Trump lawyer Jonathan Turley and AG William Barr have previously argued against Trump's argument that a president cannot be impeached for abuse of power unless it involves a federal crime
Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images President Trump and his legal team have advanced the astonishing argument that a president cannot be impeached for abuse of power — any abuse of power, unless it involves a federal crime. If a president offered pardons to people for murdering his political enemies? Nice and legal, and therefore not an impeachable offense.
This analysis, which is wildly at odds with the historical record of what the Framers intended impeachment to do, has received almost no support from legal scholars. Two notable lawyers have added their names to the long roster of critics: Jonathan Turley and William Barr. Turley, in a Washington Post op-ed, notes that the Framers “often spoke of impeachable conduct in noncriminal terms.” He writes, “There is a vast array of harmful and corrupt acts that a president can commit outside of the criminal code,” and adopting the view that only crimes are impeachable “would create lasting harm for the constitutional system.” Turley of course was selected by House Republicans to testify against impeachment.
Meanwhile, reporter Charlie Savage notes that Barr argued in 2018 that a president can be impeached for abuse of power. Barr, unlike Turley, is not volunteering this point of view. He made it in 2018 as a way to argue against prosecuting Trump for obstruction of justice. Barr’s theory at the time was helpful to Trump deflecting the legal threat he faced at the moment . His device was to swat away that threat by offering up impeachment as an alternative method of accountability.
Trump of course opposes all mechanisms of accountability. Anybody who investigates Trump — the Department of Justice, Congress, a state attorney general, a judge presiding over a lawsuit by victims of his swindling — is corrupt, biased, engaging in a witch hunt, and so on. Barr was hired to to back him up.
Österreich Neuesten Nachrichten, Österreich Schlagzeilen
Similar News:Sie können auch ähnliche Nachrichten wie diese lesen, die wir aus anderen Nachrichtenquellen gesammelt haben.
Trump impeachment strategy: Lawyers want 'deficient' charges dismissed - Business InsiderTrump's lawyers confirm their playbook for impeachment is to argue that the charges are 'deficient' and should be immediately thrown out
Weiterlesen »
As trial nears, Trump lawyers call impeachment case 'flimsy'WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's legal team asserted Monday that he did “absolutely nothing wrong,' calling the impeachment case against him “flimsy' and a “dangerous perversion of the...
Weiterlesen »
Trump lawyers seek quick rejection of Democrats' impeachment caseThe lawyers argue Democrats didn’t present any evidence the president conditioned security assistance and a White House meeting with the new Ukrainian leader.
Weiterlesen »
Trump lawyers call for immediate acquittal in legal, political defensePresident Trump's lawyers blasted the impeachment charges against him, calling the allegations that he had abused his power and obstructed Congress an affront to the Constitution and that the charges must be rejected
Weiterlesen »
Gunman kills two Hawaii police officers, dies in house fire: local mediaTwo Hawaii police officers were fatally shot on Sunday by a man who authorities ...
Weiterlesen »
My ‘Very De Stijl’ Yellow Dining Table Cost Less Than A Fancy Dinner For Two“Something out of The Jetsons,” “ingeniously minimalist,” and “very De Stijl” are just three ways people have described the affordable furniture.
Weiterlesen »