The source at this stage said that lawyers advising the White House believe that there is logically not enough time for Democrats to move impeachment articles out of the House and into the hands of senators to expel the President promptly by January 20.
The source added that the President’s lawyers were consulted about the language used in Trump’s video messages in the wake of the Capitol riots. During that process, White House councilor Pat Cipollone and chief of staff Mark Meadows approached Trump to persuade him to record the videos to save his leadership and thwart efforts to oust him.
Cipollone defended the President during impeachment talks over phone calls with the Ukrainian leader, but his possible exit raises questions about who would represent Trump if conventional impeachment talks build more steam. Cipollone’s involvement is now highly unlikely.
The White House is in a “crisis management” mode after the siege of the Capitol, the source said.
“The lawyers are involved,” the source said.
Meetings have been almost non-stop inside the White House to implement plans to end Trump’s presidency in the least possible way, the source said.
“Can you land the plane with 12 days left,” the source said, summarizing the goal of the remaining staff and advisers around the President.