Chris Christie: Trump's provocative actions amount to 'impeachable offense'

Former Republican New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who has been a staunch ally of Donald Trump from day one, says the outgoing US president’s provocative actions that led to his supporters storming the Capitol amounted to an “impeachable offense.”

Christie made the comment in an interview with ABC News on Sunday and said, “If inciting to insurrection isn't an impeachable offense, I don't really know what it is.”

The former New Jersey governor added that Republicans in Congress would have to “vote their conscience" if an impeachment article is brought forward against Trump and "look at what happened.”

“What we had was an incitement to riot at the United States Capitol. We have people killed, and to me there's not a whole lot of question here,” Christie underlined.

Pro-Trump armed protesters broke into the US Capitol on Wednesday, forcing the chamber to halt the ongoing vote to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s election win.

FBI probing US Capitol breach as pressure grows on Trump to quit

The FBI is reportedly investigating whether pro-Trump protesters intended to harm the lawmakers, when they stormed the Capitol Wednesday as pressure grows on the president to leave office before his tenure ends on January 20.

The violence overwhelmed police and drove Congress from its chambers. House members and senators fled the scene as shots were fired to disperse the crowd. Police later cleared US Capitol of the Trump supporters and enforced curfew.

Democrats and some Republicans accused Trump of sparking the violence by calling on his supporters to “fight like hell” after two months of refusal to accept his defeat in the November 3 election.

Following the Capitol invasion, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer called for the urgent removal of Trump from power and branded him "a very dangerous person who should not continue in office."

Pelosi, Schumer call for urgent removal of Trump from power

House Speaker Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Schumer have called for the urgent removal of President Trump from power.

Christie also told ABC News on Sunday that Republican lawmakers have "had enough," and Trump's actions since the storming of the Capitol have only further upset them.

"It is a national disgrace that the flag at the White House is not half-staff for that Capitol Hill Police Officer who gave his life in protecting one of our institutions of democracy," Christie added.

Trump will have to leave office as Democratic President-elect Joe Biden will be inaugurated on January 20.

Experts say that the Democratic president will be facing four years of credibility crisis with millions of Americans believing Trump’s allegations of election fraud.

The riot, in which a police officer and four others died, has been widely condemned by both US and world leaders.

Four dead after Trump supporters storm US Capitol

Four people were killed and 52 others were arrested as thousands of pro-Trump protesters violently stormed the US Capitol building.

Trump has 'lost the right to be president'

Chris Coons, the Democratic senator from Delaware, demanded that Trump resign or be removed from office as the outgoing Republican had "lost the right to be president" in the wake of the Capitol invasion.

Coons said if the outgoing US president declined to step down, he would support either impeachment by Congress or Vice President Pence invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office.

"I've called for President Trump to do the right thing, finally, and resign. Or for Vice President Mike Pence to secure the next 10 days through the 25th Amendment," the Democratic senator said.

“The single most important thing that Republicans in Congress that helped facilitate this widespread conspiracy can do is to stop those lies, and to persuade their followers and their supporters that President-elect Biden is the duly-elected president of the United States."

Lawmakers in the US House of Representatives, led by Republican Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), are preparing an article of impeachment charging Trump with instigating Wednesday's deadly riot.

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