Wishful thinking? A Mistake? Computer hack?

No one seems to know for sure why the State Department website announced Monday that “Donald J. Trump's term ended on 2021-01-11.”

A similar announcement was made in reference to Vice President Mike Pence, indicating that his term had also come to a close on Jan. 11. Both announcements mysteriously appeared on the biography pages of the two elected officials, but were removed by 4.p.m. ET.

It was unclear if the messages were written in an error or deliberately posted. No public comment was made by the State Department on the matter, though some media requested one.

According to BuzzFeed, a “disgruntled staffer” was responsible. The website reported that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has ordered an internal investigation into interns and employees who were slated to leave the department in the coming days before President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in.

Although the House of Representatives introduced new articles of impeachment on Wednesday, neither Trump nor Pence is slated to leave office until Jan. 20.

US President Donald Trump faces a possible fast-tracked effort to remove him from in closing days of his term
President Donald Trump faces a possible fast-tracked effort to remove him from in closing days of his term. AFP / Brendan Smialowski
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