The House moved toward swift passage Wednesday of legislation that would devote more federal resources to preventing domestic terrorism in response to the racist mass shooting in Buffalo, New York.The legislative effort is not new, as the House passed a similar measure in 2020 only to have it languish in the Senate. But lacking support in the Senate to move ahead with the gun-control legislation that they say is necessary to stop mass shootings, Democrats are instead pushing for a broader federal focus on domestic terrorism."We in Congress can't stop the likes of (Fox News host) Tucker Carlson from spewing hateful, dangerous replacement theory ideology across the airwaves. Congress hasn't been able to ban the sale of assault weapons. The Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act is what Congress can do this week to try to prevent future Buffalo shootings," Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., who first introduced the measure in 2017, said on the House floor Wednesday.The measure seeks to prevent another attack like the one that took place in Buffalo on Saturday when police say an 18-year-old white man drove three hours to carry out a racist, livestreamed shooting rampage in a crowded supermarket. Ten people were killed.The Democratic sponsors of the bill say it will fill the gaps in intelligence-sharing among the Justice Department, Department of Homeland Security and the FBI so that they can better track and respond to the growing threat of white extremist terrorism.Under current law, the three federal agencies already work to investigate, prevent and prosecute acts of domestic terrorism. But the bill would require each agency to open offices specifically dedicated to those tasks and create an interagency task force to combat the infiltration of white supremacy in the military.The Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill would cost about $105 million over five years, with most of the money going toward hiring staff."As we took 911 seriously, we need to take this seriously. This is a domestic form of the same terrorism that killed the innocent people of New York City and now this assault in Buffalo and many other places," Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin, who is sponsoring an identical bill in the Senate, said Wednesday. "The only thing missing between these organizations in the past are the white robes."Senate Democrats are pledging to bring up the bill for a vote next week. But its prospects are uncertain, with Republicans opposed to bolstering the power of the Justice Department in domestic surveillance.Republican lawmakers assert that the Justice Department abused its power to conduct more domestic surveillance when Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a memo in October aimed at combating threats against school officials nationwide. They labeled the memo as targeting concerned parents.GOP lawmakers also say the bill doesn't place enough emphasis on combatting domestic terrorism committed by groups on the far left. Under the bill, agencies would be required to produce a joint report every six months that assesses and quantifies domestic terrorism threats nationally, including threats posed by white supremacists and neo-Nazi groups."This bill glaringly ignores the persistent domestic terrorism threat from the radical left in this country and instead makes the assumption that it is all on the white and the right," said Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif.The divergence highlights the stubborn gap between Democrats and Republicans over domestic terrorism in the U.S. and how it should be defined and prosecuted.For decades, terrorism has been consistently tied with attacks from foreign actors, but as homegrown terrorism, often perpetrated by white men, has flourished over the past two decades, Democratic lawmakers have sought to clarify it in federal statute."We've seen it before in American history. The only thing missing between these organizations and the past are the white robes," Durbin said. "But the message is still the same hateful, divisive message, that sets off people to do outrageously extreme things, and violent things, to innocent people across America. It's time for us to take a stand."

