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McConnell: Capitol mob ‘provoked’ by Trump and ‘other powerful people’

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Almost two weeks following the deadly Capitol riot, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Tuesday that President Donald Trump and others “provoked” the violent mob.

“The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the president and other powerful people,” McConnell said Tuesday on the Senate floor.

McConnell has mostly stood by throughout his presidency and his wife Elaine Chow served his administration as Transportation Secretary. Chao resigned after the riot.

The House of Representatives voted last week to impeach Trump for “incitement of insurrection” and as the Senate prepares to begin his trial. On Tuesday, McConnell mentioned that the House still needs to formally send the article of impeachment to the Senate.

With Trump’s term in office expiring at noon on Wednesday, the same time that President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in, Trump’s looming trial will be the first one for an ex-president. By the time the trial begins, however, McConnell will no longer be the majority leader and current Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) will have already assumed the role.

January 6 saw rioters violently storm the U.S. Capitol to prevent Congress from certifying the states’ Electoral College votes and Biden’s 2020 election win, resulting in five deaths.

RELATED: Prosecutors: ‘strong evidence’ shows Capitol rioters sought to ‘capture and assassinate’ officials

The riot happened after a rally in front of the White House opposing the certification, where President Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Rudy Giuliani, and others made spoke . At the rally, the speakers alleged widespread fraud cost the President the election.

Rioters stormed the Capitol after the event and Trump later spoke to supporters, encouraging peaceful protests and denouncing violence.

RELATED: Joe Scarborough calls for arrests of Trump, Giuliani, Trump Jr. for insurrection in fiery speech

You can follow Douglas Braff on Twitter @Douglas_P_Braff.

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Elections

‘Federal Warfare is Winding Down’ as Judge Grants Request to Cancel Further Proceedings in Jan 6 Case

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“Federal lawfare is indeed winding down” now that former President Donald Trump has won the 2024 presidential election, National Review shrewdly points out. One of the most significant examples is that of Judge Tanya Chutkan, the Obama appointee who is presiding over the 2020 election interference case against President-elect Trump.

On Friday, Chutkan issued a brief order on the docket vacating all proceedings scheduled in the case. That includes any briefing on pending issues; she ordered that on or before December 2, 2024, Biden-Harris DOJ special counsel Jack Smith must file “a status report indicating [the government’s] proposed course for this case going forward.”

The course for the case is to dismiss it. Judge Chutkan’s order was a result of a brief application by Smith’s staff. The Trump camp did not oppose the application which stated:

As a result of the election held on November 5, 2024, the defendant is expected to be certified as President-elect on January 6, 2025, and inaugurated on January 20, 2025. The Government respectfully requests that the Court vacate the remaining deadlines in the pretrial schedule to afford the Government time to assess this unprecedented circumstance and determine the appropriate course going forward consistent with Department of Justice policy.

National Review states what many in the political sphere have avowed all along: the entire thing was a theatrical and costly attempt to prevent Trump from being elected.

Judge Juan Merchan is due to rule next Tuesday on Trump’s motion to vacate the guilty verdicts. The motion includes the defense claim that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s trial presentation violated the principles set out by the Supreme Court in its immunity ruling (in the January 6 case) a month after Trump’s Manhattan trial ended.

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