A dozen members of the US National Guard have been removed from duty helping secure the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden after vetting, which included screening for potential ties to right-wing extremism, Pentagon officials said.
Members of the US National Guard at the US Capitol on 18 January. Photo: AFP
A Pentagon spokesman said the vetting went beyond ties to extremist groups. One Guard member was removed from duty after troubling text messages and another had been reported to a tip line, Army General Daniel Hokanson, chief of the National Guard Bureau, told reporters.
"We are, out of an abundance of caution, taking action and immediately removing them from the line of duty at the Capitol and the events taking place," said Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman.
On Sunday, acting Defence Secretary Chris Miller said that the FBI was assisting the US military in vetting more than 25,000 National Guard troops being deployed to assist in protecting the US Capitol for potential security concerns.
The vetting has been going on since last week, following the 6 January the attack on the Capitol, and the FBI is also working to see if any attackers from the riot were current service members.
Last week, the Virginia National Guard said that Jacob Fracker, an off-duty police officer charged in connection with the violent riots at the Capitol, was a corporal in the state's Guard and serves as an infantryman.
Capitol mob was 'provoked by the president'
In a speech on Tuesday, the Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said President Donald Trump "provoked" the 6 January riot at the Capitol.
"The mob was fed lies," said McConnell on the Senate floor as it met for the first time since the attack. "They were provoked by the president and other powerful people."
The comments by McConnell come as the Senate seems likely to soon hold a trial for Trump, after the House of Representatives impeached him last week for a second time.
Once the formal article of impeachment is sent over from the House to to the Senate, the trial can begin, with a two-thirds majority needed to convict.
It is unclear how many Republicans might join the Democrats for such a vote, which would also bar Trump from holding office again.
McConnell has not yet indicated how he will vote in the impeachment trial of Donald Trump. If he votes to convict Trump, it may convince several other Republicans to follow his lead.
The president is accused of inciting the insurrection, with fiery rhetoric that sought to delegitimise the victory of Joe Biden in the presidential election, including through allegations of voter fraud.
Presidential pardons
Trump has begun his final full day as US president. It is thought that he will use the day to focus on granting presidential pardons.
Reuters reports Trump is likely to grant clemency to rapper Lil Wayne in a final wave of more than 100 pardons and commutations pardons and commutations, that is not expected to include lawyer Rudy Giuliani or ex-aide Steve Bannon.
Two sources familiar with the discussions, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said Trump appeared to have been dissuaded from pardoning himself or members of his family.
Lil Wayne pleaded guilty last month to possessing a loaded, gold-plated handgun when his chartered jet landed in Miami in December 2019. He faces a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
The New York Times report that the list of pardons and commutations is expected to include former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, 76, who was convicted of corruption charges in 2015.
The White House says Trump "will make many calls and have many meetings" - the same wording used to describe his schedules for the past few weeks.
On Wednesday morning, just ahead of Joe Biden's inauguration, Trump is due to attend a send-off ceremony with his supporters at Andrews Air Force Base.
He will then - for the last time - board the presidential plane and travel to his golf club residence, Mar-a-Lago, in Florida.
He will be only the fourth president in history to boycott his successor's regularly scheduled inauguration.
- BBC / Reuters