Source link

Republicans inched closer to a narrow House majority Wednesday, while control of the Senate hinged on a few tight races in a midterm election that defied expectations of sweeping conservative victories driven by frustration over inflation and President Joe Biden’s leadership.Here's the latest on key races as of 3 a.m. EST:CLICK HERE for interactive election results and maps. The U.S. Senate races in Arizona and Nevada are too close to call as of Wednesday evening. The Georgia Senate race between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker will head to a Dec. 6 runoff after neither reached the general election majority required under state law.In Pennsylvania, Democrat John Fetterman flipped the state’s previously Republican-controlled Senate seat.Control of the U.S. House still hangs in the balance. Voters in a handful of states decided the extent of abortion rights, recreational marijuana, whether to close loopholes that allow convict labor as an exception to slavery and more.Either party could secure a Senate majority with wins in both Nevada and Arizona — where the races were too early to call. But there was a strong possibility that, for the second time in two years, the Senate majority could come down to a runoff in Georgia next month, with Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker failing to earn enough votes to win outright.In the House, Republicans on Wednesday night were within a dozen seats of the 218 needed to take control, while Democrats kept seats in districts from Virginia to Pennsylvania to Kansas and many West Coast contests were still too early to call. In a particularly symbolic victory for the GOP, Sean Patrick Maloney of New York, the House Democratic campaign chief, lost his bid for a sixth term.Control of Congress will decide how the next two years of Biden's term play out, and whether he is able to achieve more of his agenda or will see it blocked by a new GOP majority. Republicans are likely to launch a spate of investigations into Biden, his family and his administration if they take power, while a GOP takeover of the Senate would hobble the president’s ability to appoint judges.Video above: Fetterman wins Pennsylvania U.S. Senate race against Mehmet Oz“Regardless of what the final tally of these elections show, and there's still some counting going on, I'm prepared to work with my Republican colleagues," Biden said Wednesday in his first public remarks since the polls closed. “The American people have made clear, I think, that they expect Republicans to be prepared to work with me as well.”Democrats did better than history suggested they would. The party in power almost always suffers losses in the president’s first midterm elections, though even if the GOP ultimately wins the House, it won't be by a margin as large as during other midterm cycles. Democrats gained a net of 41 House seats under then-President Donald Trump in 2018, President Barack Obama saw the GOP gain 63 in 2010 and Republicans gained 54 seats during President Bill Clinton's first midterm.A small majority in the House would pose a great challenge for the GOP and especially California Rep. Kevin McCarthy, who is in line to be House speaker and would have little room for error in navigating a chamber of members eager to leverage their votes to advance their own agenda.In the fight for Senate control, Pennsylvania was a bright spot for Democrats. Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, who suffered a stroke five months ago, flipped a Republican-controlled Senate seat, topping Trump-endorsed Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz.Georgia, meanwhile, was set for yet another runoff on Dec. 6. In 2021, Warnock used a runoff to win his seat, as did Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff — which gave Democrats control of the Senate. Both Warnock and Walker were already fundraising off the race stretching into a second round.Both Republican and Democratic incumbents maintained key Senate seats. In Wisconsin, Republican Sen. Ron Johnson prevailed over Democratic Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, while in New Hampshire, Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan beat Don Bolduc, a retired Army general who had initially promoted Trump’s lies about the 2020 election but tried to shift away those views closer to Election Day.AP VoteCast, a broad survey of the national electorate, showed that high inflation and concerns about the fragility of democracy were heavily influencing voters. Half of voters said inflation factored significantly, with groceries, gasoline, housing and other costs that have shot up in the past year. Slightly fewer — 44% — said the future of democracy was their primary consideration.Biden didn’t entirely shoulder the blame for inflation, with close to half of voters saying the higher-than-usual prices were more because of factors outside of his control. And despite the president bearing criticism from a pessimistic electorate, some of those voters backed Democratic candidates.Democrats counted on a midterm boost from the Supreme Court’s decision to gut abortion rights, which they thought might energize their voters, and the bet paid off. In four states where the issue was on the ballot, voters backed abortion rights. VoteCast showed that 7 in 10 national voters said overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision was an important factor in their midterm decisions. It also showed the reversal was broadly unpopular. And roughly 6 in 10 said they favor a law guaranteeing access to legal abortion nationwide.In the first national election since the Jan. 6 insurrection, some who participated in or were in the vicinity of the attack on the U.S. Capitol were poised to win elected office. One of those Republican candidates, Derrick Van Orden in Wisconsin — who was outside the Capitol during the deadly riot — won a House seat. Another, J.R. Majewski, lost to Ohio Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur.Video above: Inflation, democracy top of mind as America votes Republicans had sought to make inroads in liberal New England but were shut out of House contests, with one Maine race still set to be determined by ranked choice voting.Governors' races took on outsized significance this year, particularly in battleground states that could help decide the results of the 2024 presidential election. Democrats held on to governors' mansions in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, defeating Republicans who promoted Trump's lies about a stolen 2020 election. Republicans held on to governors’ mansions in Florida, Texas and Georgia, another battleground state Biden narrowly won two years ago.Trump found some success as well. He lifted Republican Senate candidates to victory in Ohio and North Carolina. JD Vance, the bestselling author of “Hillbilly Elegy,” defeated 10-term congressman Tim Ryan, while Rep. Ted Budd beat Cheri Beasley, the former chief justice of the state Supreme Court.Video above: Healey declares victory, Diehl concedes in governor's raceTrump had endorsed more than 300 candidates across the country, hoping the night would end in a red wave he could ride to the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. After summoning reporters and his most loyal supporters to a watch party at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida on Tuesday, he ended the night without a triumphant speech.Still, the former president insisted on social media that he’d had “A GREAT EVENING.” Hours later, Palm Beach County issued an evacuation order for an area that included Trump's club with Hurricane Nicole approaching.___Associated Press writer Hannah Fingerhut contributed.

