Several American media outlets said that at least two senior White House officials and closest allies of the US President, consulted with employees about the possibility of implementing the 25th amendment to the constitution, which calls for the removal of the president, at a time when calls are increasing for this step in response to support Trump to the riots in the US Congress.
However, in an attempt to calm the atmosphere, President Trump came out in a video clip, in which he condemned the violence that took place in the Capitol Building, promising to hold those responsible for it accountable, and pledging a peaceful transfer of power on January 20, in a clear retreat from the president who described the protesters the day before as " The wonderful ".
These developments came after Democrats and some Republicans called on Trump administration officials to activate the 25th amendment to the constitution to exempt Trump from the post, less than two weeks before the end of his term, led by Nancy Polisi, Speaker of the US House of Representatives, and leader of the Democrats in the Senate, Chuck Schumer.
Behind the scenes of Trump impeachment discussions
For his part, CNBC reported that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin held informal talks within their ministries about the features of the 25th amendment, according to three sources familiar with the matter.
However, these officials had several justifications to stop this procedure, according to the American website, most notably that the legal process to activate the 25th amendment will take more than a week, eliminating any immediate effect of it, in addition to fears that forcing Trump to step down from his post could increase tensions in Street, and ignites anger among its base, which may make him a hero of the extreme right, which will lead to bad results in the long term rather than positive in the short term.
For his part, a former senior US administration official familiar with the discussions said, "The general plan now is to let time run out. There will be an account for this president, but it doesn't have to happen in the next 13 days."
Meanwhile, Business Insider and The New York Times reported that US Vice President Mike Pence opposes using the 25th amendment to the constitution to impeach Trump.
Trump is considering pardoning himself
Amid all this, and after a chaos of resignations and dismissals in the White House in protest against the events of Congress, Trump finally came out directly, threatening the congressional intruders, calling for " reconciliation and healing ", stressing that he wanted a "smooth" transition of power to an administration behind him, President-elect Joe. Biden, in a clear reversal of the president's position.
In the same context, the New York Times reported that Trump said that he was considering pardoning himself, during discussions with his aides since the presidential elections that took place last November.
The newspaper quoted two unnamed sources familiar with the discussions talking about what could be an extraordinary use of the president's powers by Republican Trump, who lost the election to Democratic rival Joe Biden.
The newspaper also quoted the two sources as saying that Trump told his advisers during several discussions since Election Day, "that he is considering granting a pardon for himself, and he asked on other occasions whether he should (do so) and about the impact of this on him legally and politically."
But Trump clearly understands that things have developed negatively, and that he has been hurt greatly.