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Biden’s Inauguration Week begins as DC security intensifies

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1 min ago

DC attorney general says Trump could possibly be charged with misdemeanor for role in Capitol riot

From CNN’s Katelyn Polantz and Rebecca Grandahl

U.S. President Donald Trump walks to the White House residence after exiting Marine One upon his return on January 12, 2021 in Washington, DC.
U.S. President Donald Trump walks to the White House residence after exiting Marine One upon his return on January 12, 2021 in Washington, DC. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine warned Sunday that President Trump could possibly be charged by city prosecutors with “a misdemeanor, a six-month-in-jail maximum,” amid fallout from the deadly insurrection at the US Capitol earlier this month.

“Let it be known that the office of attorney general has a potential charge that it may utilize,” Racine told MSNBC.

“It’s law in DC since 2011. It makes illegal the statements of individuals that clearly encourage, cajole, and otherwise, you know, get people motivated to commit violence,” he added.

The DC attorney general enforces local codes for the city. He does not have as robust criminal jurisdiction as the US Department of Justice, which handles prosecuting both federal crimes and the major crimes committed in Washington, DC. Federal prosecutors are leading the effort to investigate and prosecute crimes related to the violent riot on January 6 that left five dead.

“The federal charge carries far more jail time,” Racine said, adding that his office is “collaborating at a high level with the federal prosecutors.”

“(Trump’s) conduct prior to the mob storming the Capitol is relevant. I think his conduct during that time and immediately thereafter is also relevant,” the attorney general said.

Of the insurrectionists who attacked the Capitol, Racine said “every single person” at the Trump rally that day is “being reviewed” in what he called a “thorough investigation” of the Capitol insurrection.

The investigation will include “talking to people who were at that rally” as well as people who stormed the Capitol and “went inside,” he said.

Racine also said during his interview that his office “will be judicious with whether to charge and who to charge,” but noted, “it’s all about the words that are utilized … it’s all about the dynamics and the environment and frankly the energy.”

He said his office has jurisdiction to pursue offenses including weapons, ammunition, curfew violations and inciting violence.

9 min ago

Harris will resign her Senate seat today as she prepares to take office Wednesday

From CNN’s Jasmine Wright

US Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on January 16, 2021, at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Delaware. 
US Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on January 16, 2021, at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Delaware.  Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will officially resign Monday from her US Senate seat, ending her four-year Senate career, according to a Harris aide. The move comes two days before she’s inaugurated on Wednesday, making history as the first female, first Black and first South Asian vice president.

Aides say Harris has already started the process of her resignation, having notified California Gov. Gavin Newsom of her intent and sent her formal indications that she’ll be resigning Monday. Harris will not give a farewell speech on the Senate floor, due to the schedule.

Harris won her seat in November 2016 and was sworn in January 2017. At the time, Harris was California’s attorney general.

Newsom has already named Alex Padilla, California’s secretary of state, to fill Harris’ seat. In a press call, he told reporters he would likely be sworn in himself on Wednesday.

The incoming vice president has spoken to Padilla before he comes into office, according to a person with knowledge of the discussion.

Harris made history throughout her career, becoming the first Black woman in California to serve as a senator.

In her November victory speech, she recognized the hard battle women faced to exercise their civic rights and break into the upper echelon of American politics, nodding to the women who came before her like former Rep. Shirley Chisholm and the young girls who will come after her.

“While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last,” Harris said. “Because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities.”

Now, Harris will preside over the same chamber that she is stepping down from, becoming president of the Senate.

4 min ago

Biden will likely take office Wednesday without key Cabinet roles in place

From CNN’s Eric Bradner

US President-elect Joe Biden on January 16, 2021 in Wilmington, Delaware.
US President-elect Joe Biden on January 16, 2021 in Wilmington, Delaware. Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images

President-elect Joe Biden is on track to take office without key Cabinet members being confirmed on the day of his inauguration, a result of the Republican-led Senate moving much more slowly to schedule confirmation hearings and votes than it has for previous presidents.