A Manhattan grand jury has voted to indict Daniel Penny, the Marine veteran who held Jordan Neely in a fatal chokehold on the New York City subway, according to a source with knowledge of the case. Penny, 24, was indicted on second-degree manslaughter charges. Penny surrendered to police last month to face a second-degree manslaughter charge. He has since been out on a $100,000 bond. Penny held Neely, a homeless man and street artist, in a chokehold on the subway train on May 1 after Neely began shouting at passengers that he was hungry and thirsty and didn’t care whether he died. Penny forced 30-year-old Neely to the train floor and restrained him in a chokehold until he stopped breathing. A medical examiner ruled Neely’s death a homicide. Video above: Rev. Al Sharpton delivers Jordan Neely's eulogyCNN has reached out to Penny’s attorneys and the attorneys representing Neely’s family.In May, Penny told the New York Post he was “deeply saddened by the loss of life,” amid what has become a contentious homicide case that has highlighted the city’s handling of unhoused people.Neely was on a New York City Department of Homeless Services list of the city’s homeless with acute needs – sometimes referred to internally as the “Top 50” list – because people on the list tend to disappear, a source told CNN.Penny told the newspaper he would take action in a similar situation again, “if there was a threat and danger in the present.” Penny said he is not a white supremacist and race was not a factor.In response to the May interview, Neely family attorneys called Penny a “killer.”“This is an advertisement to soften the public’s view of Daniel Penny who choked Jordan Neely to death. We never called him a white supremacist, we called him a killer,” attorneys Donte Mills and Lennon Edwards said at the time. “We want to know why he didn’t let go of that chokehold until Jordan was dead.”Neely’s killing, part of which was captured on video that was posted online, sparked demonstrations calling for justice in his case as Manhattan prosecutors spent days deliberating how to proceed before apprehending and charging Penny.

Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury, his lawyers said Thursday, making him the first former U.S. president to face a criminal charge and jolting his bid to retake the White House next year.The charges center on payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to silence claims of an extramarital sexual encounter. They mark an extraordinary development after years of investigations into Trump’s business, political and personal dealings.The indictment injects a local district attorney’s office into the heart of a national presidential race and ushers in criminal proceedings in a city that the ex-president for decades called home. Arriving at a time of deep political divisions, the charges are likely to reinforce rather than reshape dueling perspectives of those who see accountability as long overdue and those who, like Trump, feel the Republican is being targeted for political purposes by a Democratic prosecutor.Trump, who has denied any wrongdoing and has repeatedly assailed the investigation, called the indictment “political persecution” and predicted it would damage Democrats in 2024. In a statement confirming the charges, defense lawyers Susan Necheles and Joseph Tacopina said Trump "did not commit any crime. We will vigorously fight this political prosecution in court.”Video below: A live look at Trump Tower in New York City. (Note: This video is live. Offensive images and language may be displayed.)The case centers on well-chronicled allegations from a period in 2016 when Trump’s celebrity past collided with his political ambitions. Prosecutors scrutinized money paid to porn actor Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, whom he feared would go public with claims that they had extramarital sexual encounters with him.Trump was expected to surrender to authorities next week, though the details were still being worked out, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to discuss a matter that remained under seal.The timing of the indictment appeared to come as a surprise to Trump campaign officials following news reports that criminal charges was likely weeks away. The former president was at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida estate, on Thursday and had filmed an interview with a conservative commentator earlier in the day.For a man whose presidency was defined by one obliterated norm after another, the indictment presents yet another never-before-seen spectacle. It will require a former president, and current hopeful, to simultaneously fight for his freedom and his political future while also fending off potentially more perilous legal threats, including investigations into attempts by him and his allies to undo the 2020 election as well into as the hoarding of hundreds of classified documents.In fact, New York until recently had been seen as an unlikely contender to be the first place to prosecute Trump, who continues to face long-running investigations in Atlanta and Washington that could also result in charges. Unlike