Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

CT Senators say danger of insurrection remains

House prepares impeachment; Move narrowly supported in poll.

  • Politics
  • by Mark Pazniokas
  • January 11, 2021
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

MARK PAZNIOKAS :: CTMIRROR.ORG

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy: “I don’t think this insurgency is over.”

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., pressed the Pentagon on Monday to clarify and streamline the procedures for dispatching federal troops to the U.S. Capitol, saying the danger of insurrection persists and the failure to quickly defend Congress against a pro-Trump mob last Wednesday was unconscionable. 

“To me, Wednesday is a before and after moment. We need to take a look at radical reform in the way that the Capitol is protected, in part because I don’t think this insurgency is over,” Murphy said. “Obviously, there are big questions about what these lunatics are planning for this weekend and next week.”

The fallout from the assault on the Capitol continued at a furious pace, with the House of Representatives introducing an article of impeachment accusing President Donald J. Trump of inciting violence with the intent of stopping Congress from formally accepting the Electoral College vote of 306-232 of Joe Biden for president. 

A Quinnipiac University poll released Monday reported that Americans believe by wide margins that Trump and the congressional Republicans who tried to stop the certification of Biden’s victory were undermining democracy.

By smaller majorities, they favor Trump’s resignation or removal before Biden takes office on Jan. 20 at an inaugural Trump pledges to boycott, a stunning breach of precedent that underscores his unwillingness to accept the legitimacy of the election.

While much of Washington focused on the very real prospect of a House impeachment vote and the unlikely possibility of Trump’s removal by resignation or a Senate vote, Murphy and others turned their attention to ensuring the Capitol would remain safe during the inaugural and thereafter.

“On Wednesday, it was clear early on that the Capitol Police did not have the manpower or the ability to defend the United States Capitol from invasion and insurrection. And yet, it took four hours for the Department of Defense, specifically the National Guard, to get any kind of true presence to defend the Capitol from attack.” Murphy said. “That is unconscionable. That is unacceptable.”

Murphy, who is the ranking Democratic on an Appropriations subcommittee that oversees the legislative branch, made his request to the acting secretary of defense with two other Democratic senators, Martin Heinrich of New Mexico and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York. Gillibrand is the top Democrat on a Senate Armed Services subcommittee on personnel.

Separately, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said Biden’s nominee for defense secretary, retired Army Gen. Lloyd Austin, promised during a conference call that the Pentagon would cooperate with any congressional inquiry.

Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of homeland security until he resigned Monday, announced that security measures for the inauguration will begin six days earlier than planned, a recommendation of the Secret Service and a reflection of the “evolving security landscape.”

Murphy, who spoke to reporters outside the State Capitol in Hartford, made clear how deeply rattled Washington was by the siege of the U.S. Capitol.

“This is America’s temple of democracy, the United States Capitol,” Murphy said. “Inside it that day was the joint session of the United States Congress, virtually every member of the Senate, every member of the House, and the number one, two and three in the line of succession to the presidency.”

In a story posted late Sunday night, the Washington Post quoted Steven Sund, who resigned as Capitol Police chief after his officers were overwhelmed, as saying he was rebuffed by House and Senate security officials when he asked that the D.C. National Guard be put on standby.

But Murphy said that was inconsistent with what Sund told him.

“It’s not consistent with my conversation with the chief,” Murphy said. “That’s not to say that his allegation isn’t true. But I spoke at length with the chief at 11 o’clock on Wednesday night and at 9 a.m. on Thursday morning, and in neither of those conversations did he mention he had wanted presence from the National Guard. And in fact, in both of those conversations, he defended to me the decision to go it alone without National Guard support.”

At an unrelated event in Hartford, Blumenthal said a Senate trial on an article of impeachment expected by the House was possible before Jan. 20, though unlikely. The evidence of incitement to insurrection, the article that was introduced, are the president’s tweets and his remarks to supporters on the Ellipse before they marched to the Capitol.

“There is ample time to do this trial before the inaugural,” Blumenthal said. “If the House votes on impeachment this week and approves it as we expect it will, the Senate could work through the balance of the week and over the weekend before the inaugural to hold that trial. The evidence is simple and straightforward. The President’s comments recorded by video make the case compellingly, beyond a reasonable doubt that he incited that riot. It’s a single article of impeachment.”

MARK PAZNIOKAS :: CTMIRROR.ORG

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal: “The president violated the law, shockingly and sickeningly.”

The House also intends to pass a resolution calling on Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment of the Constitution and declare Trump unfit.

“His erratic behavior, especially his role in instigating violence at the Capitol and then abandoning his duty to restore order, raises serious doubts about his fitness as Commander in Chief,” U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, said in a statement. “It would be best for the country for the President to resign.”

