White House

President Trump just became the first Commander-in-Chief to be impeached twice -- and what happens next may decide whether he can ever run for office again.

The U.S. House of Representatives voted Wednesday on one article of impeachment that was introduced earlier this week -- incitement of insurrection -- and the motion passed with majority ... which included a couple handfuls of Republicans.

The House needed just 217 votes for impeachment, and they greatly exceeded that number. Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, John Katko, Fred Upton and Jaime Herrera Beutler were among the Republicans who voted to impeach.

The impeachment vote comes after Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave VP Mike Pence an ultimatum -- either remove Trump using the 25th Amendment, or we'll do it ourselves with another impeachment. Pence refused Pelosi's proposition, saying it was time to heal and move on.

As such, the House charged 45 with high crimes (again) -- and now, the Senate will have to take the matter up among themselves ... either voting to convict, or acquit. Remember, Trump was cleared of wrongdoing last time ... but it might be different now.

Fact is, several Republicans are said to be fed up with Trump at the helm of their party -- and the Capitol riot was the last straw. Some have proven to be loyal no matter what -- like Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley -- but others have denounced POTUS, publicly or privately.

Here's the deal ... if Trump is impeached and convicted by the Senate, not only would the President be removed, but he couldn't run for federal office again. Sen. Mitch McConnell says the Senate will not take up the trial until after Biden is sworn in as the 46th President.

As for how 45 feels about all this, well ... you've heard it all before. Trump's refused to take responsibility -- denying his words and actions sparked the mob he assembled to storm the Capitol, and insisting his comments beforehand were wholly "appropriate."

And, of course, he's cornered the term "witch hunt," which he's been invoking again.

President Trump is singing a different, more peaceful, tune now that he's about to be impeached a second time -- he's now urging law and order from his followers.

Banned from Twitter, the Prez instead had to issue a statement Wednesday through the White House in which he urged non-violence among his supporters.

Trump says ... "In light of reports of more demonstrations, I urge that there must be NO violence, NO lawbreaking and NO vandalism of any kind. That is not what I stand for, and it is not what America stands for."

As we've reported ... insurrectionists are vowing to stage protests in all 50 state capitals, including a return to the U.S. Capitol, and the FBI has said many are plotting violence.

Rep. Jim Clyburn says the Republican members of Congress who want to be armed on the House floor are striking fear into colleagues -- and he believes they might have ill intentions.

The Congressman from South Carolina dropped his bombshell Wednesday on "TMZ Live" ... revealing his suspicion of several GOP legislators who refused to go through metal detectors Tuesday night at the Capitol. He says some of them were armed, and that made other Reps nervous.

That's because, according to Clyburn, some of the armed lawmakers might be suspected of helping the pro-Trump insurrectionists ... part of a possible inside job.

Rep. Clyburn says other Congressmen and women are afraid these armed lawmakers might do "crazy things" while on the House floor.

On a less dividing note ... Clyburn told us why he recently introduced legislation to make "Lift Every Voice and Sing" the official national hymn in the U.S.

President Trump says he is washing his hands of all responsibility for the Capitol Hill insurrections, saying what he told the crowd pre-riot was "totally appropriate."

Trump was leaving D.C. Tuesday for Alamo, Texas to brag about the border wall, when he was asked about his responsibility for last week's uprising.

Trump not only claimed his words were appropriate, he tried to deflect by saying the "riots" in Portland and Seattle were far worse, and in those cases, the politicians who supported the protests were the incendiary ones.

So, Trump thinks saying things like January 6 is going to be "wild," was not a dog whistle. And, apparently, he thinks what he told the crowd a week ago was innocent ... things like, "You'll never take back our country with weakness, you have to show strength and you have to be strong." He went on, "if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore."

By the way ... if he thinks everyone believes he acted appropriately, he's clearly ignoring Congress because he's about to get impeached.

The FBI is honing in on 10 to 15 members of the Capitol Police, investigating whether they facilitated the insurrection by assisting in the planning of the riot and/or clearing the path for the rioters to overtake the Capitol.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ, the FBI has made "considerable headway" in its investigation of the officers in question, and -- as it was put to us -- the conduct of the cops in question "ranges from getting out of the way of the rioters to something much more nefarious."

