Republicans start to join the impeachment call

Reuters reports:

President Donald Trump’s iron grip on his party showed further signs of weakening on Tuesday as at least three Republicans, including a member of the House leadership, said they would vote to impeach him after his supporters stormed the Capitol.

Liz Cheney, the No. 3 Republican in the House of Representatives, said: “There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution,” as the Democratic-led chamber moved forward on a path to remove Trump from office.

Trump “summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack” on the Capitol last Wednesday, Cheney, the daughter of former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney, said in a statement, adding: “I will vote to impeach the president.”

Two other Republican House members, John Katko and Adam Kinzinger, said they would also vote for the historic second impeachment of the Republican president, who leaves office in just eight days.

If inciting the invasion of the Capitol to disrupt the counting of the votes of the electoral college doesn’t warrant impeachment, then hard to imagine what would.

It is still highly unlikely the Senate will convict Trump, but that may depend on McConnell. If he was to vote for conviction, then he would probably carry 20 or so Senators with him. Without McConnell you probably get 56 votes max for conviction, 11 short of the 67 needed.

Also of interest is that if convicted, the Senate can vote by simple majority to bar the person convicted from any future federal office.