Here comes the freak show
Donald J. Trump, IMPOTUS the Third, is about to be tried in the Senate on two articles of impeachment. On Friday, he named members of his defense team, including Pat Cipollone and Kenneth Starr, as well as Jay Sekulow. One person whose role on the team is not clear is Alan “Dearth of Wits” Dershowitz. He tweeted on Friday about his role:
STATEMENT REGARDING PROFESSOR DERSHOWITZ’S ROLE IN THE SENATE TRIAL – Professor Dershowitz will present oral arguments at the Senate trial to address the constitutional arguments against impeachment and removal.
While Professor Dershowitz is non partisan when it comes to the constitution—he opposed the impeachment of President Bill Clinton and voted for Hillary Clinton— he believes the issues at stake go to the heart of our enduring Constitution. He is participating in this impeachment trial to defend the integrity of the Constitution and to prevent the creation of a dangerous constitutional precedent.
First, it should be noted that Dershowitz is not “nonpartisan” when it comes to the Constitution. Rather, he has never found an opportunity to inflate his position in the legal world that he did not take. He will defend any position, so long as he is on television and relevant. Second, his assertion that abuse of power is not something the founding fathers believed should be impeachable is just not right. Finally, his insistence that high crimes and misdemeanors requires some actual crime is preposterous.
In Federalist No. 65, Alexander Hamilton wrote: “The subjects of its jurisdiction are those offenses which proceed from the misconduct of public men, or, in other words, from the abuse or violation of some public trust. They are of a nature which may with peculiar propriety be denominated POLITICAL, as they relate chiefly to injuries done immediately to the society itself.”
Tuesday will be interesting, as it is not clear by what authority Dershowitz will appear on the Senate floor to describe his deep concerns. And the public should know better than accepting the argument that Dershowitz, Jonathan Turley, and other legal wackos are impartial just because they’ve voted for Democrats in the past. Opportunity to be in the spotlight can be its own reward.
Daniel is a lawyer writing and teaching about SCOTUS, and is the author of the book “The Chief Justices” about the SCOTUS as seen through the center seat.