Morning and welcome to this week. Insurrection Impeachment inauguration. Three Wednesdays three weeks, unlike any others in American history. And in just three days, Joseph Robinette Biden will take the oath of office address in America in crisis. Plagued by a pandemic economic hardship, deeply divided, reeling from the most dramatic act of domestic terrorism our country has ever seen. All inspired by the president leaving office as we come in the other morning, there are more U. S troops protecting the capital than in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and Somalia combined. The mall. We're almost two million people gathered for Barack Obama's inauguration will be empty when Joe Biden swears to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Not long after all, 100 senators will take an oath of their own, promising to do impartial justice in the second Trump impeachment trial. Head swirling, mind bending, surreal and historic. We're living through a major moment in the life of our republic, and we're gonna try to do it. Justice this morning, starting with our chief White House correspondent John Carl, our chief justice correspondent Pierre Thomas. Pierre Louis Begin with you Right now. We know that Washington's on the highest alert. Right now. They even have a green zone. Now that's a term we usually associate with Baghdad. George. This truly now is fortunes. Washington The city is in near total lockdown. Look at these images of more National Guard arriving at Andrews Air Force Base yesterday. Wishing the number of troops toward 25,000 that will be here on Inauguration Day, just extraordinary. Their military vehicles and police cars on every corner. Streets are shut down fences would razor wire erected. The National Mall is essentially closed. As I drove in this morning Constitution afternoon was blocked. No traffic allowed. Sources of feeling more and more comfortable that Washington is secure and that there could be a threat. Any threat could be face down quickly, even though they're worried about improvised explosives and extremist showing up in large numbers with guns. But this threat extends beyond Washington to all 50 states. The latest sign the U. S. Postal Service is removing mailboxes and suspending mail collection. Across 17 states ahead of the inauguration and obvious concern the potential for bombs. Authorities are worried that states may not have another resource is George to protect government buildings. NPR Every day that goes by. We're learning that siege of the capital is even more dangerous than we knew in real time. George We have some disturbing new evidence about vice President Pence and Speaker Pelosi sources of pointing to a man In the case of Dominic Pa's Ola, who was accused of being the man in this video, smashing a window to get into the capital. Criminal charges filed against Brazil, a state that a witness has come forward, claiming to have had a conversation with Priscilla and other members of the group that stormed the capital. The witness says they discuss how puzzling and others allegedly went to the capital and would have killed Speaker Pelosi and vice President Pence if they had been given a chance. Was also discussion of coming back to D. C to kill everyone that they could get ahold of George, but that is just chilling. You also have firsthand testimony from two of the police officers assaulted by the mob George on a personal and professional note. I'm still reeling from the conversation I had with two officers who've been seen in those two infamous videos have gone viral one crushed in the door yelling for his life, the other who had been viciously beaten by an angry mob outside the capital. Store raised the hair on the back of my neck. They talked of a medieval scale fight a game of Thrones brawl. Members of the mob frothing for the mouth with nothing but hate and anger in their eyes. And both men wondering if they were going to live to tell their stories. George Pierre Thomas, thanks very much for bringing Jon Karl for more on the impeachment trial. It is to come. We don't know much about when the Senate trial Is going to start what it's gonna look like. What do we know about how President Trump is preparing George The president's been talking to a lot of people about his upcoming trial, but his strategy is very much in the air. I had a lengthy conversation yesterday with Rudy Giuliani, who said that he is working on the president's defense, at least for now. But then a former Trump campaign spokesperson put out a statement claiming The president hasn't made his mind up is that who will lead his defense and George? I talked to Giuliani about his approach to the trial what he would do. He said that he would encourage the president to go to that he would bring up all of those discredited claims about voter fraud claims that Giuliani himself has brought up in courtroom after courtroom around the country. And has been have been discredited. He said that if he can prove that the those claims are true or that the president had reason to believe they are true, then you can't accuse him of inciting the mob. I don't know how that legal strategy will will fly. But the Giuliani also said that he would not rule out the president himself testifying in his Senate trial. Well, that would be something our new poll shows that 68% of the country opposes itself. Pardon? But the president's still considering that I'm told he's very much still considering it. He's been advised by all of the lawyers who were still here working at the White House not to do it that it probably wouldn't stand up to constitutional scrutiny and it could complicate efforts after he leaves the White House, leaving the president vulnerable to civil lawsuits. But Giuliani, for his part, told me He thinks the president would be fully justified in pardoning himself. And then he said about that concerned about civil lawsuits, George his legal life. The president's legal life is going to be complicated, no matter what I'd much rather have my civil life complicated than my criminal life. That was what Rudy Giuliani said about a self part. Okay. You know, the Trump White House has never been a conventional White House. Take it right now..