Congress 'Put Itself Above the Law' in Trump Impeachment

Congress 'Put Itself Above the Law' in Trump Impeachment: Dershowitz

Harvard Law School professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz said Saturday that congressional lawmakers are violating the U.S. Constitution in what he described as a “show trial” against former President Donald Trump. The House impeachment brief alleges that Trump incited a mob to breach the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 while lawmakers were convened in a joint session to consider certification of electoral college votes.

Trump’s legal team denies the allegation and argues in a memo that the trial is unconstitutional because Trump is no longer president. The team also argues that Trump exercised his First Amendment rights in calling into question the results of the election.

Dershowitz argued that an effective legal defense is based on challenging the constitutionality of the allegations against Trump. “The best arguments he can make, and he will make, are the constitutional ones, namely the Senate had no jurisdiction over a former president and the speech was covered by the First Amendment,” Dershowitz told Newsmax in an interview.

“Congress has put itself above the law,” Dershowitz added. “They say the president is not above the law; they’re right, but Congress is not above the law, and the law makes specific provisions for when a president can be impeached and you can’t impeach a president in violation of the First Amendment.”

He said Thursday that the House impeachment brief against former President Donald Trump, which seeks to undermine Trump’s First Amendment-based argument in his defense, amounts to a dangerous broadside against the freedom of speech of all Americans.