Page 12 - CLT120919

12 ¦ DECEMBER 9, 2019 NEWS

¦ From MEET on PAGE 11 President Trump,” Gerhardt con-
as if they have to prove that Trump tinued. “First, he has obstructed
has violated a specific legal statute justice a variety of different
as evidence he should be removed ways. Second, he has asked the
from office. president of a foreign country—
“The very definition of an abuse Professor Noah Feldman actually asked the presidents of
has urged Democrats to a few different countries—to in-
of power is for a sitting president stay away from “legalism” tervene in the next election on
to use his office for personal, par- his behalf. And then third, he
tisan gain. Using the presidency during the public has refused to comply with more
to get Ukraine to investigate proceedings, or feeling subpoenas than most people can
Biden was—obviously—a brazen as if they have to prove count.”
attempt to gain unfair advantage that Trump has violated
in the 2020 election,” Feldman a specific legal statute

wgDvmhdIteaiirasgarBlmotvisnhsretiimaeetdfwyo.rcciStra“LtreossstTiahhmuhawjioetomaeeluiptaSrnplwcudaaaiehbnbnnnacolug’cddiltoecshrlelHbmf.akmretoaoeefrfimornsvarpdttal.alioerUotudmwA.”w.g,Senehe.rFaddtSneiuasllodttperoa--tr.heme Ne eCwaosurYeerovtmriJkdoueUvsntenicdciee-frhowienmiscBthlhouuoftdRufiiuTlncdusegsr.bilaeecylda,uilmrikisnegpTcsatmoparhhtler>pheelase>eenhidadTya2GrerJs0swWnoRu1pntmie6ttropaonepptunLvehrbbsiaecaocslewsaienucimrfdsatotlhenSapTyrneiscaun,tdhtirighRheaollneieflaoesegysrplnaac:uhpdlcopbeueeTilarlsl.dbuiuosrcluridfiatnelceehnesglsdyye--.,
criticized how House Democrats have conducted
>> Michael Gerhardt: Wednesday’s hearing their impeachment inquiry. In a column published
won’t be Gerhardt’s first stint as a witness during by The Hill newspaper late last month, he described
an impeachment proceeding, as he played a simi- the ongoing proceedings as “an impeachment that
lar role during the Clinton impeachment. He was seems designed to fail with an incomplete and con-
the only bipartisan witness who testified at that flicted record.”
hearing, and also talked impeachment with the
House behind closed doors, according to his UNC He pointed to Democrats failing to call prominent
biography. witnesses like former national security adviser John
Bolton or acting White House Chief of Staff Mick
Gerhardt is the author of two books on im- Mulvaney in the impeachment inquiry.
peachment: “The Federal Impeachment Process: A
Constitutional and Historical Analysis” and “Im- “There may be an impeachable case to be made
peachment: What Everyone Needs to Know.” with Bolton, who teased about an undisclosed back
He has also been featured widely in media cov- story, but it will not be sustainable on this record,”
erage about the current impeachment inquiry, Turley wrote.
weighing in on past proceedings and describing The law professor also made headlines in 2014,
what a Senate trial could look like. when he was hired as lead counsel in then-Speaker
In an interview with Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick last John Boehner’s lawsuit against the Obama adminis-
week, Gerhardt said that Trump has “dismissed the tration’s Affordable Care Act. ¦

rule of law as being relevant to his life.”
“Some of us who still take the Constitution rather Jacqueline Thomsen, based in Washington, is a re-
seriously believe that those articles of impeachment porter covering D.C. courts and the legal side of
that had been approved against Richard Nixon turn politics. Contact her at [email protected]. On
out to be relevant, as well, to the misconduct of Twitter: @jacq_thomsen

CONNECTICUT
Law Tribune