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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Army says there will be 25,000 National Guardsman in DC for inauguration

A spokesperson for the U.S. Army confirmed that there will be 25,000 National Guardsmen in the nation’s capital to aid with security for Biden’s inauguration.

“The Defense Department has agreed to provide up to 25,000 service members to support the Presidential Inauguration National Special Security Event federal law enforcement mission and security preparations, as led by the U.S. Secret Service,” the spokesperson said. “The Department of the Army and the National Guard Bureau are working on a sourcing solution now to support this request.”

-ABC News’ Luis Martinez


Officials issue wide-ranging ‘threat assessment’ ahead of Biden’s inauguration 

The FBI, DHS, Secret Service and U.S. Capitol Police, along with several local law enforcement agencies, have issued an extensive "threat assessment" surrounding Wednesday's inauguration.

It covers a range of threats surrounding the inauguration, including not only physical threats from domestic terrorists but also influence campaigns from Russia, China and Iran stemming from the Capitol siege. It even covers physical threats from drones.

The memo says domestic extremists is the “most likely” threat to the inauguration, citing recent incidents of ideologically motivated violence, including the deadly mob at the U.S. Capitol building.

Regarding foreign concerns, the assessment said that since the incident at the Capitol, “Russian, Iranian, and Chinese influence actors have seized the opportunity to amplify narratives in furtherance of their policy interest amid the presidential transition.”

“We have not identified any specific, credible information indicating that these actors intend to explicitly commit violence,” it added. “Furthermore, we have not identified any specific, credible cyber threat to critical infrastructure supporting the upcoming Presidential Inauguration nor a specific credible cyber threat to military or law enforcement personnel supporting the event."

The memo did say, however, that Russian state media has “amplified themes related to the violent and chaotic nature of the Capitol Hill incident, impeachment of President Trump, and social media censorship.”

Iranian state media has “continued to stoke claims that President Trump encouraged and incited the violence, as well as calls to invoke the 25th amendment,” the memo added. It has also “amplified perceived concerns related to President Trump’s mental health and the prospect of other risky actions he could take before leaving office.”

Finally, it noted that Chinese media has “seized the story to denigrate US democratic governance -- casting the United States as broadly in decline -- and to justify China’s crackdown on protestors in Hong Kong."

Lastly, the memo warned that drones could disrupt law enforcement operations at the inauguration, though it added that it does not have “specific, credible information” indicating malicious actors have plans to use unmanned aircraft systems to target the event.

-ABC News’ Mike Levine


Vice President Pence spoke with Vice President-elect Harris 

Vice President Mike Pence spoke with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on a call Thursday, sources familiar with the call told ABC News.

The news was first reported by the New York Times.

-ABC News’ Molly Nagle, Justin Gomez and Katherine Faulders


How Trump plans to leave the White House 

Sources told ABC News that Trump has requested a large sendoff hours before President-elect Biden takes the oath of office Wednesday.

Sources say Trump plans to depart the White House next Wednesday morning, choppering via Marine One to Joint Base Andrews where he is expected to give remarks to supporters and departing members of his administration.

Sources add that Trump has requested the event to have a "military-like feel" though details are still not finalized. The president will then fly down to his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida onboard Air Force One with a small number of staffers who will be part of his post-presidency operation, according to the sources.

-ABC News’ John Santucci and Katherine Faulders


Kamala Harris kicks off week of inauguration events

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris kicked off the first night of inaugural events with closing remarks on Saturday during an event titled "America United: An Inauguration Welcome Event Celebrating America’s Changemakers."

Harris noted the work that supporters did to make this moment what it is despite challenges due to coronavirus.

"I'm so excited to officially welcome you to the 59th presidential inauguration," Harris said. "We are here not only to celebrate and mark the start of a new administration, but to honor the work you have done from the primaries to the general election, right up to this very moment -- from Zoom grassroots fundraisers to union meetings on Google Meet to our drive-in rallies -- you were there every step of the way. And on the eve of this inauguration, the president-elect and I thank you for all you have done for our country; we would not be here without you."

Harris shared a message to young Americans to keep fighting and to dream with ambition. She noted that fighting for working people, rooting out systemic racism and combating the climate crisis, while strengthening democracy, are key goals for the administration.

"And I also would not be here without the generations of Americans who struggled and sacrificed to open up opportunity in our country. I stand on their shoulders. And as I've said before, while I may be the first woman to serve as vice president, I will not be the last," she said.

-ABC News' Beatrice Peterson