Pelosi tore into Trump and House Republicans for refusing to accept the election results in light of the Capitol siege: 'Shame on them'

GettyImages nancy pelosi — Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., speaks during her weekly news conference in Washington on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021.
Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tore into President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers for refusing to accept the election results in light of the deadly Capitol siege on January 6.
House Democrats are seeking to pursue impeachment proceedings against the president if Vice President Mike Pence doesn't respond to calls to invoke the 25th Amendment, which would allow him and a majority of Trump's cabinet to depose the president.
"Sadly, the person running the executive branch is a deranged, unhinged, dangerous president of the United States, and [there are] only a number of days until we can be protected from him," Pelosi said. "But he has done something so serious that there should be prosecution against him."
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi excoriated President Donald Trump and House Republicans following the deadly siege on the US Capitol on January 6.

In an "60 Minutes" interview that aired Sunday, the House Speaker reflected on her experience as pro-Trump rioters broke into the Capitol building and ransacked her office.

Pelosi said she believed the president should be held accountable through impeachment for inciting violence.

"Sadly, the person running the executive branch is a deranged, unhinged, dangerous president of the United States, and [there are] only a number of days until we can be protected from him," Pelosi said during the interview. "But he has done something so serious that there should be prosecution against him."

She described the January 6 incident as a "terrible, terrible violation of the Capitol, of the first branch of government - the legislative branch - by the president of the United States." Pro-Trump protesters broke into the Capitol as lawmakers were certifying the results of the 2020 election, causing the chamber to temporarily halt the count and take cover.

The congressional session resumed later that same night - with Pence presiding - and lasted until 4 a.m. as a number of GOP lawmakers continued to object to certifying the election results in their respective states, even though none of the objections were sustained.

Some Republicans, however, including Sen. Kelly Loeffler of Georgia, walked back their decision to object.

House Democrats are seeking to pursue impeachment proceedings against the president in light of the Capitol siege, as well as urging Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment, which would allow him and a majority Trump's cabinet to depose the president.

Pelosi wrote in a letter obtained by CNN that impeachment proceedings could be set into motion as early as this week if Pence does not respond to calls to invoke the 25th Amendment.