As investigations into the deadly January 6 siege of the Capitol continue, questions about how pro-Trump rioters were able to access specific locations in the building are surfacing. According to Rep. Kim Schrier (D-Wash. 8th District), it is not out of the realm of possibility that the mob was aided by members of Congress.
"Inciting insurrection is impeachable but it is also illegal. Although I'm not a lawyer, I think that that needs to be pursued. I can tell you that it is already being looked into by the FBI, looking at who inside was helping," she told Cheddar.
While officials have not yet given confirmation, there are reports from members like Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J. 11th District) that some members of Congress toured the Capitol building Tuesday with groups that included individuals accused of attacking it the following day.
"And the fact there were any tours going on in a Capitol during the COVID pandemic when nobody's allowed unless they are personally escorted in by a member of Congress, suggests that if there was insider knowledge, that some of my colleagues may have been co-conspirators," Schrier said.
The Washington representative is calling for those officials to be held accountable if the allegations are true, as well as President Donald Trump and any GOP supporters that may have incited violence.
Though the House impeached Trump for a historic second time on Wednesday, the process will likely linger past Inauguration Day. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he will not call senators back before next week to hold a hearing on the charge of high crimes and misdemeanors. Still, Schrier said the facts of the case are clear-cut and could be handled before Biden is sworn in.
"I think that this should be, could be, a very speedy trial," she said. "I believe that if we can call back 435 members of Congress, we can certainly call back 100 senators to take this up immediately and I think that's what [McConnell] should do."
Democratic Agenda
For Schrier, the sooner the body is able to address the president's role in last week's Capitol siege, the better equipped Congress will be to get to work once President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in. Democrats will soon control all three legislative branches and the Washington congresswoman said the body will be able to work on solutions that have been pushed aside during the Trump presidency.
Among top priorities will be getting more COVID relief to Americans and improving laws guiding elections, according to Schrier, who sits on the Energy and Commerce Committee.
"It is urgent, I believe, that we pass H.R. 1, the big government reform bill that gets corruption out of politics, gets big special interest money out of our politics, makes it easier to vote."
While Democrats will control two branches of the federal government for at least the next two years, Schrier said members from both sides of the aisle will need to repair their working relationships.
"This really needs truth and reconciliation and frankly it will need a lot of Republicans to step up and speak the truth," she said, adding, "Even those who voted against impeachment yesterday, many of them still condemned the president's behavior, and so it will really take some voices of conscience from within to speak to their own part and set this right."
Stephanie Akin, Politics Reporter for CQ Roll Call, breaks down
Senator Manchin's donation pool, and highlights what this support means for the conservative Democrat as well as the Republican party.
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With the Beijing Winter Olympics set to get underway on Friday, Dan Wolken, a national columnist for USA Today, joined Cheddar News to break down the big storylines as the pandemic and international conflicts threaten to cast a cloud over the event that is aspirationally seen as a beacon of international cooperation. Wolken noted specific issues over cybersecurity for visiting athletes and disputes over human rights leading to a diplomatic boycott have been making waves even before the opening ceremony. "So you've got sort of these barbs going back and forth already between the Americans and the Chinese, and things haven't even started yet," he said. "We don't even know what's going to happen once the games start and people actually start winning medals."
We are a week away from the 2022 Beijing Olympics, and China has already faced a host of problems leading up to the opening ceremony of the Beijing games. DJ Peterson, president of Longview Global Advisors, joins Cheddar News to discuss the many concerns and controversies surrounding the event.
In 2021, QAnon, the community which traffics in conspiracy theories saw a rapid growth in its numbers. As a result of vaccine rollouts, a number of conspiracies surrounding them also began to circulate which then led to the rise of "Anti-Vaxxers". As a result, the QAnon and anti-vax communities have become increasingly intertwined and the results could be costing lives. Senior Researcher at Media Matters Alex Kaplan, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Supreme Court Justice Breyer has announced that he will officially retire from his post. He has served as the senior member of the more liberal wing in recent years. Now his retirement puts pressure on President Biden to decide on who will replace Breyer. Attorney and Media Editor at SCOTUS blog Katie Barlow, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
A long awaited report in the UK looking into the alleged parties held at 10 Downing Street during lockdown finds a culture of excessive drinking and a "failure of leadership" in Boris Johnson's government. Cheddar News speaks with international journalist Thomas Cole, who is closely monitoring latest developments.
While Donald Trump stated he would be willing to pardon Capitol Hill insurrectionists should he return to the presidency, the January 6 Committee issued subpoenas to 14 individuals who cast bogus electoral votes for the former president in seven states won by Joe Biden in 2020. Molly Jong-Fast, editor-at-large at The Daily Beast, joined Cheddar News to discuss the ongoing congressional investigation. "It is kind of crazy that every time Trump speaks, he kind of confesses a little more of what he was up to, but you really have to have proof," said Jong-Fast.
Natalie Fertig, federal cannabis policy reporter at Politico Pro, joins Cheddar News to discuss a new YouGov poll that looks at how Americans feel about marijuana and politics.
