Factbox: Abuse of power, obstruction - the charges against Trump explained
Dershowitz's defense is that 'abuse of power' and 'obstruction of justice' are NOT impeachable offenses.
There are degrees of abuse of power. Surely asking a foreign country to help you to dig up dirt on your domestic political opponent is an abuse of power warranting removal. Surely asking a foreign power to meddle in your upcoming domestic election is an impeachable abuse of power.
Dershowitz also says all 'quid pro quo's are not impeachable. Surely some are.
Jan Wolfe January 21, 2020 / 5:08 PM / 6 days ago
4 Min Read
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Tuesday will hear opening arguments in an impeachment trial to determine whether to remove President Donald Trump from office on charges that he abused his power and obstructed Congress in its investigation of his dealings with Ukraine.
The following explains the two charges, or “articles of impeachment,” approved by the U.S. House of Representatives.
ABUSE OF POWER
In the impeachment context, abuse of power is generally defined as using the vast powers of the presidency for personal benefit.
The abuse of power cited in the House articles of impeachment included Trump’s withholding of $391 million in security aid for Ukraine, which Democrats have said was aimed at pressuring Kiev into investigating political rival Joe Biden, the president’s possible Democratic opponent in the Nov. 3 election.
Abuse of power is not specifically referred to as an impeachable offense in the U.S. Constitution, which states that a president can be removed from office for “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” But many legal scholars have argued that the founders of the United States intended the phrase “other high Crimes and Misdemeanors” to broadly encompass abuses of power.
Alexander Hamilton, a famed American statesman, wrote in 1788 that impeachment proceedings were for “those offenses which proceed from the misconduct of public men, or, in other words, from the abuse or violation of some public trust.”
Abuse of power was one of the articles of impeachment advanced against President Richard Nixon, who resigned before a full House vote on the charges. In approving the charge of abuse of power against Nixon, a House committee accused him of authorizing tax audits of political opponents on his “enemies list.”
Abuse of power was advanced as an article of impeachment against President Bill Clinton relating to his affair with a White House intern, but a majority of House members voted against including that charge. Clinton was eventually impeached on two other charges - perjury and obstruction of justice - but was not convicted by the Senate.
OBSTRUCTION OF CONGRESS
Democrats have also charged Trump with obstruction of Congress based on his stonewalling of the House’s impeachment inquiry. The White House has refused to provide documents to congressional investigators and has instructed top advisers and government officials to defy subpoenas and refuse to testify.
A similar charge, contempt of Congress, was one of the articles of impeachment against Nixon, who had defied subpoenas for incriminating tape recordings.
Contempt of Congress is a misdemeanor crime under U.S. law, which defines the offense as willfully failing to provide testimony or documents to Congress. A different crime, obstruction of justice, more broadly prohibits “interference with the orderly administration of law and justice.”
The White House has argued that the Constitution does not require senior presidential advisers to appear for compelled testimony before Congress. A judge rejected that argument on Nov. 25 in a dispute over a subpoena issued to former White House counsel Don McGahn. The White House has appealed that decision.
Trump’s lawyers have also argued his refusal to cooperate with the impeachment investigation is justified because the process has been unfair to him.
i'm not sure if this 'full show' will stay alive for long here.
See also:
Don’t Be Confused by Trump’s Defense. What He Is Accused of Are Crimes. "Alan Dershowitz’s Strange Constitutional Arguments on Impoundment and Foreign Policy "Factbox: Abuse of power, obstruction - the charges against Trump explained" " Abuse of power and obstruction of Congress have long been considered criminal and merit impeachment. https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=153514994
Day 1,103: Bolton Bombshells Overshadow Team Trump's Impeachment Defense | The 11th Hour | MSNBC
Impeachment Expert Witness for GOP Says Alan Dershowitz Is Fundamentally Mistaken' in Key Component of Defense
Jan 28, 2020
MSNBC
The New York Times drops its second bombshell report about John Bolton's book in two days overshadowing the Trump defense in the Senate impeachment trial. Aired on 01/27/20.
Bolton Was Concerned That Trump Did Favors for Autocratic Leaders, Book Says
The former national security adviser shared his unease with the attorney general, who cited his own worries about the president’s conversations with the leaders of Turkey and China.
According to John R. Bolton, the former national security adviser, Attorney General William P. Barr was concerned about President Trump’s conversations with autocratic leaders in two countries. Tom Brenner/Reuters
By Michael S. Schmidt and Maggie Haberman
Jan. 27, 2020
WASHINGTON — John R. Bolton .. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/28/podcasts/the-daily/bolton-impeachment.html , the former national security adviser, privately told Attorney General William P. Barr last year that he had concerns that President Trump was effectively granting personal favors to the autocratic leaders of Turkey and China, according to an unpublished manuscript by Mr. Bolton.
Mr. Barr responded by pointing to a pair of Justice Department investigations of companies in those countries and said he was worried that Mr. Trump had created the appearance that he had undue influence over what would typically be independent inquiries, according to the manuscript. Backing up his point, Mr. Barr mentioned conversations Mr. Trump had with the leaders, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and President Xi Jinping of China.
Mr. Bolton’s account underscores the fact that the unease about Mr. Trump’s seeming embrace of authoritarian leaders, long expressed by experts and his opponents, also existed among some of the senior cabinet officers entrusted by the president to carry out his foreign policy and national security agendas.
