This is not complicated: Trump solicited a bribe; the Constitution says he must be removed.
A new low: First, the president’s counsel say that if he didn’t commit a crime, he can’t be removed. Now, they’re saying if he did commit a crime, but the crime is not precisely named in the articles (just described) he can’t be impeached.
By the defense counsel’s flawed logic, if President Trump was impeached for “shooting someone on Fifth Avenue” he could not be removed for murder. That’s completely ludicrous.
In 2010, Judge Porteous was impeached for bribery, but the articles only said “he solicited & accepted things of value.” Just as w/Trump, the House managers described the crime; they did not use the word. ICYMI: The Senate unanimously convicted Porteous on the bribery article.
The White House defense’s argument that Trump should not be held accountable for bribery because the managers—following tradition—did not use that exact word in the Articles of Impeachment falls totally flat.
