Stephanie Grisham, the former White House communications director and press secretary and current chief of staff for first lady Melania Trump, submitted her resignation Wednesday afternoon, effective immediately, in the wake of the violent protests, a White House official says.

Grisham was one of the longest-serving Trump administration officials, having begun her tenure working for then-candidate Donald Trump in 2015 as a press wrangler on the campaign trail. Grisham entered the White House as deputy press secretary under Sean Spicer, but in March 2017, Melania Trump hired her for her East Wing staff. As East Wing communications director, Grisham quickly became the first lady's most prominent staffer, acting as defender, enforcer and, often, protector.

Grisham declined a CNN request for comment. The first lady's office did not immediately respond to CNN's request for comment.

President Donald Trump's inciting and refusal to condemn the violence is causing increased discussion among his aides about resigning. While there are only 14 days left in Trump's administration -- and many aides' final days will come before January 20 -- many are disgusted by the President's behavior and no longer believe they can serve him. Whether more join Grisham in resigning remains to be seen, but the level of frustration inside the White House is leading to a growing sense that Trump will be more isolated than ever in his final days in office.

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/06/politics/stephanie-grisham-white-house-resign/index.html

ITV News
@itvnews

Watch @robertmooreitv's report from inside the Capitol building as the extraordinary events unfolded in Washington DC
https://www.itv.com/news/2021-01-06/donald-trump-fires-up-protesters-in-washington-as-congress-prepare-to-confirm-biden-victory

The supporters of President Donald Trump who rioted in the US Capitol building on Wednesday had been openly planning for weeks on both mainstream social media and the pro-Trump internet. On forums like TheDonald, a niche website formed after Reddit banned the subreddit of the same name, they promised violence against lawmakers, police, and journalists if Congress did not reject the results of the 2020 election.

In one interaction four days ago, a person on TheDonald asked, “What if Congress ignores the evidence?”

“Storm the Capitol,” one replied, which received more than 500 upvotes.

“You’re fucking right we do,” another said.

On pro-Trump social media website Parler, chat app Telegram, and other corners of the the far-right internet, people discussed the Capitol Hill rally at which Trump spoke as the catalyst for a violent insurrection. They have been using those forums to plan an uprising in plain sight, one that they executed Wednesday afternoon, forcing Congress to flee its chambers as it met to certify the results of the election.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/janelytvynenko/trump-rioters-planned-online

Greg Stohr
@GregStohr

Amid all this, Rep Gohmert has asked the Supreme Court to intervene in the congressional vote counting and issue an emergency order to block Pence from following the Electoral Count Act.

Gohmert Asks Supreme Court to Intervene in Election Fight

A Republican congressman filed a last-ditch bid at the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse President Donald Trump’s election defeat, asking the justices to intervene just as protesters forced a halt to the joint congressional session that was set to ratify Joe Biden’s victory.

Representative Louie Gohmert of Texas asked the court to block Vice President Mike Pence from invoking the law that has governed the formal vote-counting session since the 19th century. Gohmert’s ultimate aim is to have the election decided by the House of Representatives, which under the 12th Amendment would vote by state delegations.

Pence said earlier Wednesday he has no power to reverse Trump’s defeat.

Four lower court judges -- all Republican appointees -- have summarily rejected Gohmert’s lawsuit, and the Supreme Court has already turned away two efforts to overturn Biden’s victory in pivotal states, each time without any public dissent. In addition, the justices have deferred acting on a Trump bid to overturn Biden’s win in Pennsylvania.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-06/gohmert-asks-supreme-court-to-intervene-in-election-fight

Donald Trump Should Be Impeached and Removed from Office Tomorrow

I watched as the president spoke at his rally earlier today and said he would go with the crowd to the Capitol to make sure their feelings were known. I heard the president threaten Mike Pence with his unhappiness should Pence refuse to prevent the certification of the electors—just after Pence had released a statement saying he had no authority to do any such thing.

This rally itself happened because Trump called for it. The crowds gathered because Trump called for them. They moved to the Capitol down the Mall because Trump said they should. The breach of the Capitol is Trump’s fault. Some in the crowd have stormed the Congress.

Donald Trump unleashed a mob on Capitol Hill. What he has done is without precedent in American history. Even if he had seven minutes left in his presidency, he should not be permitted to spend another second as the President. Nancy Pelosi should call an emergency session of the House tonight and impeach the president, and Mitch McConnell should convene the Senate tomorrow and call a vote to remove Trump from the presidency.

https://www.commentarymagazine.com/john-podhoretz/donald-trump-should-be-impeached-and-removed-from-office-tomorrow/

Jonathan Martin
@jmartNYT

The Virginia National Guard and 200 state troopers are being sent to DC, per a top Va official.

Jim Roberts
@nycjim

*Georgia Sec/State Brad Raffensperger had told aides not to release recording of the call unless Donald Trump attacked state officials or misrepresented what was said.
*Trump obliged with a tweet on Sunday morning.
https://nytimes.com/2021/01/03/us/