In a sign that the second impeachment trial against Donald Trump could end with a conviction, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell took to the Senate floor on Tuesday to directly accuse the outgoing president of “provoking” the deadly assault on the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, saying that “the mob” that attacked the Capitol “was fed lies.”
“They were provoked by the President and other powerful people,” McConnell said. “They tried to use fear and violence to stop a specific proceeding of the first branch of the federal government, which they did not like,” he added. “But we pressed on.”
McConnell said the Senate certified President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, and that he and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will be sworn in tomorrow.
“We’ll have a safe and successful inaugural right here on the very front of the Capitol,” he said.
McConnell’s comments came as the Senate prepares to hold an impeachment trial over the House’s charge of “incitement of insurrection” against Trump.
Watch:
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says Capitol insurrectionists were "provoked by the president and other powerful people." pic.twitter.com/6kqSlAJHky
— The Recount (@therecount) January 19, 2021
