Biden inauguration news: 25,000 National Guard troops vetted amid fears over inside attack

Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s up-to-the-minute coverage of all the latest news ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday.

US defence officials on Sunday warned of a looming threat to security allegedly from the people tasked with securing president-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration ceremony on 20 January, and said they are in the process of vetting the troops deployed for the event.

FBI is bracing for multiple armed protests in Washington DC, amid continuing calls of voters’ fraud in the 2020 elections by Donald Trump supporters.

Security concerns have gripped law enforcement agencies in the wake of the violent 6 January insurrection at the US Capitol by pro-Trump rioters, and fears of an “inside attack” has prompted them to deploy 25,000 troops in the city.

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Joe Biden has urged Americans to get involved in serving their communities today on what is the National Day of Service. 

"Service is a fitting way to start to heal, unite and rebuild this country that we love. I hope you can join us, the president-elect says. 

Cher gave a rousing address during Joe Biden’s pre-inaugural concert on Sunday night – one in a series of events planned in the lead-up to Inauguration Day.

The singer was one of the most high-profile guests featured during the remote show. The We The People pre-inauguration concert began shortly after 8pm ET and lasted a bit more than an hour, with guests such as Fall Out Boy, Carole King, will.i.am, Sophia Bush, Michael Bivins, and Jaime Camil giving performances and speeches via video link.

Keegan-Michael Key and Debra Messing teamed up as co-hosts for the event. Sunday night’s concert served as a fundraiser, meaning viewers were able to obtain a link to watch it in exchange for a donation.

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South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Monday that President-elect Joe Biden should hold talks with North Korea to build on progress that President Donald Trump had made with leader Kim Jong-un.

Mr Biden takes office on Wednesday amid a prolonged stalemate in negotiations aimed at dismantling North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes in exchange for US sanctions relief.

Mr Moon, who had offered to be a mediator between Pyongyang and Washington, said he will seek an early chance to promote North Korea as Mr Biden's foreign policy priority so that he will follow through on an agreement reached by Mr Trump and Mr Kim at their first summit in Singapore.

The two leaders vowed to establish new relations and work toward complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula in that joint statement, but their second summit and ensuing working-level talks fell apart.

"The inauguration of the Biden administration would provide a turning point to newly start US-North Korea dialogue, South-North dialogue, to inherit the achievements that were made under the Trump administration," Mr Moon told a New Year news conference.

Reuters

The mayor of the District of Columbia says that the domestic terrorism was not taken seriously enough in the past and a different approach is now needed.

In light of the assault on the US Capitol by pro-Trump rioters on 6 January, overwhelming security measures have been rolled out across downtown Washington, DC ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.

In an appearance on NBC’s Meet The Press, Mayor Muriel Bowser said that while restrictions on the inauguration were long-expected given the coronavirus pandemic, the heightened security presence was justified by the events of 6 January.

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Photos being shared by Huffington Post reporter Ryan Reilly show a rather militarised-looking Washington DC ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday. 

Inauguration Day is always supported by a huge security operation, but fears of violence are escalated this year following the attack on the US Capitol earlier this month by a mob of Trump supporters. 

Joe Biden plans to scrap Keystone XL Pipeline in one of his first acts as US president, transition documents say, as the Democrat begins reversing some of Donald Trump’s major policies.  

A measure to "rescind [the] Keystone XL pipeline permit" is expected to feature alongside a number of orders during Mr Biden’s first few days in office, according to a memo seen by US media.

On inauguration day itself, the incoming president will sign almost a dozen executive orders which, the transition team said, were to prevent “crises” and “irreversible harms” inflicting the country.

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Joe Biden has chosen Gary Gensler to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission and Rohit Chopra to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, according to Bloomberg White House reporter Jennifer Epstein. 

Mr Gensler, himself a former investment banker, has previously advised the Hillary Clinton and Obama campaigns, and is now a professor at MIT. 

Rohit Chopra has led efforts to reform the student loan system in the US, and in 2018 was elected to fill the open Democratic seat on the Federal Trade Commission. 

“Gensler and Chopra both have experience as financial regulators and are well-regarded by progressives, including Elizabeth Warren, who is close to both of them,” Ms Epstein reported. 

Donald Trump is reportedly planning to dole out up to 100 pardons and commutations of sentence, which could include some white-collar criminals, in the hours he has remaining in the White House before president-elect Joe Biden assumes office.

On Sunday, a meeting was held in the White House to finalise the list of pardons which – as of now – does not include the name of the president himself. Since losing the 3 November elections, Mr Trump has issued pardons to at least 45 people but had paused while gearing up for the 6 January session of the US Congress, which certified Mr Biden’s victory.

According to CNN News, the list on Tuesday is expected to include criminal justice reform-minded pardons as well as those for some of his most controversial allies. The list could yet be subject to change, and it remained uncertain whether the president will pardon his former adviser Steve Bannon – someone who Mr Trump has got back in touch with since the election.

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