those inquiries, the Manhattan case concerns conduct by Trump that occurred before he became president and is unrelated to much-publicized efforts to overturn a presidential election.As he seeks to reassert control of the Republican Party and stave off a slew of one-time allies who are seeking or are likely to oppose him for the presidential nomination, the indictment sets the stage for an unprecedented scene — a former president having his fingerprints and mug shot taken, and then facing arraignment and possibly a criminal trial. For security reasons, his booking is expected to be carefully choreographed to avoid crowds inside or outside the courthouse.Video below: A live look at Donald Trump's plane at Palm Beach International Airport in FloridaIn bringing the charges, the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, is embracing an unusual case that had been investigated by two previous sets of prosecutors, both of which declined to take the politically explosive step of seeking Trump’s indictment.In the weeks leading up to the indictment, Trump, who is seeks to reassert control of the Republican Party and . railed about the investigation on social media and urged supporters to protest on his behalf, prompting tighter security around the Manhattan criminal courthouse.The fate of the hush-money investigation seemed uncertain until word got out in early March that Bragg had invited Trump to testify before a grand jury, a signal that prosecutors were close to bringing charges.Trump’s attorneys declined the invitation, but a lawyer closely allied with the former president briefly testified in an effort to undercut the credibility of Trump’s former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen.Late in the 2016 presidential campaign, Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 to keep her silent about what she says was a sexual encounter with Trump a decade earlier after they met at a celebrity golf tournament.Cohen was then reimbursed by Trump’s company, the Trump Organization, which also rewarded the lawyer with bonuses and extra payments logged internally as legal expenses. Over several months, Cohen said, the company paid him $420,000.Earlier in 2016, Cohen had also arranged for the publisher of the supermarket tabloid the National Enquirer to pay Playboy model Karen McDougal $150,000 to squelch her story of a Trump affair in a journalistically dubious practice known as “catch-and-kill.”The payments to the women were intended to buy secrecy, but they backfired almost immediately as details of the arrangements leaked to the news media.Federal prosecutors in New York ultimately charged Cohen in 2018 with violating federal campaign finance laws, arguing that the payments amounted to impermissible help to Trump’s presidential campaign. Cohen pleaded guilty to those charges and unrelated tax evasion counts and served time in federal prison.Trump was implicated in court filings as having knowledge of the arrangements, but U.S. prosecutors at the time balked at bringing charges against him. The Justice Department has a longtime policy that it is likely unconstitutional to prosecute a sitting president in federal court.Video below: A live look at the Manhattan District Attorney's office in New York City. (Note: This video is live. Offensive images and language may be displayed.)Bragg’s predecessor as district attorney, Cyrus Vance Jr., then took up the investigation in 2019. While that probe initially focused on the hush money payments, Vance’s prosecutors moved on to other matters, including an examination of Trump’s business dealings and tax strategies.Vance ultimately charged the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer with tax fraud related to fringe benefits paid to some of the company’s top executives.The hush money matter became known around the D.A.’s office as the “zombie case,” with prosecutors revisiting it periodically but never opting to bring charges.Bragg saw it differently. After the Trump Organization was convicted on the tax fraud charges in December, he brought fresh eyes to the well-worn case, hiring longtime white-collar prosecutor Matthew Colangelo to oversee the probe and convening a new grand jury.Cohen became a key witness, meeting with prosecutors nearly two-dozen times, turning over emails, recordings and other evidence and testifying before the grand jury.Trump has long decried the Manhattan investigation as “the greatest witch hunt in history.” He has also lashed out at Bragg, calling the prosecutor, who is Black, racist against white people.The criminal charges in New York are the latest salvo in a profound schism between Trump and his hometown — a reckoning for a one-time favorite son who grew rich and famous building skyscrapers, hobnobbing with celebrities and gracing the pages of the city’s gossip press.Trump, who famously riffed in 2016 that he “could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody” and “wouldn’t lose voters,” now faces a threat to his liberty or at least his reputation in a borough where more than 75% of voters — many of them potential jurors — went against him in the last election.

