Democrats called for an expediting the trial of the outgoing US President Donald Trump in the Senate, while Republicans defended their rejection of the impeachment measures, and the authorities tighten their security measures to secure the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.
Democrat Ted Law, during an interview with MSNBC, called on Republican leader Mitch McConnell to expedite Trump's trial in the Senate, believing that senators could meet and hold this trial next Friday or Monday.
Ted Law also called for a broad investigation into the events of the congressional storming last Wednesday, provided that the investigation includes members of Congress, indicating that a number of members may have incited the armed rebellion, and that several reports monitored suspicious activities prior to the storming.
Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal called for the formation of a commission of inquiry into the "domestic terrorists" storming of Congress along the lines of the September 11, 2001 commission.
In turn, Democratic Representative Diana Digit said during an interview with CNN that the prosecution team appointed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had begun preparing for Trump's trial, adding that the president had committed his "crimes" in front of television screens, and that the prosecution team would be approved. On filmed recordings during his pleading before the Senate.
On the other hand, the transitional team for President-elect Joe Biden issued a statement saying that members of the House of Representatives exercised their constitutional authority and voted in favor of passing Trump's indictment to stand trial.
The statement stressed that the parliament's vote came from deputies who followed the constitution and their conscience from both parties.
On the other hand, Republican Representative Steve Skellis defended the decision of most of his party’s members to vote against the impeachment measure in the House of Representatives, and said in an interview with FOX NEWS that Democrats do not want to hear the facts.
He added that the Republicans pushed in the direction of the vote to establish a committee to look into what happened, but no investigation was conducted, while the Democrats held impeachment procedures without a committee or a hearing, which has not happened before in the country's history.
Amid this controversy, McConnell came out to settle it by saying that any trial of Trump in the Senate would not take place before Biden's inauguration.
Security alert
and Washington is witnessing tight security measures in preparation for Biden's inauguration ceremony on January 20, which include closing major streets, especially leading to the Congress buildings and the White House, amid fears of repeated acts of violence similar to storming the Congress building a week ago.
The National Guard members deployed in the vicinity of the Congress building were provided with weapons, unlike their usual in recent days, and the soldiers formed a security cordon and an iron fence around the building.
Al-Jazeera correspondent quoted a spokesman for the National Guard that 13 states in addition to the capital will contribute to the deployment of forces to protect government buildings.
The reporter added that there are demands for the Pentagon to deploy 20 thousand soldiers during the inauguration ceremony, which is still under study, while it has been decided so far to deploy 15 thousand.
The reporter said that the establishment of National Guard soldiers in Congress is something that has not happened since the days of the Civil War, indicating that he received calls and warnings of the possibility of throwing bombs at Congress during the inauguration ceremony.
The Director of Military Intelligence in the Office of the Pentagon Undersecretary for Intelligence stated, "We will not tolerate any extremism in the Ministry of Defense," expressing concern about the enrollment of retired officers in extremist groups, stressing that those who prove their affiliation with those groups will be deprived of working in the ministry.
Meanwhile, the media warned of armed protests in Washington to coincide with the inauguration.
The Air Transport Regulatory Authority has also warned against imposing fines of $ 35,000 and jail penalties for any passenger who causes trouble after crashes on aircraft in the days following the storming of Congress.
"The Federal Aviation Administration has noted an alarming increase in accidents as a result of which airline passengers disrupt flights with threatening or violent behavior," the authority said in a statement.
And just like the stores that have holed up concrete blocks in Washington, companies are taking action to counter any potential violence.
The Justice Department confirmed the arrest of a Pennsylvania man accused of throwing a fire extinguisher at police during a congressional storm.
Security forces are organizing a nationwide security operation to thwart any violence, with federal and state officials posting online threats and threatening messages to members of Congress, and making sure that the security operation has sufficient strength to counter any attack.
The incoming Biden administration has strengthened security measures around his team ahead of his inauguration, and a statement from Biden's transition team said they take security threats seriously.