Background Briefing: January 7, 2021

On By gram

 

Serious Discussions Underway to Invoke the 25th Amendment

We begin with questions arising after the shameful mob attack on the nation’s capitol yesterday about the apparent lack of preparedness and the slow reaction of law enforcement resulting in vandalism and gunfire in the House and Senate chambers and the trashing of congressional offices. Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, the former chief of staff to United States Secretary of State Colin Powell who currently teaches courses at the College of William and Mary, joins us to discuss concerns raised by Colin Powell that there were no plans to deal with an event Trump orchestrated in advance calling his supporters to come to Washington on January 6 and promising it would be “wild”. Powell noted “I think the plan was not a good one. And I hope that this will be examined very, very closely. But once again we see President Trump doing things that are absolutely outrageous, criminal, claiming that he is going to be the president of the United States when he knows he isn’t.” We will discuss serious efforts underway to see if there are enough votes in Congress to reach the two thirds necessary if Vice President Pence were to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office.

 

A Congresswoman on Being Hunkered Down with a Rampaging Mob Outside

Then we speak with Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, who serves in the House Democratic Leadership as a Senior Chief Deputy Whip about what it was like yesterday to be hunkered down inside your congressional office with a rampaging mob outside as the sound of gunfire echoed through the capitol. We will discuss how this embarrassment to American democracy is being exploited by dictators abroad and the need to deal with the conditions that have led to many Americans feeling so alienated from their own government.

 

Yesterday Was a Coup Attempt Deliberately Instigated by Trump

Then finally we assess yesterday’s coup attempt deliberately instigated by President Trump in a desperate bid to hold onto power and speak with David Rothkopf, the host of “Deep State Radio” and the former editor of Foreign Policy Magazine and author of Traitor: A History of American Betrayal From Benedict Arnold to Donald Trump. He joins us to discuss his article at The Daily Beast “It’s Our First Ever Coup Attempt – And there’s no doubt who’s behind it.”