Source link

Source link

Source link

Congress has overridden President Donald Trump's veto of a defense policy bill, a first by lawmakers since he took office nearly four years ago.In an extraordinary New Year's Day session, the Republican-controlled Senate easily turned aside the veto, dismissing Trump's objections to the $740 billion bill and handing him a stinging rebuke just weeks before his term ends.Trump had lashed out at GOP lawmakers on Twitter, charging earlier this week that “Weak and tired Republican ‘leadership’ will allow the bad Defense Bill to pass.″Trump called the looming override vote a “disgraceful act of cowardice and total submission by weak people to Big Tech. Negotiate a better Bill, or get better leaders, NOW!"The 81-13 vote in the Senate followed an earlier 322-87 override vote in the House of the widely popular defense measure. The bill provides a 3% pay raise for U.S. troops and guides defense policy, cementing decisions about troop levels, new weapons systems and military readiness, personnel policy and other military goals. Many programs, including military construction, can only go into effect if the bill is approved.Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said before the vote that Congress has passed the National Defense Authorization Act every year for 59 years in a row, "and one way or another, we are going to complete the 60th annual NDAA and pass it into law before this Congress concludes on Sunday.''The bill "looks after our brave men and women who volunteer to wear the uniform,'' McConnell said. “But it’s also a tremendous opportunity: to direct our national security priorities to reflect the resolve of the American people and the evolving threats to their safety, at home and abroad. It’s our chance to ensure we keep pace with competitors like Russia and China.''The Senate override was delayed after Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., objected to moving ahead until McConnell allowed a vote on a Trump-backed plan to increase COVID-19 relief payments to $2,000. McConnell did not allow that vote; instead he used his parliamentary power to set a vote limiting debate on the defense measure, overcoming a filibuster threat by Sanders and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York.Video below: Pelosi slams McConnell for halting stimulus checksWithout a bipartisan agreement, a vote on the bill could have been delayed until Saturday night. Lawmakers, however, agreed to an immediate roll call Friday once the filibuster threat was stopped.Trump rejected the defense measure last week, saying it failed to limit social media companies he claimed were biased against him during his failed reelection campaign. Trump also opposed language that allows for the renaming of military bases that honor Confederate leaders.Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he was “disappointed” with Trump’s veto and called the bill “absolutely vital to our national security and our troops.″“This is the most important bill we have,″ Inhofe said. “It puts members of the military first.″Trump has succeeded throughout his four-year term in enforcing party discipline in Congress, with few Republicans willing to publicly oppose him. The bipartisan overrides on the defense bill showed the limits of Trump’s influence in the final weeks of his term.Earlier this week, 130 House Republicans voted against the Trump-backed COVID relief checks, with many arguing they were unnecessary and would increase the federal budget deficit.The Democratic-controlled House approved the larger payments, but the plan is dead in the Senate, another sign of Trump’s fading hold over Congress.Besides his concerns about social media and military base names, Trump also said the defense bill restricted his ability to conduct foreign policy, “particularly my efforts to bring our troops home.″ Trump was referring to provisions in the bill that impose conditions on his plan to withdraw thousands of troops from Afghanistan and Germany. The measures require the Pentagon to submit reports certifying that the proposed withdrawals would not jeopardize U.S. national security.Trump has vetoed eight other bills, but those were all sustained because supporters did not gain the two-thirds vote needed in each chamber for the bills to become law without Trump’s signature.Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, called Trump's Dec. 23 veto a “parting gift" to Russian President Vladimir Putin "and a lump of coal for our troops. Donald Trump is showing more devotion to Confederate base names than to the men and women who defend our nation.″

Source link

