US President Donald Trump had not been seen in public since his appearance on the US border in Texas on Tuesday.
Instead, he remained hiding inside the White House among a dwindling number of aides and allies, days before the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden, the Independent, a UK daily newspaper reported on Saturday
On the other hand, the Senate Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell reportedly asked his colleagues to vote according to their conscience during Trump’s impending trial.
In so doing, McConnell effectively allowed his party members to vote to convict the US president, who will likely face trial after Joe Biden takes over the presidency days later.
As the impeachment moves towards the upper chamber, at least four Republican senators have indicated they were either undecisive or considering a vote to convict, including Senator McConnell as well as Lisa Murkowski, Ben Sasse, and Pat Toomey.
However, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi accuses Trump of fomenting a revolt at the US Capitol building last week, killing five people after pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol building following an angry rally called by the president.
Pelosi said lawmakers would likely face trial if they were found to have “aided and abetted” the violent attack on the Capitol earlier than this.
“Justice is needed, and we are fighting the rebellion against the Capitol building last week,” the Democratic Council president told reporters.
“If, in fact, it appears that members of Congress were complicit in this rebellion,” she added, “if they aided and abetted the crime, then actions outside Congress might have to be taken regarding their prosecution.”
Pelosi’s comments came after Micky Sherrill, a Democratic lawmaker from New Jersey, said she had seen her colleagues lead groups on “reconnaissance” tours of the Capitol a day before the riots that took place on January 6.
More than 30 Democrats signed a letter, led by Sherrill, to seek more information about the tours that occurred at the Capitol on January 5.
