An Update: Part II

   I posted an article a couple of hours ago about what was happening in Washington over the last day and a half. I’m back again with more updates for those who are following along. Here’s what’s happened so far.
   First and foremost, there have been five confirmed deaths after the siege of the US capitol building. The latest being a capitol police officer. There have also been 80 arrests as of late and the FBI is asking for the help from the public in finding more involved in yesterday’s mobs. Many have been quick to note the lack of response initially from police as well as the lack of severity against the people who were attacking the capitol. Some videos show police allowing people into the building and even some taking selfies with them. In the aftermath, a large wall has been erected around the capitol complex and it will remain for the next 30 days. The security has been increased around the capitol and it includes both members of the DC national guard and capitol police with additional assistance from the DC metropolitan police. The team assembled by the DC mayor is also receiving help from neighboring states. In the midst of this there has been a flurry of resignations from the White House. The latest in that long line is the capitol police chief Steven Sund, effective January 16th. His successor has yet to be named. It was also announced that Secretary of Education Betsy DeVois would also be resigning from her post, making her the second cabinet secretary to do so. Since the dust has settled, three pipe bombs were reported to be found within the capitol grounds, the RNC offices, and the DNC offices. A car close to one pipe bomb was found to contain a rifle and molotov cocktails. An individual was arrested in relation to this. A cooler of Molotov cocktails was found in another location. In total, 6-8 firearms were confiscated by police as DC has no law allowing for individuals to carry firearms openly.
   Over the last 36 hours rumors of impeachment and the invoking of the 25th amendment have been making the rounds to every corner of the federal government. Here’s where that stands. Last night, calls for the president’s impeachment or removal via the 25th amendment came from major leaders and today they just got stronger. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement this afternoon that she will be discussing with members of Congress the impeachment of the president if Vice President Pence doesn’t take steps necessary to invoke the 25th amendment. With thirteen days left in this administration, many are doubtful that either of those actions would happen in the timeframe but we’ll see what happens in the following days. The Wall Street Journal released another op-ed (see last weekend’s bombshell report of the President’s call with Georgia’s Secretary of State where he implored them to “find 11,780 votes”) telling the president to resign instead of facing another impeachment trial. You’ll recall that last January that President Trump went through an impeachment trial. He was convicted in the House but the Senate, who was then controlled by republicans, voted to acquit and because both chambers have to agree on conviction or acquittal, all charges were dropped against the president. 
   In social media news, President Trump has been banned indefinitely from facebook and instagram. Twitter reactivated his personal account after a 12-hour lock. His return was marked by the release of a video where the president can be seen reading from a teleprompter and acknowledging that a new administration will be taking over on January 20th. He doesn’t mention Joe Biden by name but that might be asking too much at this point so I say let’s take what we can get. Some key takeaways from this video? As I mentioned above, this speech was done using a teleprompter, was pre filmed, and released more than 30 hours after the initial attacks. In contrast, president-elect Joe Biden has addressed the nation twice on live television. Once a short time after the attacks began and again earlier this afternoon. President Trump also tells a lie when he says he immediately deployed the Washington D.C. national guard. It was actually hours before they arrived and the president had to be convinced by aides to even send them in the first place because he was actually enthusiastic about the whole thing. I guess if you’re telling the president to deploy the national guard to a deadly event taking place at his insistence, that is the expected reaction.  In fact, the Vice President was the one coordinating with the national guard telling them to get there faster. While he was under a lockdown. In a secure location within the capitol complex. Due to a situation Trump instigated.
   It has also been determined that the President and the Vice President have not actually spoken or been in the same room since yesterday before the Joint Session of Congress where Pence promised to uphold his constitutional duty even if it causes his boss to have a toddler-like temper tantrum. President Trump is currently holed up in the West Wing and he has isolated himself from anyone who is of importance or could persuade him to act properly in his power as commander-in-chief.
   In other news, Merrick Garland was announced as president-elect Biden’s pick for Attorney General. This is one of the last major cabinet position needed to be filled. We are still waiting on a nomination for director of the CIA.
   The last few hours have been packed with new facts and shocking moments. There is only thirteen days until the inauguration of president-elect Joe Biden and vice president-elect Kamala Harris. Over the next few days it’ll be interesting to see if the 25th amendment will be invoked or if impeachment will be pursued. The president also has access to his twitter account which is of course his favorite mean of mass communication. We shall see if he follows what he said in his video statement or if he resorts back to spreading conspiracy theories and lies which is what led to this disaster in the first place. Somehow I doubt he’ll surprise us.