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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Pence tells Pelosi he won't invoke 25th Amendment

In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Vice President Mike Pence said he would not invoke the 25th Amendment and remove the president.

"I am grateful for the leadership that you and other congressional leaders provided in reconvening Congress to complete the people's business on the very same day. It was a moment that demonstrated to the American people the unity that is still possible in Congress when it is needed most," he wrote. "But now, with just eight days left in the President's term, you and the Democratic Caucus are demanding that the Cabinet and I invoke the 25th Amendment. I do not believe that such a course of action is in the best interest of our Nation or consistent with our Constitution."

He continued, "Last week I did not yield to pressure to exert power beyond my constitutional authority to determine the outcome of the election, and I will not now yield to efforts in the House of Representatives to play political games at a time so serious in the life of our Nation."

In conclusion, he urged Pelosi and members of Congress to avoid actions that would further divide and inflame the passions of the moment.

"Work with us to lower the temperature and unite our country as we prepare to inaugurate President-elect Joe Biden as the next President of the United States. I pledge to you that I will continue to do my part to work in good faith with the incoming administration to ensure an orderly transition of power. So help me God," he wrote.


House debates resolution pushing Pence, Cabinet to invoke 25th Amendment

The House of Representatives is debating a resolution urging Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove Trump from office over his role in last week's attack on the Capitol.

With Democrats holding a majority in the chamber, the measure is expected to pass. However, Pence given no public indication that he plans to take action.

Democrats are expected, then, to move forward with impeaching Trump on one article -- charging him with "inciting an insurrection." At least 218 Democrats and three House Republicans have indicated their support to impeach the president.

-ABC News' Mariam Khan


House Judiciary Committee releases impeachment report

The House Judiciary Committee has released a 76-page staff report laying out Democrats' case for impeaching Trump over his role in the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol last week.

"President Trump has falsely asserted he won the 2020 presidential election and repeatedly sought to overturn the results of the election. As his efforts failed again and again, President Trump continued a parallel course of conduct that foreseeably resulted in the imminent lawless actions of his supporters, who attacked the Capitol and the Congress. This course of conduct, viewed within the context of his past actions and other attempts to subvert the presidential election, demonstrate that President Trump remains a clear and present danger to the Constitution and our democracy," an excerpt from the report reads.

"The House must reject this outrageous attempt to overturn the election and this incitement of violence by a sitting president against his own government. President Trump committed a high Crime and Misdemeanor against the Nation by inciting an insurrection at the Capitol in an attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 Presidential Election," it concludes.

The House is expected to vote to impeach Trump as early as Wednesday -- making him the first president in history to be impeached twice.

-ABC News' Katherine Faulders


McConnell believes Trump committed impeachable offenses

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has privately acknowledged he believes Trump committed impeachable offenses and that he is pleased Democrats are moving to impeach him, believing it will make it easier for the Republican Party to be rid of Trump, a source confirmed to ABC News.

The New York Times first reported the development.

McConnell has not said publicly whether he'd vote to impeach Trump and a McConnell spokesman declined to comment.

At least three House Republicans -- Rep. Liz Cheney, Wyo., Rep. John Katko, R-N.Y. and Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill. -- have said they will vote to impeach the president.

-ABC News' Trish Turner


Rep. Raskin tells ABC News’ ‘Start Here’ about barricading with his family in the Capitol

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., joined ABC News’ “Start Here” to talk about the efforts in Congress to remove Trump from office and also described his experience at the Capitol during the riot, which also happened to be the day after his family had buried his son.

“We experienced a terrible family catastrophe and we had to bury my son on Tuesday. And then on Wednesday, I had to go in for the Electoral College count,” Raskin told ABC News' daily news podcast. “And our youngest daughter, Tabitha, said, ‘Daddy, don't go. I want you to stay home.’ And I said, I would love to be home, but I have to go in because this is a constitutional responsibility. And I've agreed also to be one of the floor managers for the Democratic side in debating these objections to the electors."

Raskin told “Start Here” that he brought Tabitha and a son-in-law who is married to his other daughter with him to the House chamber. They all had to shelter-in-place when the rioters broke into the Capitol.

“They ended up barricaded in a locked office off of ... the House chamber hiding under a desk as people pounded on the door. They heard the same sickening sounds I heard of people trying to barrel into the House chamber,” he said. "Listen to the stories of people who lived through this nightmare. You know, this is not some abstract question about Donald Trump just pocketing emoluments. He helped to unleash a furious savage mob on the Congress of the United States, our staffs, and in my case, on members of my family.”