democracy in keeping with the

constitution? were his words and insurrectionary mob a high crime and misdemeanor? do we not have the duty to our oath to do all we constitutionally can to protect our nation and our democracy from the anappetites and admissions of a man who has demonstrated he is a vital threat to liberty, to self-government, and to the rule of law? our country is divided. we all know that. there are lives abroad in the land spread by a desperate president who feels his power slipping away. we know that too. but i know this as well, that we here in this house have a sacred obligation to stand for truth, to stand up for the constitution, to stand as guardians of the republic.

the speech he was prepared to give this dallas on friday, november 22nd, 1963, president john f. kennedy was to say, we in this country, in this generation, are by destiny rather than choice the watchmen on the walls of world freedom. we ask, therefore, that we may be worthy of our power and responsibility, that we may be worthy. president kennedy was assassinated before he could deliver those words to the nation. but they resonate more even now in our time in this place. let us be worthy of our power and responsibility that what lincoln thought was a world's last best hope, the united states of america, may long survive. my fellow members, fellow americans, we cannot escape history. let us embrace our duty, fulfill

our oath, and honor the trust of our nation. and we pray that god will continue to bless america. thank you, madam speaker. i yield back. >> the gentleman from new york? reserves. the gentleman from ohio is recognized. >> madam speaker, i gave myself such time as i can consume. >> recognized. >> 19 minutes. four years ago on inauguration day, january 20th, 2017,residen administration at 12:19 p.m. "the washington post" headline was, "campaign to impeach president trump has begun." and now with just one week left, they're still trying. in seven days there will be a peaceful transfer of power just like there has been every other time in our country, but democrats are going to impeach president trump again. this doesn't unite the country.

there's no way this helps the nation deal with the tragic and terrible events of last week that we all condemn. and republicans have been consistent. we've condemned all the violence all the time. we condemned it last summer. we condemned it last week. we should be focused on bringing the nation together. instead, democrats are going to impeach the president for a second time one week before he leaves office. why? why? politics and the fact they want to cancel the president. the president who cut taxes, who reduced regulations fshg the president prior to covid had the greatest economy, lowest unemployment in 50 years, got us out of the iron deal, brought hostages home from north korea, put three great justices on the supreme court, gave us a new nafta agreement, the coronavirus vaccine, and who built the wall. it's about politics. this is about getting the

president of the united states a spot on his campaign before he was elected, 19 minutes into his presidency starting the impeachment push, three-year mueller investigation, 19 lawyers, 40 agencies, 500 witnesses, 2,500 subpoenas, $40 million to find nothing. impeachment round one based on an anonymous whistle-blower with no firsthand knowledge who was biased against the president and worked for joe biden. and now it's impeachment round two. it's always been about getting the president no matter what. it's an obsession, an obsession that has broadened. it's not just about impeachment anymore. it's about canceling, as i've said, canceling the president and anyone that disagrees with them, the ayatollah can tweet, the president can't, democrats can object on january 6th, 2017, but the republicans aren't allowed to object on january 6th, 2021. democrats say antifa is a myth. republicans condemn all violence

all the time. the double standard has to stop. frankly, the attack on the first amendment has to stop. stop and think about it. do you have a functioning first amendment when the cancel culture only allows one side to talk? when you can't even have a debate in this country, this great country, the greatest country ever? it needs to stop, because if it continues, if it continues, it won't just be republicans who get canceled, it won't just be the president of the united states. the cancel culture will come for us all. america is a great country. the greatest country ever. it seems to me that we need to think about how great the people of this nation really are, think about what we've accomplished in the past and begin to come together as leaders who represent so many great folks across our districts. think about this. think about this. in 1903, kitty hawk, north carolina, two guys fly this