The debate over masks is lingering in Lebanon.With many kids in quarantine, the district considered changing safety strategies on Wednesday.But after hours of taking public comment, the decision was "no decision."The school board tabled the vote after a meeting of more than three hours.It was an emotional meeting.People knew their stance and they made it abundantly clear.Parents flooded the central office for Lebanon City Schools.The temperature of the room was hot and the discussion was even hotter.They came expecting a mask mandate vote by school board members.Some people were against masks."Leave the decision to the parents. If it is mandated, there is no endgame and this will go forever," parent Christy Sanders said.Other parents also agreed with Sanders."We're saying stay the course. Give parents the option. Let them decide what they want to do with their children," parent Mike Cope said.Fewer people appeared to be for masks or mandates."There's homecoming, prom, choir concerts, musicals. All of these can be taken away if the schools get shut down for not wearing masks," student Alicia Smith said.A woman who works in health care also spoke out in favor of masks."I just think it's probably the thing to do right now. I wish we could just kind of follow the numbers and, as they go down, then take the masks off," she said.According to data from the district on Wednesday, 49 students have tested positive for COVID-19, with two breakthrough cases.It said 17 students are waiting on test results and 536 students have been identified as close contacts and are in quarantine.The data provided by the school district showed 52 students who are vaccinated or who were masked won't miss class.But a big issue became abundantly clear after looking closer.Quarantines, parents and even school board members said, are extensive in comparison to positive cases.School board members decided to table the vote until they can figure out if they must follow the quarantine protocols set forth by Warren County Health officials."The quarantine has got to stop. There are counties in Ohio that are not doing it. We can stop doing it," parent Holly Bates said.The district made it clear that it is not mandating vaccinations.Some parents said under their breath, and some quite loudly, "for now."It's not yet clear when the board will meet again to discuss the issue.Board members said the superintendent will consult with the district's attorney for better guidance.

WARNING: The following content may contain violent images and strong or coarse language. Viewer discretion is advised.Follow along below for updates as the impeachment trial resumes (all times eastern)1 p.m.Senators have resumed Donald Trump’s impeachment trial without calling witnesses after agreeing to accept new information from a Republican congresswoman about his actions on the day of the deadly Capitol siege.After a delay of several hours, the trial is back on track with closing arguments and Saturday’s session heading toward a vote on the verdict.Under the deal, Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler’s statement on a phone call between Trump and House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy as rioters stormed the Capitol was entered into the trial record as evidence. No further witnesses were called.Senators brought the proceedings to a standstill when a majority voted Saturday morning to consider potential witnesses.The information from Herrera Beutler sparked fresh interest on Trump’s actions that day.12:45 p.m.Senate leaders are working on an agreement that could end a standoff over calling witnesses in Donald Trump’s impeachment trial and allow it to proceed with closing arguments and a vote on whether he incited the deadly Capitol siege.Under the agreement being discussed, the information that a Republican congresswoman has made public about Trump’s actions on the day of the riot would be entered into the record of the trial in exchange for Democrats dropping plans to deposition testimony from the congresswoman, Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington. No witnesses would be called to testify.That would allow the trial to resume Saturday with closing arguments and a vote on the verdict.A Democrat granted anonymity to discuss the private talks confirmed the pending agreement.The Senate came to a standstill shortly after convening for the rare Saturday session when a majority voted to consider calling witnesses.Herrera Beutler’s account of Trump’s call with House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy as rioters were breaking into the Capitol on Jan. 6 sparked fresh interest in Trump’s actions that day.11:15 a.m.Former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial came to an abrupt standstill after a majority of senators voted to consider calling witnesses about the deadly storming of the Capitol.Even senators seemed confused by the sudden turn of events Saturday. The quick trial had been racing toward closing arguments and a vote on whether to acquit or convict Trump.Under Senate rules for the trial, it appears debate and votes on potential witnesses could be allowed, potentially delaying the final vote.House prosecutors want to hear from a Republican congresswoman who has said she was aware of a conversation Trump had with the House GOP leader as rioters were ransacking the Capitol over the election results.Rep. Jamie Herrera Beutler of Washington has widely discussed her reported conversation with House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, who had called on Trump to stop the attack by his supporters.Five Republican senators joined all Democrats in voting 55-45 on a motion to consider witnesses and testimony.Trump’s defense attorneys blasted