The timeline for confirming Biden’s Cabinet nominees could accelerate when Democrats take control of the Senate in the coming days. But Republicans, amid the coronavirus pandemic and the Capitol riots, have been slow to schedule confirmation hearings.

The first set of hearings is scheduled to take place Jan. 19 — days and in some cases weeks after those hearings have begun in recent transitions — with no dates for confirmation set.

The latest delay came when the Senate Intelligence Committee postponed what would have been the first confirmation hearing for a Biden nominee, moving from Friday until next Tuesday the hearing for Biden’s pick to be the next director of national intelligence, Avril Haines.

That makes next Tuesday — the day before Biden’s inauguration — one jam-packed with confirmation hearings, with Biden’s nominees to helm the defense, homeland security, state and treasury departments all scheduled to take place.

The proximity to Biden’s inauguration makes it unlikely Biden administration confirmations will proceed at the same pace as his predecessors in recent decades, with all new presidents in the last 30 years seeing at least some Cabinet nominees confirmed on the days of their inauguration.

What may come next: The early days of Biden’s administration will see a collision in Congress of the Senate’s trial of outgoing President Trump, the process of confirming Biden’s nominees and talks over Biden’s proposed $1.9 trillion coronavirus vaccine and economic stimulus proposal.

With Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer set to replace Republican Mitch McConnell as Senate majority leader following Biden’s swearing-in and the swearing-in of two Georgia Democrats who won runoffs there this month — making Vice President-elect Kamala Harris the tie-breaking vote in a Senate split 50-50 — the confirmation schedule could accelerate.

9 min ago

Biden’s inauguration is just 2 days away. Here’s how the event will look different this year. 

Analysis by Zachary B. Wolf

Members of the US National Guard at the US Capitol in Washington, DC on January 17, 2021.
Members of the US National Guard at the US Capitol in Washington, DC on January 17, 2021. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images

The invitations have been scaled back by the pandemic and the security has been heightened due to the Capitol riot, but Joe Biden’s inauguration as the 46th president of the United States next week will still have plenty of pomp.

The National Mall will be shut down to keep people away, so we will all be spared another comparison of crowd sizes, especially since Trump’s Twitter handle has been turned off. The threat of violent protests from election-denying Trump supporters and the presence of 20,000 National Guard troops will keep anyone from forgetting Trump’s turbulent leadership, or lack thereof.

The FBI has warned of armed protests in all 50 state capitals and the TSA is moving to restrict guns in checked baggage.

Here are other key things to know about the event:

What’s different this year? A lot. Biden had planned to make a statement by arriving in Washington by Amtrak from Wilmington, Delaware, where the train station bears his name — a testament to the days when he was a senator and used to make the round-trip home to be with his kids. That’s off. He’ll stay the night before in Blair House, across from the White House, instead of a hotel.

Normally, members of Congress get a raft of tickets to distribute at will. This year they each get a +1. The public is being encouraged to stay away and the National Mall will be shut down. There will be no public parade from the Capitol to the White House, but instead a virtual parade bringing in people from around the country.

The inaugural balls — usually there are multiple and the new president makes a short appearance at several — will be replaced by a produced TV show featuring stars like Hanks along with Justin Timberlake. This will feel very much like the Covid inauguration.

What will Biden say? Pay special attention to how Biden references his predecessor, soon to face an impeachment trial, during his inaugural address.

Who will be at the actual inauguration ceremony? All the normal VIPs, incoming and outgoing Cabinet members, lawmakers and Supreme Court justices are likely to attend, as is outgoing Vice President Mike Pence. Trump will not. It’s rare, but not unheard of, for a president to skip the transfer of power.

Jennifer Lopez and Lady Gaga will add some show-biz glitz to the ceremony, which will still take place at the West Front of the US Capitol, looking out on an empty Mall, a show of defiance to the people who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, maybe. But also a reminder that this is a very singular beginning to a new administration. Read more.

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