thing they called a plane 100 feet. barely got off the ground. barely got off the ground. amazing thing. 44 years later, chuck yeager breaks the sound barrier. in 44 years we go from go guys flying a contraption they call a plane 100 feet to chuck yeager breaking the sound barrier. and 22 years after that, another american steps on the moon. think about it. in one lifetime, in 66 years, two guys flying 100 feet to putting a man on the moon. that's what this country is capable of. that's what we can do. and we as the congress who represent the people who did that should start leading, should start understanding what really has gone on here. so i hope, i hope we defeat this. i hope we can come together and recognize the greatness of the american people and focus on the

things they want us to focus on. i yield back. >> gentleman reserves. >> reserve. >> the gentleman from new york is recognized. >> madam speaker, i yield myself three minutes. >> the gentleman from new york the recognized for three minutes. >> madam speaker, we all saw it coming months in advance. president trump was baselessly and deliberately whipping his supporters into a frenzy. weeks before the riot, he used his bully pulpit to spread lies about the election. he told his supporters that the results were fraudulent. he implored them again and again to help him stay in power. and he convinced them that accepting the outcome of the election posed an existential threat to their families and their freedoms. we have a duty to observe, madam speaker, that racism played a direct role in this incitement. the president's violent rhetoric is always at it most fevered

pitch when he is talking about the civil rights and civic aspirations of black americans and other minority communities. on january 6th, at a rally that was large, angry, and widely reported to be armed, the president's lies and violent rhetoric reached their crescendo. at that rally, the president took the stage. after reiterating the falsehood that we won this election and we won it by a landslide, he told the crowd that if you don't fight like hell you're not going to have a country anymore. and then he urged the mob to walk down pennsylvania avenue to prevent the congress from confirming the election of an illegitimate president. on that day, president trump unleashed the force of a mob on this, the people's house. he encouraged that attack with the explicit intent to disrupt the joint session of congress, an attack that threatened the safety of the vice president, the speaker of the house, and

the president pro tem of the senate, the next three officers in the line of succession. and look at what that violence has wrought. at least six dead. ausms offices ransacked. the sanctity of our capitol breached for the first time in two centuries. hallways littered with broken glass. the debris we have come to associate with the trump campaign. madam speaker, i have faith in the resiliency of our government. we will bring the rioters to justice. their accomplices will be held responsible. but today we must focus on the gravest threat first, president trump, who incited this riot and who remains a grave danger to the nation. as we warned the senate when we tried him for his first impeachment, president trump has made clear in word and deed that

he will persist in such conduct if he is not removed from power. he poses a continuing threat to our nation, to the integrity of our elections, and to our democratic order. he must not remain in power one moment longer. not one moment longer. the danger is too great. i reserve the balance of my tame. >> the gentleman from ohio is recognized. >> thank you, madam speaker. i would yield two minutes to the gentleman from california. >> the gentleman from california is recognized for two minutes. the gentleman from california is recognized for two minutes. >> well, four minutes. excuse me. i didn't realize. >> the gentleman from ohio in control of the time on that side of the aisle wishes to yield four minutes to the gentleman from california. correct? >> yes. >> the gentleman from california is recognized for four minutes. >> thank you, madam speaker. you know, i didn't like the president's speech on january 6th either. i thought he was wrong to assert that the vice president and

congress can pick and choose which electoral votes to count. he was wrong to set such a confrontational tone in a politically tense situation. but what did he actually say? his exact words were, quote, i know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the capitol building to peacefully and patriotally make your voices heard, unquote. that's impeachable? that's called freedom of speech. now, he also threatened to oppose candidates in future elections. by the way, that was directed at republicans like me who resolve to uphold the constitutional process and protect the electoral college. well, so what? that's called politics. if we impeached every politician who gave a fiery speech to a crowd of partisans, this capitol would be deserted. that's what the president did. that is all he did.

