The U.S. House of Representatives debates the impeachment of President Donald Trump
One week from today, President Joe Biden will be sworn in as the next president of the United States. The question is, what will happen between now and then?
The trouble with discussing the news at times like this is that so many things remain up in the air. We know that the effort to remove Trump from office through the 25th Amendment failed, despite a 223-205 vote asking Vice-President Mike Pence and the Cabinet to do so. Pence said it would be straining the definition of the amendment, which allows for removing the president if he is “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.” One Republican joined the Democrats in pressing the matter.
After the vote on Jan. 12, U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas, D-NH, said, “By inciting the deadly mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol, leading to the deaths of two US. Capitol Police officers, President Trump has demonstrated that he is unable to responsibly discharge the duties of his office.”
U.S. Rep. Ann Kuster, D-NH, said, “The President has shown time and again that he is either unable or unwilling to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States or the American people. Every day he remains in office, our country and our citizens are at risk.” She supported invoking the 25th Amendment, she said, “to ensure that the final days of this Administration are peaceful and free of bloodshed.”
With the constitutional option off the table, the U.S. House of Representatives convened today to move on impeachment. Ten Republicans joined Democrats in voting for impeachment. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he would not call the body back early to hear the case, which means Trump probably will be able to serve out his term.
Trump released a statement during the House debate in which he urged his followers to avoid further violence in Washington and across the country. “In light of reports of more demonstrations, I urge that there must be NO violence, NO lawbreaking and NO vandalism of any kind,” Trump said. “That is not what I stand for, and it is not what America stands for. I call on ALL Americans to help ease tensions and calm tempers. Thank You.”
Aliens in the News
Over the last couple of days, some Americans were turning to other matters. The Black Vault, an online clearinghouse for documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, has made documents relating to Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) or Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) accessible via download.
The PDFs of federal documents, many of them heavily redacted, discuss the government’s efforts to track them down, apparently believing as Fox Mulder does in The X-Files, that “The truth is out there.”
One of the documents released by the CIA, dated April 26, 1976, states, “At the present time, there are offices and personnel within the agency who are monitoring the UFO phenomena, but again, this is not currently on an official basis. Dr. [redacted] feels that the best approach would be to keep in touch with and in fact develop reporting channels in this area to keep the agency/community informed of any new developments. In particular, any information which might indicate a threat potential would be of interest, as would specific indications of foreign developments or applications of UFO related research.”
John Greenwald Jr., who operates The Black Vault, said he has been making FOIA requests about UAP collected since 1996 by the U.S. government for the past two decades.
For those who doubt, keep in mind that the most recent COVID-19 bill included, as part of the package that passed in December, a requirement that the Pentagon brief Congress on all it knows about UAP.
About That Pandemic Relief
Intuit TurboTax, which is helping the Internal Revenue Service handle the pandemic stimulus payments required by the COVID-19 bill, announced last week that an IRS error resulted in “millions” of payments being deposited in the wrong accounts. The IRS itself said in a statement last Thursday, “For those who don’t receive a direct deposit, they should watch their mail for either a paper check or a prepaid debit card.”
The News Café is a virtual meeting place where subscribers can share their thoughts and questions about the news of the day — or any topic. We may even select a subject for in-depth analysis. So fill your cup with your favorite drink, pull up a chair, and join us at The News Café. Free subscriptions put readers on an email list for public posts, while paid subscriptions provide access to all posts and an archive of stories. Either way, we want to hear from you as we build our community. www.libertymedianh.org