As for what's "more nefarious," as TMZ reported, the FBI believes some of the officers and other staffers in the building may have facilitated the takeover by helping the rioters navigate the building. The FBI believes certain moves were extremely suspicious, like almost instantly finding Nancy Pelosi's office even though a member of the public would probably have to search for an hour or more to find it. Something else suspicious ... how did rioters beeline for Rep. Jim Clyburn's office when the door does not even have a nameplate?

Our sources say the FBI looked at all the video and honed in on cops who were not blocking the path of the rioters. That isn't in itself a criminal offense, but the FBI believes people who didn't block the rioters may have more involvement. Two officers have already been suspended by the Department, but the FBI's conducting a criminal investigation.

To be fair to the officers ... as one source put it, some of them who stepped back from the riot may have done so because members of Congress had already been moved to a secure location, and the cops felt they would have gotten killed if they tried protecting property.

Our sources say the FBI investigation is far along, and they're not just looking at Capitol cops. They're looking at other staffers in the building as well.

Uncle Sam is looking far and wide for some of the best muscle money can buy to help guard the nation's capital through Joe Biden's inauguration -- and it looks the feds found some ... in the Aloha State.

TMZ has obtained federal procurement docs that show the Dept. of Homeland Security recently awarded a private security company called Hana Industries Inc. a $1.6 million contract for protective services, effective now until the very end of the month.

According to the paperwork ... Hana's protective security officers will be standing watch in the capital and surrounding areas. The move to hire this force came directly on the heels of the failed Capitol coup -- the contract was awarded 2 days after last week's siege.

Now, as for what Hana's all about and why the feds sought out their services -- they tout themselves as providing armed security guards for base security operations and entry point management. Specifically, they've protected Naval bases and shipyards around Hawaii.

Appropriately, Hana's been recruiting to get more boots on the ground, as they say, in the D.C. area -- especially anyone with 2 to 5 years of military or law enforcement experience ... and prior certification from the Dept. of Homeland Security.

Getting immediate support for National Guard and police forces in Washington, D.C. was crucial -- as the FBI's now warning domestic terrorists are planning to take action in DC and all 50 states between Jan. 16 through Inauguration Day.

The State Department appears to be cutting short President Trump's time in office -- its official site briefly said he's out as POTUS starting Monday night.

On Trump's official page, the U.S. DOS had the following listed under his bio in bold, "Donald J. Trump's term ended on 2021-01-11 19:40:41." Some folks have said the time stamp changed by at least 15 minutes -- but it's less about the time and more about that date.

The message which appeared to be breaking some huge news ... vanished early in the afternoon Monday. It's unclear how long it was there before someone, presumable at the State Dept., removed it.

The bizarre message extended to Mike Pence as well ... his State Dept. page also said his term ended on Monday night, and also has since been removed -- but there's been no official word from the White House either confirming or denying this is true.

There are reports this was all a prank pulled off by a disgruntled State Dept. staffer. Still, it's drawing a lot of attention, especially because there's reportedly a lot of helicopter activity over Pence's residence.

If it's just a federal employee gone rogue ... it speaks to the temperature in D.C. right now. Think about it, for someone to risk their job (and perhaps worse) to make this statement ... might indicate they felt they could get away with it because Trump's lost so many allies in the nation's capital.

Of course, assuming it isn't real ... Trump still has possible impeachment to worry about -- Speaker Pelosi is said to be introducing articles this week.

Larry Rendell Brock -- the retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who's one of the Capitol insurrectionists last week -- can thank his ex-wife for his arrest.

As we reported -- Brock was the guy photographed holding zip ties inside the Senate chamber and was pretty easy to ID as he was decked out in body armor, a military helmet and a tag with a Punisher skull ... but his former spouse provided further intel to law enforcement.

According to a federal affidavit ... Brock's ex-wife of 18 years called the FBI National Threat Operations Center (NTOC) on Friday to turn him in.

The woman told the feds she recognized him from his military getup, adding ... "I just know that when I saw this was happening I was afraid he would be there. I think you already know he was there. It is such a good picture of him and I recognize his patch."