he specifically told the crowd to protest peacefully and patriotically. and the vast majority of them did. but every movement has a lunatic fringe. suppressing free speech is not the answer. holding rioters accountable for their actions is the answer. and we are. and if we prosecuted blm and antifa rioters across the country with the same determination these last six months, this incident may not have happened at all. now, short of declaring war, the power of impeachment is the most solemn and consequential act that congress can take. to use it in this manner, in the heat of the moment, with no hearings, no due process, many members phoning in their votes after a hastily called debate, exactly one week before a new president is to take office,

trivializes this power to the point of caricature. the democrats have won everything in sight -- the house, the senate, and the presidency. in a republic, that calls for magnanimity by the victors. only in a banana republic does it call for vengeance. benjamin franklin warned us that passion governs and she never governs wisely. in our passions this week, we've set some dangerous new precedents that will haunt us for years to come. yesterday we redefined intemperate speech as a physical incapacity requiring removal from office. today we define it as a high crime and misdemeanor. the moment any of this body gives an impassioned speech and the lunatic fringe of their movement takes license from it, be prepared to answer to this new precedent that we established today.

now, i could cite plenty of provocative speeches made by democrats that directly preceded violence this summer. but we've already had enough of that. you know, after 600,000 americans have perished in the civil war, abraham lincoln appealed to the better angels of our nature. he said with malice toward none, with charity for all, let us bind up the nation's wounds. those words were so important to the unity of our nation, they're inscribed in marble at the lincoln memorial. i cannot think of a more petty, vindictive, and gratuitous act than to impeach an already defeated president a week before he is to leave office. president-elect biden's promise to heal the nation becomes a hollow mockery in a harsh reality of this unconstitutional act. >> the gentleman's time has

expired. >> yeah, tommy. >> the gentleman from ohio reserves. >> reserves. >> the gentleman from new york is recognized. >> i now yield one minute to the gentle lay day from california, miss lofgren. >> >> madam speaker, i'm the only member of congress who has been involved in all three of the last presidential impeachment. those were long proceedings. today we don't need a long investigation to know the president incited right wing terrorists to attack the congress to try to overturn constitutional government. the actions were in public, plain as day. his actions are the most serious offense against our constitution and our country. they are impeachable acts. the founders devised the impeachment clause to protect against a president who would threaten constitutional order. if we don't act now to the impeachment clause would be

meaningless. faced with these facts, if we don't impeach to protect our country, we will fail our own oath to protect and defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies, foreign and yes, domestic. we have no choice. we must -- >> the gentlewoman's time has expired. >> the gentleman from ohio is recognized. >> i yield two minutes to the gentleman from arizona. >> it's with wear riness and a certain unhealthy curiousty that i watch the beast attempt to devour president trump again. the craving to crush president trump has never been satisfied through investigations and an impeachment wholly without merit.

timing of this impeachment makes little sense. your candidate who will take office in a few hours and president trump will relinquish to biden. you believe that your hunger will be finally satiated by impeaching this president without completion of his full term of office. you don't seek victory but obliteration of your nemesis. the thirst for trump will not be slated even if your successful today. years will be a victory for instead of stopping the trump train, his movement will gro stronger because you have made him a martyr. your chums that sit on the boards of corporate america. yes the same companies that the left vilifies promise to starve republicans from receiving their pac donations. i bet the ground well for president trump will not go away. the movement he started is based on building a robust economy, on

a foundation of lower tacks and fewer regulations that has the wonderful affect of putting more people to work than ever. it's built upon a strong military that is extra indicated from endless wars. it provides border security, america first trade agreements. those are the things the american people want. your four-year appetite will be temporarily assuaged. while you will no doubt to chase after leaders of this movement but your appetite will be unfulfilled. i urge you, please, do not, i'm mixing amphetamine fors here, attempt to douse this with gasoline. i urge you to consider the reckless action. >> the gentleman's time has expired. >> i yield one minute to the gentleman from california, mr. schiff. >> the gentleman from california is recognized for one minute sdplp one week ago the president incited an insurrection against

