Senator Shaheen says, “What we had last Wednesday was a deliberate attempt, led by the President of the United States, to try to march on Congress to prevent the final counting of the elector ballots from the 2020 election. It was an attempted coup against our government, and there need to be serious consequences for that. The President of the United States needs to be held accountable.”
In an interview with Chris Ryan and Justin McIsaac, Senator Jeanne Shaheen discusses the recent assault on the Capitol Building, what should be done to punish those who are responsible for this attempted coup, and how do we, as a country, move forward from this attack.
Senator Shaheen was in the Senate when the Capitol Police came into the Chamber and interrupted the debate about the election tally. The officers secured Vice President Pence and took him to a safe location. The police then asked the Senators to remain quiet while they locked the doors to the Chamber. After a while, the Senators were taken down some back stairs to a more secure location, away from the protestors. While in route to the basement, Senator Shaheen was chilled when she saw groups of protestors scaling the walls of the Capitol. Later, she was horrified to see the damage which was done by this violent mob.
In the aftermath of this event, Senator Shaheen is saddened by the loss of life and places blame for this attempted coup at the feet of President Trump.
“What we had last Wednesday was a deliberate attempt, led by the President of the United States, to try to march on Congress to prevent the final counting of the elector ballots from the 2020 election. It was an attempted coup against our government, and there need to be serious consequences for that. The President of the United States needs to be held accountable.”
The Senator, in addition, considers the people who have supported Donald Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was stolen should also be held accountable for stirring up the mob to storm the Capitol Building. Her list of enablers of the President who incited riot include members of Congress and media announcers and outlets which have perpetuated the big lie that there was widespread election fraud.
Going forward, Senator Shaheen believes that Congress and the Senate should explore ways to punish President Trump for violating his oath to preserve and defend the Constitution. The Senator also hinted that the Senate Ethics Committee might pursue action against Senators Cruz and Hawley for their part in contesting the 2020 election results.
In conclusion, the Senator calls for enforcing our laws against those individuals who are attempting to overthrow the government; address the divisions which we have in our country; and do what we can to end this pandemic, distribute vaccines, help the unemployed, assist small businesses, and get our kids back in school.