the late action. Attorney Michael van der Veen said it’s time to “close this case out.”Senators are in a recess until 12:30 p.m. to allow leaders to confer on the next steps.10:35 a.m.Senators have voted to consider witnesses in the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump.Closing arguments were expected Saturday with no witnesses called. But lead Democratic prosecutor Jamie Raskin of Maryland asked for a deposition of Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler over fresh information.She has widely shared a conversation she had with House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy over Trump’s actions on Jan. 6 as the mob was rioting over the presidential election results. Raskin said it was necessary to determine Trump’s role in inciting the deadly Jan. 6 riot. There were 55 senators who voted to debate the motion to subpoena, including Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, who changed his vote in the middle of the count.Trump’s attorney Michael van der Veen balked at the request, saying he’d then call 100 witnesses and insist they give depositions in person in his office in Philadelphia.His animated statement was met with laughter from the chamber, which visibly angered van der Veen.“There’s nothing laughable here,” he said. The trial is being held in person, but lawmakers are wearing masks and the coronavirus pandemic has halted most normal activity, including close contact in offices for depositions. In many civil and criminal cases, such work is handled via conference call.10:05 a.m.The Senate is gaveling open as the court of impeachment is expecting to wrap up Donald Trump’s trial over the Capitol siege.Senators were speeding toward an expected vote in the rare Saturday session on whether to convict or acquit the former president on the charge of incitement of insurrection in the Jan. 6 attack.Some senators want to consider witnesses, but it’s unclear if any will be called to testify, or if there would be enough support in a vote to do so.The weeklong impeachment trial is the first of a former president.9:45 a.m.The closing phase of Donald Trump’s impeachment trial is putting new scrutiny on what actions the former president took when his supporters overwhelmed police and stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6. It comes as Democrats consider whether to force a debate on calling witnesses for the trial, which would require a majority vote of the Senate.Democrats argue Trump incited the riot and then refused to stop it, putting Vice President Mike Pence in danger. Pence was in the Capitol presiding over the certification of President Joe Biden’s election victory and was rushed to safety as the Capitol was invaded.Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington, who was one of 10 Republicans to vote for Trump’s impeachment in the House, said in a statement late Friday Trump rebuffed a plea from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to call off the rioters on Jan. 6. She said McCarthy had relayed the conversation to her.Another Republican, Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, said he told Trump during a call on Jan. 6 that Pence was being evacuated from the Senate.Several Republicans who are seen as wavering on whether to convict Trump pressed Trump’s lawyers during questioning to account for Trump’s actions on Jan. 6.One of Trump’s lawyers, Michael van der Veen, responded to those questions by saying that at “no point” was the president informed of any danger to Pence.Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat from Rhode Island, said the Senate should “suspend the trial” to question McCarthy and Tuberville under oath, and to seek records from the Secret Service.“What did Trump know, and when did he know it?” Whitehouse tweeted. Original story below: Senators are poised to vote on whether Donald Trump will be held accountable for inciting the horrific attack at the Capitol after a speedy trial that laid bare the violence and danger to their own lives and the fragility of the nation's tradition of a peaceful transfer of presidential power.Barely a month since the deadly riot, closing arguments are set for the historic impeachment trial as senators arrive for a rare Saturday session, all under the watch of armed National Guard troops still guarding the iconic building.The outcome of the quick, raw and emotional proceedings are expected to reflect a nation divided over the former president and the future of his brand of politics in America.