The House Democratic majority has the votes to pass an article of impeachment, but Republicans control the Senate calendar until Kamala Harris takes the oath as vice president and can break ties in what will be an evenly divided Senate. If the Senate holds a trial, a two-thirds vote is necessary for conviction.

The Senate also could take up a trial after Trump leaves office.

“There really is an important principle and precedent here,” Blumenthal said. “The president violated the law, shockingly and sickeningly. And that kind of reprehensible misconduct cannot be allowed to stand without some accountability. And so I think there should be bipartisan condemnation of it, and conviction as a result of a Senate trial, even if it’s after the inaugural.”

The House could delay sending an article of impeachment for as long as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi chooses, as it did in Trump’s previous impeachment. By doing so, it could give the Senate time to confirm Biden’s cabinet nominations and, possibly, pass another pandemic relief measure.

In response to a question, Murphy said the Congress might eventually have to consider whether censure or some other action should be taken against the members of Congress who tried to stop the certification of the vote.

But that is an issue for another day.

“I think the immediate threat to the safety of the nation is the president of the United States,” Murphy said. “You know, these people follow his every word in a way that they do not for members of the United States Senate or the House of Representatives. So the president bears a special responsibility. His words have a special ability to incite. And it is why we are appropriately focused on whether we can have a peaceful transition of power with this president in office.”

Quinnipiac found a partisan divide in its new poll about whether the president was undermining democracy. Overall, by a margin of 60% to 34%, Americans say he was. But only 20% of Republicans shared that view, compared to 64% of unaffiliated and 95% of Democrats.

A narrower majority favored Trump’s early exit either by resignation (53% to 43%) or removal (52% to 45%).

Was the riot an attempted coup? Opinion was split: 47%, yes; 43%, no; and 10%, undecided.

On the question of the behavior of rioters, there was universal condemnation.

Seventy percent of Republicans, 80% of unaffiliated and 90% of Democrats agreed that the individuals who stormed the Capitol were undermining democracy, not protecting it. And all groups viewed extremism as a “big problem.”

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mark Pazniokas Mark is a co-founder of CT Mirror, a frequent contributor to WNPR and a former state politics writer for The Hartford Courant and Journal Inquirer and contributor for The New York Times.

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
Health issues carried weight on the campaign trail.
by Victoria Knight | Kaiser Health News

Even with the Democrats’ newfound Senate majority, differences in health policy between the party’s moderate and progressive wings will persist.

Panel recommends small, inflationary pay hike for state officials
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Connecticut's part-time legislature hasn't received a pay hike since 2001. The annual base-pay for senators and representatives is $28,000.

The game is changing. Chris Murphy says he’s ready to play.
by Mark Pazniokas

The question for Sen. Chris Murphy no longer is where might he go next, but what can he do now.

Joe Biden takes office: ‘At this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed.’
by Mark Pazniokas

America took a deep breath and watched Joe Biden uneventfully inaugurated outside a Capitol invaded two weeks ago by rioters.

Lamont sets the stage for a debate on marijuana taxation by mid-2022
by Keith M. Phaneuf

The governor's draft bill proposes taxing marijuana and erasing convictions for possession that occurred prior to Oct. 1, 2015.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion Miguel Cardona, who are you?
by Ann Policelli Cronin

When I ask Connecticut teachers about Miguel Cardona, those who know him or have worked with him say that he is really nice guy who knows what the challenges in our classrooms are, knows how to help teachers to improve their teaching, and respects public schools. All good. But what is his vision for teaching and learning that he will bring to the U.S. Department of Education?

Opinion Connecticut needs a strong two-party system, this Democrat says
by Edward Marcus

J.R. Romano’s recent resignation as the state’s Republican Party chair has brought into focus the need for a viable opposition party in Connecticut. It is not healthy politics when everything is totally controlled by one party:  the legislature, the governorship, and most of the major municipalities in our state.

Opinion Connecticut’s $100 million college shell game
by Stephen Adair

The plan to consolidate the 12 community colleges in Connecticut into one college with 12 campuses is called “Students First,” which is ironic because it does not fund students first.  It funds a new administration in a new, statewide bureaucracy. The Board of Regents (BOR) and the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) system office […]

Opinion Inconsistent television captioning is a barrier to equal access
by Jeffrey Bravin and Barbara Cassin

Our world long ago entered the age of the 24-hour news cycle, and a full understanding of the “who, what, when, where and why” of the news is critical for deaf, deafblind and hard of hearing citizens. Yet, Connecticut’s inconsistent quality of television captioning locks our community out of the complete sense of what is happening.

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO