Giuliani says he won’t be on Trump impeachment defense team

Trump was impeached by the House for a second time last week.

President Donald Trump is slated to hand over control of the White House to President-elect Joe Biden in three days.

The House of Representatives voted to impeach Trump last Wednesday on an article for "incitement of insurrection" for his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol -- making him the only president to be impeached twice.


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House votes to impeach, Trump becomes only president impeached twice

The House of Representatives has voted to impeach President Trump -- making Trump the only president in American history to be impeached twice.

Ten Republicans have sided with Democrats in the ongoing vote for impeachment with the count currently standing at 225-194.

217 votes were needed to impeach the president.

House lawmakers charged Trump with one article of impeachment for "incitement of insurrection" citing his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

While House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has declined to yet say publicly when the House will send the article over to the Senate, a source involved in the Democratic leadership deliberations told ABC News earlier Wednesday Pelosi plans to send the article to the Senate next week.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's office confirmed earlier in the day that the Senate will not return early for an impeachment trial, so the earliest the trial could start is Jan. 19 -- a day before Biden's inauguration.

-ABC News' Trish Turner


7th House Republican will vote to impeach Trump

Republican Rep. Peter Meijer of Michigan is the seventh House Republican to announce he will vote to impeach Trump, announcing his intention in a statement posted to Twitter moments before voting got underway.

"President Trump betrayed his oath of office by seeking to undermine our constitutional process, and he bears responsibility for inciting the insurrection we suffered last week. With a heavy heart, I will vote to impeach President Donald J. Trump," he said in a tweet, attaching a longer statement.

Meijer joins Republican Reps. John Katko, N.Y., Liz Cheney, Wyo., Adam Kinzinger, Ill., Fred Upton, Mich., Jaime Herrera Beutler, Wash., and Dan Newhouse, Wash, in saying he will vote to impeach the president.

No House Republicans voted to impeach Trump in 2019.


Impeachment debate concluded, vote underway

The House has concluded debate on the second impeachment of Trump for "incitement of insurrection." The vote is now underway and is expected to take 40 minutes to one hour.

House Democrats are expected to vote to impeach the president. Seven Republicans have announced that they also plan to vote to impeach.

The House needs a simple majority to impeach the president.


GOP, Dems deliver closing arguments ahead of vote with scathing rebuke of Trump from Hoyer

Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La. -- the No. 2 Republican in the House -- was the last to speak for the Republican Party, said he opposed the "rushed" impeachment, and emphasized that the Senate will only be able to take up the trial once Trump is out of office.

"I've seen the dark evil of political violence firsthand. And it needs to stop. But all of us need to be unequivocal in calling it out every single time we see it, not just when it comes from the other side of the aisle," he said.

Invoking President Abraham Lincoln, he closed by calling on Americans to unify and "seek higher ground."

House Judiciary Chairman Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., quickly responded to his remarks, saying, "We can have all this, and we can have accountability too," before handing off to Majority Leader Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md.

Hoyer, in a scathing rebuke of the president, repeated the words of Rep. Liz Cheney and called on his Republicans colleagues to rise to the moment and join her to "reject the vices we abhore."

"It is the first and only physical presence other than the 9/11 attack on this nation -- which came from abroad with a plane aimed at our Capitol dome. This attack was not from abroad. It was as Liz Cheney said, summoned, assembled, and inflamed by the president of the United States of America," he said.

"Last Wednesday, on Jan. 6, the nation and the world watched it shatter to pieces. There could be no mistaking any longer the kind of man sitting in the Oval Office or his intentions and capabilities. The curtain has been pulled back. The office to which he was elected could not temper or reform him," Hoyer said.

"Reject deceit. Reject fear mongering. Reject sedition, tyranny and insurrection," Hoyer said. "Reject one man over fidelity to one's country."

Hoyer noted that soon the House Reading Clerk will call the roll for voting, and added, "Make no mistake, this will be no ordinary roll call."

"These votes will be inscribed on the roll of history -- a record of courage -- and of our commitment to country and Constitution, of our commitment to the rule of law and renewal of that which we inherited and hope to pass on, unbroken, unshattered," he said. "Vote for this -- for America, for our constitution, for democracy, for history."


Foo Fighters, Bruce Springsteen and John Legend to perform at Biden's inauguration event

Eva Longoria, Kerry Washington, the Foo Fighters, John Legend and Bruce Springsteen have joined the growing list of celebrities who will appear at the star-studded event celebrating Biden's inauguration next week.

The event, hosted by Tom Hanks, will be a primetime television special that will air the night after the swearing-in ceremony at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20.

Longoria and Washington "will introduce segments throughout the night ranging from stories of young people making a difference in their communities to musical performances," Biden's inaugural committee said in a statement Friday.

Meanwhile, the Foo Fighters, Springsteen and Legend will perform remotely "from iconic locations across the country, joining Demi Lovato, Justin Timberlake, Ant Clemons and Jon Bon Jovi with additional performances to be announced ahead of January 20," the committee said.

The committee had previously announced that Lady Gaga will sing the national anthem while Biden and Harris are sworn in. Jennifer Lopez will also give a musical performance.

-ABC News' Beatrice Peterson