“They completely failed to meet that high constitutional standard and, therefore, it would be unconstitutional to remove a president based on the allegations that were made against them in the articles of impeachment,” he said.
Dershowitz has argued that the articles of impeachment against Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress don’t meet the standard of “high crimes“ as specified in the Constitution.
Host Chris Wallace presented Dershowitz with comments from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who served as a House manager in the 1999 impeachment trial of Bill Clinton, and Dershowitz himself arguing at the time of the Clinton trial that a crime wasn’t required for impeachment. Dershowitz responded that many players have since changed their views, name-checking House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), a House impeachment manager, and now-Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y).
“I did say that then,” Dershowitz said.
But, he then qualified that remark: “I’ve been immersing myself in dusty old books and I’ve concluded that, no, it has to be a crime.”
Wallace also played a tape, released Saturday by a lawyer for Lev Parnas, an associate of Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, in which Trump endorses the firing of the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. In response, Dershowitz called it a “perfect example of what is not impeachable conduct.”
“We’re not talking here about political damage,” he said of the trial. “That’s exactly what voters ought to be deciding on. That’s why the election ought to go forward.”
Dershowitz and former independent counsel Kenneth Starr were added to bolster Trump’s defense team ahead of the Senate trial. They are expected to make their first appearance as part of Trump’s defense Monday.
Trump’s defense kicked off in a short Senate session Saturday. The president’s lawyers, led by White House counsel Pat Cipollone, sought to cast doubt that Trump tried to pressure Ukraine into investigating former Vice President Joe Biden.
Source: politico.com
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