Page:Materials in Support of H. Res. 24.pdf/39

 may not be well received by President Trump and his supporters, but Congress has an obligation to warn future presidents that conduct of this nature is incompatible with the Office of the Presidency. This message must be sent even on the President’s last day in office. There is no merit to the startling and dangerous idea that a president may engage in high Crimes and Misdemeanors in their final weeks in office and escape the operation of the Impeachment Clause. President Trump incited an insurrection to try to break the Constitutional order, overturn an election, and prevent the ratification of a new President elected by the people in a free and fair election. In these circumstances, he has left the House of Representatives no choice. President Trump’s impeachable offense of incitement—as well as his conduct leading up to and his subsequent acts and omissions during the mob’s unlawful entry into the Capitol—demonstrate why he cannot be permitted to remain in office. President Trump failed to defend the Capitol. His conduct on January 6th and afterwards gives no reason to hope that he will adequately oversee the necessary preparations and security for the inauguration of President-elect Biden on January 20, 2021, and instead suggests the opposite. Moreover, his actions on January 6th are consistent with a long pattern of behavior where President Trump has tried to stir up lawless extremism, overturn the results of the election, and obstruct the lawful certification of electors. Although President Trump did not literally march to the Capitol with his supporters after his speech on January 6th as he said he would, his instructions and intentions guided the crowd that day as surely as if he were at the head of the mob he orchestrated. His supporters thought they were doing President Trump’s bidding by seeking to disrupt the Joint Session of Congress that would declare that President-elect Biden won the election. In fact, they directly said so on social media, in live videos, and when interviewed by the police following arrests.
 * A. Imminent Threat to the United States
 * 1. President Trump Failed to Protect the Capitol, the Vice President, and Members of Congress During the Joint Session of Congress

As President Trump’s supporters attacked the Capitol, the President did nothing. At 1:00 PM on January 6th, as required by the 12th Amendment and the Electoral Count Act, Congress met in Joint Session to count the electoral votes. By 1:22 PM, Capitol Police had already begun issuing emergency evacuation orders. The crowd that had gathered to watch President Trump’s speech walked to the Capitol, and had begun to breach the security barriers surrounding the