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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Incoming White House chief of staff gives overview of Biden's first 10 days

Incoming White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain gave an overview of the first 10 days of the Biden-Harris administration in a memo to senior staff Saturday shared with reporters.

"President-elect Biden is assuming the presidency in a moment of profound crisis for our nation. We face four overlapping and compounding crises: the COVID-19 crisis, the resulting economic crisis, the climate crisis, and a racial equity crisis. All of these crises demand urgent action," Klain wrote. "In his first 10 days in office, President-elect Biden will take decisive action to address these four crises, prevent other urgent and irreversible harms, and restore America’s place in the world."

The schedule is not comprehensive, Klain noted, but includes:

Jan. 20: Biden plans to ask the Department of Education to extend the pause on student loan payments and interest for Americans with federal student loans, rejoin the Paris Agreement, reverse the "Muslim Ban" (one of Trump's earliest executive orders upon taking office) and issue a mask mandate for federal property and inter-state travel. He will also "take action to extend nationwide restrictions on evictions and foreclosures and provide more than 25 million Americans greater stability."

Jan. 21: Biden plans to sign several executive actions "to move aggressively to change the course of the COVID-19 crisis and safely re-open schools and businesses, including by taking action to mitigate spread through expanding testing, protecting workers, and establishing clear public health standards."

Jan. 22: The president-elect will direct his Cabinet agencies "to take immediate action to deliver economic relief to working families" impacted by the pandemic.

Jan. 25-Feb. 1: Among other executive actions, memoranda and Cabinet directives, Biden plans to sign additional executive actions to address the climate crisis, as well as take steps to "strengthen Buy American provisions," reform the criminal justice system, expand health care access and "start the difficult but critical work of reuniting families separated at the border."

"Full achievement of the Biden-Harris Administration’s policy objectives requires not just the executive actions the president-elect has promised to take, but also robust Congressional action," Klain wrote.

-ABC News' John Verhovek


House Dems open investigation into Capitol attack

House Democrats have opened an investigation into what law enforcement and the intelligence community knew about threats to the Capitol ahead of the Jan. 6 siege.

The investigation from the House Intelligence, Oversight, Homeland Security and Judiciary committees will also examine whether anyone with security clearances -- current or former National Security, Defense, Justice or Homeland Security officials -- participated in the riot.

The investigation will also examine the federal law enforcement response in the aftermath of the attack.

"The Committees will conduct robust oversight to understand what warning signs may have been missed, determine whether there were systemic failures, and consider how to best address countering domestic violent extremism, including remedying any gaps in legislation or policy," committee members wrote in a letter to the FBI, DHS and Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

"This still-emerging story is one of astounding bravery by some U.S. Capitol Police and other officers; of staggering treachery by violent criminals; and of apparent and high-level failures -- in particular, with respect to intelligence and security preparedness," the letter later stated.

Democrats plan to request documents and briefings from administration officials as part of the investigation -- just one of several looking into the Capitol attack.

-ABC News' Benjamin Siegel


Harris to be sworn in by Justice Sonia Sotomayor at inauguration

When Vice President-elect Kamala Harris takes the oath of office at Wednesday's inauguration, the magnitude of her historic election will be marked not only in her remarks but in the details.

The vice president-elect will be sworn in by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, another historic female first. Sotomayor is the first Latina Supreme Court Justice.

Harris, according to a source with knowledge, told ABC News that the vice president-elect was inspired by Justice Sotomayor's background. The pair both previously served as former prosecutors -- Harris in California, Sotomayor in New York.

During her victory speech, Harris weaved in an adage from her mother, Shymala Gopalan Harris, who often told her she would be the first to do many things, but urged her to open doors for others.

"While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last," said Harris.

-ABC News' Averi Harper and Beatrice Peterson


Harris stresses importance of 'following the science'

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on Saturday echoed Biden's message on listening to science as the country faces challenges such as the pandemic and climate change.

"The importance of ... following the science, of listening to the scientists, is clear everywhere we look -- from a pandemic that has taken such a devastating toll, partly because our nation's leaders did not listen to the scientists from the start, to raging wildfires, record-breaking storms and a climate crisis that scientists agree is caused by human beings," Harris said during a press briefing on the administration's science team.

The administration will additionally invest in STEM education "and the next generation of scientists, including women scientists and scientists of color," she said.

Harris also spoke about her personal connection to research as the daughter of a cancer researcher, and she encouraged the next generation of scientists.

"I have a message for all the little girls and boys out there who dream of growing up to be a superhero,” she said. “Superheroes aren’t just about our imagination. They are walking among us. They are teachers and doctors and scientists."

"And you can grow up to be like them, too, so let's dream big, lead with conviction, and see ourselves, each one us, as the superheroes of tomorrow," she added.

-ABC News' Beatrice Peterson, Molly Nagle and John Verhovek


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."