congress to prevent the peaceful transition of power. it was the most dangerous moment for our democracy in a century. we invoke the remedy the founders provided for such a lawless president, impeachment. more important we begin the long road to restoration. america has been through a civil war, world wars, a great depression, pandemics, mccarthyism and now a trumpist and white nationalist insurrection. ourendures. patriotic americans step forward to say enough. this is one of those moments. this citadel of democracy for ourselves and posterity, let us say enough. enough. . i yield back. >> gentleman yields back. the gentleman from new york reserves. the gentleman from oh is recognized. >> thank you. i yield two minutes to the

gentleman from texas. >> the gentleman from texas is recognized for two minutes. >> here is a quote, i just don't even know why there aren't more uprisings all over the country. maybe there will be or sadly, the domestic enemies of our voting system and honoring our constitution are right at 1600 pennsylvania avenue with their allies in congress of the united states. we were called enemies of the state. those were all quotes from our speaker. on our side, we didn't take those to be impeachable because we didn't believe she surely meant that. by the democrats taking this action, you're telling me, no, when we say those, we actually mean to incite violence. that's what this action is saying. look, i just looked on the history channel, it says these

words, if the judiciary committee talking about impeachment finds sufficient grounds, its members right and pass articles of impeachment which then go to the full house for a vote. half of all the impeachments ever conducted, ever voted for occurred under this speaker. your setting a precedent that says very clearly because this impeachment isn't going to work. it is setting the precedent when we said it shouldn't go through intel, it should go through sew -- judiciary committee. if you have a whim and go after a president, just go straight to floor. no investigation, no judiciary committee. go straight to floor. use it as a political weapon as you wish. this is so dangerous what you're

doing. forgetting all the precedents. we can argue back and forth bt you're use thanksgiving as a weapon and you're destroying this little experiment in self-government. >> the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from ohio verves. the gentleman from new york is recognized. >> i yield one minute to the distinguished gentle lady from massachusetts, miss clark. >> the gentlewoman from massachusetts is recognized. >> lucy stone stated if we speak the froout fearlessly, we shall add to our number to turn the scale to equal and full justice in all things. the truth is, president trump incited a violent attack against the united states government. the truth is, president trump spent his presidency inflaming hate, white supremacy,

anti-semitism and violence. he was enabled by all those who perpetuated the lie that the most secure election in our nation's history was stolen. the truth is these seditious actions left five dead. our capitol besieges, our security threatened and our democracy hanging in the balance. a vote to impeach is our resounding declaration that the government of the people, by the people, for the people -- >> gentlewoman's time has expired. >> shall not perish from the earth. >> the gentleman from ohio is recognized. >> thank you. i yield one minute to the gentleman in california. >> thank you. the last speaker said that forfour years the president did all these terrible incitable things incluing anti-semitism.

i take exception with that but i think it's important that we embrace one thing that was said. yes, the president has been consistent for the last four years. during his campaign i even -- representing another candidate said that the president had political tourrette. i don't think that's being debated. what's being debated is whether with 167 hours left until he leaves office, is he a clear and present danger? he clearly isn't. the president has acting substantially the same for four years. he's rallied his base and he has called for peaceful protest as he did just a few days ago. the fact is today we're trying to punish the president, at least some are, for four years of what he did, not for what happened last week.

what happened last week was the result of anarchists who came loaded -- >> the gentleman's time has expired. >> i yields back. >> the gentleman from new york is recognized. >> i yield one minute to distinguished gentleman from louisiana. >> gentleman from louisiana is recognized for one minute. >> i rise today in my last floor speech in this body to do what i was sworn to do on the first day. to protect and defend the constitution. president trump put the domestic terrorists on notice by saying stand back and standby. he then summoned them to d.c. directed them to march on the capitol. then he sat back and watched the insurrection. some of my colleagues, some of which may well be co-conspirators in their latest attempt to placate this unfit president suggest we shouldn't