About 100 US diplomats are urging Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to condemn President Donald Trump over the violent events that occurred in Washington on Wednesday, according to a memo obtained by CNN.
On 6 January, Trump's supporters broke into Congress to protest the verification of the Electoral College votes for Democrat Joe Biden, who prevailed over POTUS in the 3 November presidential election. They clashed with police in a standoff that lasted several hours and left at least five people dead.
"The Department of State should explicitly denounce President Trump's role in this violent attack on the US government" and "should also mention President Trump by name”, the memo reportedly points out.
According to the document, "it is critical that we [US diplomats] communicate to the world that in our system, no one - not even the president - is above the law or immune from public criticism".
The diplomats accused Trump of "encouraging" his supporters "to storm the US Capitol" on Wednesday which led to "[…] incalculable damage to our democratic system and our image abroad". The memo asserted that the US president played "an integral role in breaking the 220-year streak of peaceful transfer of power between political parties during US elections".
"President Donald Trump's incitement of violence against the certification of the United States' free and fair elections is unacceptable and incompatible with our laws, the democratic values and protected fundamental freedoms enshrined in our founding documents, and our long tradition of a peaceful and orderly transfer of power", the document reportedly read.
It goes on to say that guidance sent to press bureaus at the State Department and to US embassies and consulates worldwide, should not include any quotes from Trump about the episode, "as he is not a credible voice on this matter".
Trump Condemns 6 January Violence in Washington
The memo comes after Trump released a short video address to the nation, in which he formally acknowledged that a "new administration would be inaugurated" on 20 January, and pledged to commit to "a smooth, orderly and seamless transition of power".
In the Thursday video, Trump also condemned Wednesday's storming of the Capitol complex in Washington, DC by his supporters, saying that "like all Americans" he was "outraged by the violence, lawlessness, and mayhem" that took place.
POTUS accused the "demonstrators who infiltrated the Capitol" of defiling the "seat of the American democracy" and promising that those who "broke the law" will pay.
He, however, maintained that his attempts to challenge the election results in the weeks after the 3 November election were meant "only" to "ensure the integrity of the vote", and "in so doing... fighting to defend American democracy".
A recent poll conducted by Hill-HarrisX has revealed that at least 50 percent of respondents believe the storming of the Capitol by Trump supporters was mainly prompted by the actions of a mob of people rather than by POTUS' previous call "to fight" during a rally.
