The video-sharing platform confirmed in a statement that a video uploaded to President Trump’s channel violated the site’s policy against inciting violence and as a result, the platform suspended his ability to share content on YouTube for at least seven days.

YouTube said in a statement  “After review, and in light of concerns about the ongoing potential for violence, we removed new content uploaded to Donald J. Trump’s channel for violating our policies. It now has its 1st strike & is temporarily prevented from uploading new content for a *minimum* of 7 days. Given the ongoing concerns about violence, we will also be indefinitely disabling comments on President Trump’s channel, as we’ve done to other channels where there are safety concerns found in the comments section.”

YouTube didn’t provide any details of the video shared on Trump’s channel that violated its policy and led to the “first strike.” Among the six videos uploaded to the channel on Tuesday, five were clips from the far-right One America News (OAN) network with Trump’s comments delivered at an appearance in Alamo, Texas.

Under YouTube’s “three strikes” guidelines, if a channel receives a second strike within 90 days it will be suspended for two weeks; a third strike results in a permanent ban.

YouTube’s move comes after Twitter permanently banned Trump last Friday after the Capitol riot. Trump’s accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitch, and other platforms also have been indefinitely or permanently blocked.

Trump told him during a phone conversation that he needs him to “find” him 11,780 votes. When the Secretary told him it’s a crime to rig an election, Trump threatened him that he’ll be criminally liable.

The conversation Saturday, Jan 2, was the latest step in an unprecedented effort by a sitting president to pressure a state official to reverse the outcome of an election that he lost.

Trump confirmed in a tweet Sunday, Jan 3, that he had spoken with Georgia’s secretary of state, Republican Brad Raffensperger, a day earlier.

Audio snippets of the conversation were posted online by The Washington Post. A recording of the call was later obtained by The Associated Press from a person who was on the call.

Here is the audio

Since Election Day on November 3, 2020, Trump has falsely claimed that his second term is being stolen, even as there have been no credible allegations of widespread voting issues as affirmed by dozens of judges, governors, and election officials, the Electoral College, the Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security, and the US Supreme Court.

The letter published by the Washington Post on Sunday, January 3, was signed by Dick Cheney, James Mattis, Mark Esper, Leon Panetta, Donald Rumsfeld, William Cohen, Chuck Hagel, Robert Gates, William Perry and Ashton Carter.

The letter is a show of repulsion towards Trump’s subversion efforts just days before Congress is set to count Electoral College votes.

The group wrote “Our elections have occurred. Recounts and audits have been conducted. Appropriate challenges have been addressed by the courts. Governors have certified the results. And the electoral college has voted. The time for questioning the results has passed; the time for the formal counting of the electoral college votes, as prescribed in the Constitution and statute, has arrived.”

The letter follows Trump’s removal of former defence secretary Mark Esper in November to change the Defense Department’s civilian leadership structure and instil loyalists to Trump

The pardon comes as Trump enters his last days as President, after spending four years in office and showcases his rebuke for the Robert Mueller investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Since January 2017, the Flynn case has been among the defining sagas of Trump’s presidency and Attorney General William Barr’s leadership of the Justice Department.

The Justice Department recently said Flynn should never have been investigated by the FBI and that his lies to them in January 2017 were immaterial, while Flynn recanted his admissions of guilt.

The White House, in a statement following the President’s announcement, insisted on Flynn’s innocence, with press secretary Kayleigh McEnany saying “The President has pardoned General Flynn because he should never have been prosecuted”

Republicans on Tuesday, November 17, blocked the certification of results in a party-line vote that threatened to temporarily stall official approval of Democrat Joe Biden’s win in the state.

According to the Republicans, Wayne County, Michigan’s largest county had irregularities, voting to make it a 2-2 tie. Biden crushed Trump in Wayne county, a Democratic and Black people controlled stronghold, by more than a two-to-one margin and won the state by 146,000 votes, according to unofficial results.

Monica Palmer, a Republican, said poll books in certain Detroit precincts were out of balance. In response, Jonathan Kinloch, a Democrat, said it was “reckless and irresponsible” not to certify the results. “It’s not based upon fraud. It’s absolutely human error,” Kinloch said of any discrepancies. “Votes that are cast are tabulated.”

