Trump's lawyers shouldn't be allowed to use bogus legal arguments on impeachment

[Zorro]

By Laurence H. Tribe

The president’s lawyers have made the sweeping assertion that the articles of impeachment against President Trump must be dismissed because they fail to allege that he committed a crime — and are, therefore, as they said in a filing with the Senate, “constitutionally invalid on their face.”

Another of his lawyers, my former Harvard Law School colleague Alan Dershowitz, claiming to represent the Constitution rather than the president as such, makes the backup argument that the articles must be dismissed because neither abuse of power nor obstruction of Congress can count as impeachable offenses.

Both of these arguments are baseless. Senators weighing the articles of impeachment shouldn’t think that they offer an excuse for not performing their constitutional duty.

The argument that only criminal offenses are impeachable has died a thousand deaths in the writings of all the experts on the subject, but it staggers on like a vengeful zombie. In fact, there is no evidence that the phrase “high Crimes and Misdemeanors” was understood in the 1780s to mean indictable crimes.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/01/19/trumps-lawyers-shouldnt-be-allowed-use-bogus-legal-arguments-impeachment/

[mopinko]

1. they just want a plausible lie. a pretty lie to hang their hats on.

but there isnt one. there are no hairs to split here.

at this point, i am convinced he would resign, except that he is about to get his biggest reality teevee show ever.

[ihaveaquestion]

2. Exactly Right!

I only hope Democrats are able use this to hold them to account in their next elections, whether that is this year or in the future.