Impeachment article has 200 cosponsors: US rep.

At District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser's request, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy has activated about 340 unarmed D.C. National Guardsmen to assist local law enforcement with the demonstrations taking place on Wednesday pegged to the Electoral College certification. 

"We think it's helpful to have our D.C. Guardsmen, who are our Guard, that I have requested from the Secretary of the Army to assist MPD [Metropolitan Police Department] with traffic management," Bowser said Monday. "It absolutely frees up more officers."

The D.C. Guard is unique in that any call-ups have to be made by the Army secretary and not the jurisdiction’s top elected official -- as is the case with state governors. Additionally, more focus has been given to the call-ups since the controversial presence of D.C. Guardsmen and the use of D.C. Guard helicopters during the Black Lives Matter demonstrations last summer.

"They will be deployed to assist us with crowd management, as well as traffic control in our nation's capital that will allow for the police officers to focus on anyone who's intent on instigating agitating or participating in violence in our city," said D.C. Police Chief Robert Contee. He also labeled any possibility of violence surrounding the protests as "unacceptable" and repeated that carrying firearms is not allowed under D.C. law.

A senior defense official said Bowser put in the request for Guardsmen on Dec. 31 and that it was approved Monday morning. Beginning Tuesday through Thursday, the 340 personnel will help man 30 traffic control checkpoints around the northern side of the downtown area close to the National Mall.

"No one's going to be armed or body armor or anything like that," said the official. "What they need is traffic control."

-ABC News' Luis Martinez and Quinn Owen

In an interview on Fox News Monday morning, Republican senatorial candidate David Perdue said that while he and his wife have "repeatedly" tested negative for coronavirus, he is still quarantining after coming into "close contact" last week with a campaign staffer who tested positive and hopes to participate in

"I’m going to participate hopefully tonight by virtually in this rally, but I’m so excited that President Trump is coming again," Perdue said, going on to paint the dire picture of the country if Democrats win. 

Asked what he wants to hear the president say Monday, Perdue said: "First of all this is the last opportunity we will have to protect everything that we’ve accomplished in the last four years. The second thing is the last line of defense to stop the Democrats from perpetrating this radical socialist agenda. It’s as simple as that." 

As he did Sunday, Perdue blasted disclosure of the call between Trump and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and defended the president. 

"To have a state-wide elected official, regardless of party, tape unknowing -- to tape without disclosing a conversation -- private conversation of the president of the United States and then leaking it to the press is disgusting," Perdue said.

When asked if he was concerned that GOP voters may be discouraged from participating in the aftermath of a general election Republicans continue to contest, Perdue said, "Well that’s what the Democrats want." Trump himself acknowledged post-election chaos may hinder turnout in the runoffs during his call with Raffensperger Saturday -- and blamed the secretary for it. 

-ABC News’ Quinn Scanlan

Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., a member of House GOP leadership and one of the first prominent Republicans to acknowledge Biden's victory, sent a 21-page memo to her conference making the case against a challenge to the Electoral College certification process on Wednesday, arguing that it would improperly overrule states' authority over elections, and set a "dangerous precedent" down the line for future elections and sessions of Congress. 

"By objecting to electoral slates, members are unavoidably asserting that Congress has the authority to overturn elections and overrule state and federal courts. Such objections set an exceptionally dangerous precedent, threatening to steal states’ explicit constitutional responsibility for choosing the President and bestowing it instead on Congress," Cheney wrote. 

"This is directly at odds with the Constitution’s clear text and our core beliefs as Republicans. Democrats have long attempted, unconstitutionally, to federalize every element of our nation—including elections. Republicans should not embrace Democrats’ unconstitutional position on these issues," she added.

Cheney raises questions about the proposal from some Republicans to set up a commission to investigate concerns about the election, calling it a "problematic" set up that would take much longer than ten days to wrap up, and potentially delay the inauguration. The memo also exhaustively summarizes the court rulings against the president's legal efforts in the six states Republicans plan to target on Wednesday: Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia and Pennsylvania.

-ABC News' Benjamin Siegel

Two House Democrats are asking FBI Director Christopher Wray to open a criminal probe into Trump after a phone call revealed him pleading with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to "find" enough votes to overturn his loss in the state's presidential election.

"As Members of Congress and former prosecutors, we believe Donald Trump engaged in solicitation of, or conspiracy to commit, a number of election crimes," Reps. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., and Kathleen Rice, D-N.Y., wrote in a letter to Wray on Monday. "We ask you to open an immediate criminal investigation into the president."

"The evidence of election fraud by Mr. Trump is now in broad daylight. The prima facie elements of the above crimes have been met. Given the more than ample factual predicate, we are making a criminal referral to you to open an investigation into Mr. Trump," the lawmakers continued.

-ABC News' John Parkinson