On Tuesday evening, Trump reacted to the certification block, calling it a beautiful thing, while also alleging the number of voters was more than the number of people who registered to vote.

He tweeted “Wow! Michigan just refused to certify the election results! Having courage is a beautiful thing. The USA stands proud!”

The General Services Administration administrator has not stated Joe Biden won the election, and without doing that Biden can’t get the necessary logistical support his team will need in transitioning to the White House.

Trump is meant to vacate the White House in January 2021 but until Biden is certified as the winner of the election, Trump still has a slim chance of fighting the electoral results in court.

When asked why the General Services Administration administrator has not issued a letter of “ascertainment” that would determine the likely winner of the race and formally begin the transition process, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that the next president would be inaugurated on time.

He said “We’re going to have an orderly transfer from this administration to the next one, what we all say about it is, frankly, irrelevant. I have emphasized that one of the beauties of the American election system is we have 50 separate ways to conduct them. Every state is different. It ought to stay that way. We ought not to try to rationalize how we handle elections,” he added. “States know how to do it. I know when things don’t happen they tend not to make a headline, but [there is] no indication any foreign intervention succeeded. The elections were smoothly conducted. But the decision as to how the end of the election happened in 50 different places,” he added. “So next we’re going to say election certification in the states that are still close, and in doubt — in Georgia and Pennsylvania and Michigan and Nevada. Once those certifications occur, if they occur, based upon litigation that’s being tried in various places, those will be final. The Electoral College will meet in December, and the inauguration will be on Jan. 20.”

Addressing reports that Trump plans to announce within days sharp cuts to US forces in both countries, the Republican Senate chief said the US would be “abandoning” partners.

McConnell said on the Senate floor. “The consequences of a premature US exit would likely be even worse than President Obama’s withdrawal from Iraq back in 2011, which fueled the rise of ISIS and a new round of global terrorism. It would be reminiscent of the humiliating America departure from Saigon in 1975. The spectacle of US troops abandoning facilities and equipment, leaving the field in Afghanistan to the Taliban and ISIS, would be broadcast around the world as a symbol of US defeat and humiliation, and a victory for Islamic extremism. It would hand a weakened and scattered Al-Qaeda a big, big propaganda victory and a renewed safe haven for plotting attacks against America.”

Emily Murphy, head of the General Services Administration (GSA), said the election has not yet been decided.

“An ascertainment has not yet been made,” said Pamela Pennington, a spokeswoman for GSA. “And its Administrator will continue to abide by, and fulfil, all requirements under the law.”

The GSA is the agency that plays a role in helping to fund newly elected presidents and authorize access to government officials, office space, and equipment.

Democratic congressman from Virginia, Gerry Connolly, called for Murphy to sign off on the paperwork so that Biden can start the transition process. ‘GSA Admin Emily Murphy must begin the Biden transition without delay,’ Connolly wrote in a tweet.

‘The Administrator plays a critical role in the peaceful transfer of power and ensuring vital government services are not disrupted. This is all the more important amid a deadly pandemic. Do the right thing.’ Connolly added

Joe Biden was announced the winner of the 2020 presidential election on Saturday, but Donald Trump is still yet to concede defeat

The president’s spokesperson, however, noted that the Buhari regime looked forward to a better relationship with the incoming administration of Joe Biden.

Shehu said, “Nigeria and the United States have enjoyed a very good relationship and it was even more so under President Trump who just lost the election. If you recall very well, this country had procured weapons to fight terrorism and internal security from the United States and various world capitals. For some reasons before President Buhari came to office, the United States government and several other nations of the world stopped the sale of weapons to Nigeria. To the credit of Mr Trump, he agreed. In fact, he called President Buhari at a short notice and said, Mr Buhari, you want to buy a dozen Super Tucano (these are aircraft most suitable for fighting terrorism like the one we face in the North-East). I give you two months, this is how much you will pay, we will give you. It’s a big relief for us. We will soon start receiving some of the aircraft hopefully next year. So, we have had a good relationship with Mr Trump but our hope is that this relationship will even be better with President Biden.”

Trump’s comments in an interview with Fox News host Maria Bartiromo came after Pelosi last week formed a committee that would allow the 25th Amendment to be invoked if a president was deemed mentally unfit.

Trump told Fox News “I don’t think she could pass basic aptitude tests, personally. I really don’t. I don’t believe it”