“What’s important about this trial is that it’s really aimed to some extent at Donald Trump, but it’s more aimed at some president we don’t even know 20 years from now,” said Sen. Angus King, the independent from Maine, weighing his vote.The nearly weeklong trial has been delivering a grim and graphic narrative of the Jan. 6 riot and its consequences for the nation in ways that senators, most of whom fled for their own safety that day, acknowledge they are still coming to grips with.Acquittal is expected in the evenly-divided Senate, a verdict that could heavily influence not only Trump’s political future but that of the senators sworn to deliver impartial justice as jurors as they cast their votes.House prosecutors have argued that Trump's rallying cry to go to the Capitol and “fight like hell” for his presidency just as Congress was convening Jan. 6 to certify Joe Biden’s election was part of an orchestrated pattern of violent rhetoric and false claims that unleashed the mob. Five people died, including a rioter who was shot and a police officer.The defense attorneys countered in a short three hours Friday that Trump's words were not intended to incite the violence and impeachment is nothing but a “witch hunt” designed to prevent him from serving in office again.Only by watching the graphic videos — rioters calling out menacingly for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence, who was presiding over the vote tally — did senators say they began to understand just how perilously close the country came to chaos. Hundreds of rioters stormed into the building, taking over the Senate and some engaging in hand-to-hand, bloody combat with police. While it is unlikely the Senate would be able to mount the two-thirds vote needed to convict, several senators appear to be still weighing their vote. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell will be widely watched for cues, but he is not pressuring his GOP side of the aisle and is telling senators to vote their conscience.Many Republicans representing states where the former president remains popular doubt whether Trump was fully responsible or if impeachment is the appropriate response. Democrats appear all but united toward conviction.Trump is the only president to be twice impeached, and the first to face trial charges after leaving office.Unlike last year’s impeachment trial of Trump in the Ukraine affair, a complicated charge of corruption and obstruction over his attempts to have the foreign ally dig up dirt on then-rival Biden, this one brought an emotional punch over the unexpected vulnerability of the nation’s tradition of peaceful elections. The charge is singular, incitement of insurrection.On Friday, Trump’s impeachment lawyers accused Democrats of waging a campaign of “hatred” against the former president as they wrapped up their defense, sending the Senate toward a final vote in his historic trial.The defense team vigorously denied that Trump had incited the deadly riot and played out-of-context video clips showing Democrats, some of them senators now serving as jurors, also telling supporters to “fight," aiming to establish a parallel with Trump's overheated rhetoric.“This is ordinarily political rhetoric,” declared Trump lawyer Michael van der Veen. “Countless politicians have spoken of fighting for our principles.”But the presentation blurred the difference between general encouragement politicians make to battle for health care or other causes and Trump’s fight against officially accepted national election results, and minimized Trump’s efforts to undermine those election results. The defeated president was telling his supporters to fight on after every state had verified its results, after the Electoral College had affirmed them and after nearly every election lawsuit filed by Trump and his allies had been rejected in court.Democratic senators shook their heads at what many called a false equivalency to their own fiery words. “We weren’t asking them 'fight like hell' to overthrow an election,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.Democrats say that Trump was the “inciter in chief” whose monthslong campaign against the election results was rooted in a “big lie” and laid the groundwork for the riot, a violent domestic attack on the Capitol unparalleled in history.“Get real,” lead prosecutor Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said at one point. “We know that this is what happened.”The Senate has convened as a court of impeachment for past presidents Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton and now twice for Trump, but the unprecedented nature of the case because he's no longer in the White House has provided Republican senators one of several arguments against conviction.Republicans maintain the proceedings are unconstitutional, even though the Senate voted at the outset of the trial on this issue and confirmed it has jurisdiction.Six Republican senators who joined Democrats in voting to take up the case are among those most watched for their votes.Early signals came Friday during questions for the lawyers. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, asked the first question, the two centrists known for independent streaks. They leaned into a point the prosecutors had made asking exactly when did Trump learn of the breach of the Capitol and what specific actions did he take to bring the rioting to an end?Democrats had argued that Trump did nothing as the mob rioted.Another Republican who voted to launch the trial, Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, asked about Trump’s tweet criticizing Pence moments after having been told by another senator that the vice president had just been evacuated.Van der Veen responded that at “no point” was the president informed of any danger. Cassidy told reporters later it was not a very good answer.