White House lawyers, including Patrick Philbin and Jay Sekulow, are all in on Alan Dershowitz's argument that the articles as written are not enough to remove Trump.
A quid pro quo on foreign aid to investigate a political rival is not impeachable, they say.
A quid pro quo on foreign aid to investigate a political rival is not impeachable, they say.
Consider the ramifications of this argument:
A U.S. president can pressure a foreign power to investigate a political rival, or anyone else, with the threat of withholding foreign aid, with impunity--and even if the scheme is unmasked and proven, cannot be removed from office.
A U.S. president can pressure a foreign power to investigate a political rival, or anyone else, with the threat of withholding foreign aid, with impunity--and even if the scheme is unmasked and proven, cannot be removed from office.
To be clear, the White House lawyers still deny that happened, but they argue that denial is immaterial.
Their legal theory is that Trump can't be removed from office even if they admitted it.
Their legal theory is that Trump can't be removed from office even if they admitted it.