The affidavit says a second witness also reported Brock to the FBI the same day, telling the authorities ... "It looks like him and he has pilot wings on his chest in this picture. He was an A-10 pilot. Worked at L3, and he still has contacts that work with L3 that knew he was flying to Washington DC."

Brock was arrested shortly afterward and is facing one count of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, and one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.

As for why he did what he did, he says it's because "The President asked for his supporters to be there to attend, and I felt like it was important."

He has denied any nefarious intentions with the zip ties though, claiming he found them inside the Capitol and planned to return them to police.

Of course, another man was seen with zip ties, and coupled with explosives being found near the area of the attempted coup ... it sure seems like the riots could have been much worse.

President-elect Joe Biden isn't the only one being ushered into the White House with pomp and circumstance ... his rescue dog, Major, is getting "indogurated."

Major, a German Shepherd, is getting honored by the Delaware shelter where the Bidens rescued him ... with a special inauguration of his own this Sunday on Zoom ... and the "indoguration" is raising money for other pups like Major.

The Bidens adopted Major from the Delaware Humane Association back in 2018, and now Major's set to become the first shelter dog in the White House ... hence the big virtual celebration.

Major's "indoguration" is being hosted by 'Today' show's Jill Martin, and folks can join the Zoom event with a $10 minimum donation, with all proceeds going to the DHA.

Sunday's event sounds like a fun time ... it's being hailed as "the world's largest virtual party for dogs."

First Lady Melania Trump's first public reaction to the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol is to call for peace and unity -- but her remarks might feel a tad ... too little, too late.

FLOTUS published a statement Monday on the White House's website titled, "Our Path Forward." She starts out by talking about COVID and eventually builds to the siege a few graphs in ... after sending condolences to people who died during the attempted coup -- including Ashli Babbit, Officer Brian Sicknick and others.

Finally, Melania says this ... "I am disappointed and disheartened with what happened last week." Rather than go straight into condemning the violence and illegal actions of the rioters, she first shames folks for "salacious gossip, unwarranted personal attacks, and false misleading accusations on me."

After prefacing her comments and then saying the country must heal in a civil manner ... MT, at last, gets to these crucial words ... "Make no mistake about it, I absolutely condemn the violence that has occurred on our Nation’s Capitol. Violence is never acceptable."

She goes on to explain she values the right of free speech, adding with that in mind ... folks should pause and look at things from all perspectives. Melania then says she implores for people to stop the violence and to come together as Americans.

Melania also uses her letter as a farewell, saying that it's been an honor to serve as First Lady -- and that she's grateful for those who supported her and Donald these past 4 years.

Our nation's capital will be swarming with National Guard forces ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration ... after being absent for much of the failed coup.

The National Guard says it's increasing boots on the ground in D.C. to at least 10,000 troops by Saturday, drastically beefing up security 4 days before Biden moves into the White House.

National Guard troops made their presence known Monday, assembling in front of the Capitol ... 5 days after a mob overwhelmed the grossly under-deployed U.S. Capitol Police and stormed the building where Congress was voting to certify the election results.

Monday was a small show of force compared to what's to come by this weekend, and, additionally, protective fencing is going up all around the Capitol.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi just laid her party's plan for removing President Trump from office ... and the ball is moving quick, with a 24-hour deadline for VP Mike Pence to act.

Pelosi sent a letter Sunday to her fellow Dems, and she says that on Monday ... the Majority Leader in the House, Rep. Steny Hoyer, will ask for unanimous consent on a resolution demanding Pence assemble the other cabinet members, and invoke the 25th Amendment on Trump ... which would remove him from his post, and have Pence in as acting Prez.

If they meet any roadblocks in getting that unanimous consent, Speaker Pelosi says they'll bring it to a floor vote on Tuesday. She also says this, "We are calling on the Vice President to respond within 24 hours."

So, yeah ... clock's ticking for the Veep -- who has reportedly not ruled out invoking the 25th Amendment if Trump continues to incite violence and act erratically in these final weeks.