Mr. Bolton recounted his discussion with Mr. Barr in a draft of an unpublished book manuscript .. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/26/us/politics/trump-bolton-book-ukraine.html .. that he submitted nearly a month ago to the White House for review. People familiar with the manuscript described its contents on the condition of anonymity.
The book also contains an account of Mr. Trump telling Mr. Bolton in August that he wanted to continue freezing $391 million in security assistance to Ukraine until officials there helped with investigations of political rivals, The New York Times reported .. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/26/us/politics/trump-bolton-book-ukraine.html .. on Sunday. The matter is at the heart of the articles of impeachment against the president.
“There was no discussion of ‘personal favors’ or ‘undue influence’ on investigations, nor did Attorney General Barr state that the President’s conversations with foreign leaders was improper,” the statement said. “If this is truly what Mr. Bolton has written, then it seems he is attributing to Attorney General Barr his own current views — views with which Attorney General Barr does not agree.”
A spokesman for the National Security Council declined to comment on Mr. Barr’s conversations with Mr. Bolton. In a statement on Monday, Mr. Bolton, his publisher and his literary agency said they had not shared the manuscript with The Times.
“There was absolutely no coordination with The New York Times or anyone else regarding the appearance of information about his book, ‘The Room Where It Happened,’ at online booksellers,” Mr. Bolton, Simon & Schuster and Javelin said in a joint statement. “Any assertion to the contrary is unfounded speculation.”
Dean Baquet, the executive editor of The Times, responded that “The Times does not discuss its sources, but I should point out that no one has questioned the accuracy of our report.”
Mr. Barr also cited remarks Mr. Trump made to Mr. Erdogan in 2018 about the investigation of Halkbank, Turkey’s second-largest state-owned bank. The Justice Department was scrutinizing Halkbank on fraud and money-laundering charges for helping Iran evade sanctions imposed by the Treasury Department.
Mr. Erdogan had been making personal appeals to Mr. Trump to use his authority to halt any additional enforcement against the bank. In 2018, Mr. Erdogan told reporters in Turkey that Mr. Trump had promised to instruct cabinet members to follow through on the matter. The bank had hired a top Republican fund-raiser to lobby the administration on the issue.
For months, it looked as though the unusual lobbying effort might succeed; but in October, the Justice Department indicted the bank .. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/15/us/politics/halkbank-turkey-iran-indictment.html .. for aiding Iran. The charges were seen in part as an attempt by the administration to show that it was taking a tough line on Turkey amid an outcry over Mr. Trump’s endorsement of its incursions in Syria.
Mr. Bolton has written a book about his time in the White House that is expected to be released this year. Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
Mr. Bolton’s statements in the book align with other comments he has made since leaving the White House in September. In November, he said in a private speech that none of Mr. Trump’s advisers shared the president’s views on Turkey and that he believed Mr. Trump adopted a more permissive approach to the country because of his financial ties there, NBC News reported. Mr. Trump’s company has a property in Turkey.
Mr. Trump’s soft spot for authoritarians dates at least to his presidential campaign, when he praised .. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/06/us/politics/donald-trump-saddam-hussein.html .. Saddam Hussein for being “good” at killing terrorists and suggested that the world would be better off were Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, the deposed Libyan dictator who was killed in a violent uprising in 2011, “in charge right now.” Mr. Trump then suggested the ouster of both men was ultimately worse for the Middle East because the Islamic State had filled the void.
Mr. Trump declared himself “a big fan” of Mr. Erdogan as they sat side by side in the Oval Office last fall after Mr. Trump cleared the way for Turkish forces to invade Syria, though he warned Mr. Erdogan behind the scenes against the offensive.
Mr. Xi had personally asked Mr. Trump to intervene to save ZTE, which was on the brink of collapse because of tough American penalties for sanctions violations.
Lifting the sanctions on ZTE .. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/07/business/us-china-zte-deal.html , a Chinese telecommunications giant that also serves as a geopolitical pawn for its government, most likely helped Mr. Trump negotiate with Mr. Xi in the trade war between the two countries. But Republican lawmakers and others objected to helping a Chinese company that broke the law and has been accused of posing a national security threat.
Mr. Bolton’s reputation for muscular foreign policy was always an odd fit with Mr. Trump, who often threatens excessive force but rarely reacts with it. Mr. Bolton was pleased when Mr. Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers, including the United States, that the Obama administration had entered into. Other Trump advisers had urged him against it.
But Mr. Trump’s lack of action after Iranian aggression against the United States rankled Mr. Bolton.
Mr. Bolton’s book has already netted significant sales. Shortly after the disclosure of its contents on Sunday night, Amazon listed the book for purchase. By Monday evening, it was No. 17 on Amazon’s best-seller list.
The GOP's only impeachment witness [Jonathan Turley] on Wednesday contradicted his own previous testimony
"Impeachment Expert Witness for GOP Says Alan Dershowitz Is Fundamentally Mistaken' in Key Component of Defense"
Sonam Sheth Dec 5, 2019, 7:23 AM
George Washington University Law School professor Jonathan Turley gives an opening statement as he testifies during a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on the constitutional grounds for the impeachment of President Donald Trump, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Jonathan Turley at a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on December 4. Associated Press
* Jonathan Turley, a law professor who appeared as a Republican witness in Wednesday's impeachment hearings, made a number of claims that directly contradicted his previous statements and testimony.
* But in 1998, Turley made the opposite case, telling Congress during former President Bill Clinton's impeachment hearings that Clinton's actions didn't need to violate any laws in order to be impeachable conduct.
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