Donald Trump in January 6 Capitol Riot

On Principles & Values: You will never take back our country with weakness

He suggested that his supporters "walk down to the Capitol" to contest "this egregious assault on our democracy."

He later addressed the nation, per Biden's request, but in a dangerous video in which he doubled down on his allegations of a fraudulent election and told the rioters to "go home" and that he loved them and they were "special."

Following the video, Trump was banned for 12-24 hours from Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. YouTube removed the video, as did other social media platforms. Twitter, which flagged the video before removing it so that it could not be liked or shared, said it was in "severe violations of our Civic Integrity policy."

On Principles & Values: FactCheck: Incorrectly claims "insurrection was on Nov. 3"

THE FACTS: There was no insurrection on Election Day. There was a free and fair election won by Democrat Joe Biden. Despite Trump's repeated claims, no evidence of widespread corruption has ever been found. Every state has certified its results as fair and accurate, and numerous state and federal election officials--including Trump's own attorney general at the time--have said there was no evidence of systemic fraud or errors of a scale that could have possibly change the outcome. Judges have widely agreed, even some appointed by Trump. The government's then-top cybersecurity and election officials declared the election "the most secure in American history" with "no evidence that any voting system deleted or changed votes, or was in any way compromised." Biden won by the same Electoral College margin that Trump did 2016. But Biden won the popular vote, getting 7 million-plus more votes than Trump.

On Principles & Values: The Big Lie was the Election itself

[OnTheIssues FactCheck: Trump is referring to the House committee investigating the insurrection of January 6. As for the 2020 election, neither Trump nor any of his partisans have produced any evidence that it was in any way "rigged": numerous courts have studied several states results and found no valid evidence that would alter the election results].

On Principles & Values: January 6 commemoration is political theater: a distraction

[OnTheIssues FactCheck: In fact, Biden did not use Trump's name at all in his speech "I Fear For Our Democracy", referring 16 times to the "former president."]

On Principles & Values: Senate Leader OpEd: Trump morally responsible for Jan. 6

"Former President Trump's actions preceding the riot were a disgraceful dereliction of duty. The House accused the former President of 'incitement.' That is a specific term from the criminal law. Let me put that to the side for one moment and reiterate something I said weeks ago: There is no question that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of that day.

"[On Jan. 6] the people who stormed this building believed they were acting on the wishes and instructions of their President. And their having that belief was a foreseeable consequence of the growing crescendo of false statements, conspiracy theories, and reckless hyperbole which the defeated President kept shouting into the largest megaphone on planet Earth."

On Principles & Values: OpEd: Ineligible for impeachment; eligible for prosecution

"If President Trump were still in office, I would have carefully considered whether the House managers proved their specific charge. But in this case, that question is moot. Because former President Trump is constitutionally not eligible for conviction.

"But this just underscores that impeachment was never meant to be the final forum for American justice. Impeachment, conviction, and removal are a specific intra-governmental safety valve. We have a criminal justice system in this country. We have civil litigation. And former Presidents are not immune from being held accountable by either one.

"I believe the Senate was right not to grab power the Constitution does not give us. A Senate verdict before Inauguration Day was never possible. But the Senate has done our duty. The framers' firewall held up again. On January 6th, we returned to our posts and certified the election, uncowed."