There's more from Pelosi too ... in her letter, she says if Pence stonewalls on invoking the 25th Amendment, the House will begin impeachment proceedings later this week. She says, "In protecting our Constitution and our Democracy, we will act with urgency, because this President represents an imminent threat to both."

The moment the Trump mob was strong-arming its way into the Capitol can now be seen from a new, frightening view -- where a fallen police officer getting pummeled on the ground.

Check out this gruesome clip of insurrectionists breaking into an opening on a side entrance to the building, which was being guarded by a line of cops in tactical gear ... one of whom ended up laid out on the ground, face first ... right at the feet of rioters.

The crowd showed him no mercy ... immediately trampling him, bludgeoning him with objects and projectiles, dragging him down the steps they were storming -- pretty much having their way with his limp body as his colleagues tried pulling him away.

There's even an overhead shot of the scene, and it's absolutely surreal. You hear someone off-camera yell, "Get that motherf***** out of there! Take him out!"

Now, there've been rumors this officer might've been the one who was killed -- Officer Brian Sicknick, who died from injuries he sustained during the siege -- but that has NOT been confirmed. Some social media users say this officer is actually with Metro D.C., not Capitol Police, but again ... we haven't been able to confirm.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says those involved in the Capitol coup attempt could easily have killed dozens of U.S. lawmakers ... so she's in no mood for calls to forgive and forget.

AOC is strongly vocalizing the fears she and her colleagues in Congress had -- that the insurrectionists came with deadly intentions. She told ABC on Sunday ... "We came close to half of the House nearly dying on Wednesday."

The Congresswoman was among those hurriedly evacuated when the mob first breached the Capitol ... and she's clearly referring to photos of rioters with zip ties, and the fact cops found explosive devices around the Capitol.

Her point is this was no peaceful protest, and everyone involved has to be prosecuted for the country to begin healing. AOC said, "We must have accountability because without it, it will happen again."

President Trump's call for unity after the failed coup hasn't found its way to the suburbs just yet ... this Ohio homeowner missed the memo, and he's got a new way to irk neighbors.

Check out these yard signs sitting outside a home in a Cleveland suburb ... we're told the signage went up Thursday in response to the deadly siege on the Capitol.

The brainchild behind the signs is taking applications for new friends, with some very specific criteria ... and he could use spelling lessons after trying to call out what he sees as hypocrisy from folks who are disgusted by what went down in D.C.

We're told folks in the neighborhood are pissed over the yard signs ... these are just the latest examples of what's been displayed in this yard during Trump's presidency. You can see some of his prior greatest hits.

President Trump might have to resort to opening a MySpace account to be "online" -- because the guy can't get bandwidth anywhere else right now ... not even on Shopify.

DT has been banned from a handful of social media apps and social networking websites well beyond Twitter and Facebook/Instagram -- which booted him earlier this week after they say he used their platforms to incite a violent insurrection on the U.S. Capitol.

Since then ... even more companies have taken steps to keep their pages Trump-free, including some you never thought the Prez might use, be it posting or consuming.

Among those that've blocked/restricted Trump and/or Trump content -- Pinterest (for #StoptheSteal items), Shopify (for MAGA and other related merch), Twitch (no more Trump live streams), Snapchat (gone is Trump's account), Reddit (the r/The_Donald thread is dead) and even TikTok (which Trump was trying to ban himself, ironically enough).

Remember, Twitter pulled the plug permanently on Trump's Twitter account -- his go-to platform the past several years -- citing further potential calls to violence, directly or indirectly ... this after Trump's 12-hour suspension expired, and he tweeted to his "patriots" yet again.

Twitter's move to boot him for good also came after Facebook/Instagram did something similar ... suspending his account indefinitely, at least until Biden's inauguration is done.

There is one place Trump could possibly turn to in order to get his voice on the Internet again -- Parler (a social networking site/app that caters to the extreme right) is still open for business ... but it too is at risk of getting blacklisted on mainstream app stores.

Google already nixed it entirely -- meaning you can't download it anymore if you're an Android user -- but Apple hasn't done so yet. On Friday, they gave Parler a 24-hour deadline to provide stricter guidelines about regulating posts ... but, it's still available as of now.