A trio of left-leaning legal scholars will tell lawmakers Wednesday that the impeachment of President Trump is warranted and there is clear evidence of quid pro quo.
The three constitutional law professors will testify as part of the House Judiciary Committee’s impeachment hearing.
“The president’s serious misconduct, including bribery, soliciting a personal favor from a foreign leader in exchange for his exercise of power and obstruction of justice and Congress are worse than the misconduct of any prior president, including what previous presidents who faced impeachment have done or been accused of doing,” Micheal Gerhardt, a University of North Carolina law professor will say based on his opening statement.
Mr. Gerhardt will appear alongside Noah Feldman of Harvard Law School and Pamela S. Karlan of Stanford Law School.
George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley is the lone GOP witness.
In their opening statements, the three Democratic witnesses will assail Mr. Trump for repeatedly pressing Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to open an investigation into political rival Joseph R. Biden and his son, Hunter.
Mr. Trump has denied wrongdoing and dismissed the impeachment inquiry as “a sham.”
The three Democrats witnesses disagree, however. They say Mr. Trump’s actions rise to “high crimes and misdemeanors,” the constitutional threshold for removing a president.
“President Trump’s conduct described in the testimony and evidence clearly constitutes an impeachable high crime and misdemeanor under the Constitution,” Mr. Feldman will say.
“By freezing aid to Ukraine and dancing the promise of a White House visit, the president was corruptly using the powers of the presidency for personal political gain,” said said.
Ms. Karlan will not only take the president to task for the July 25 phone call with Mr. Zelensky, but also for blocking witnesses from testifying before the impeachment inquiry.
“Based on the evidently record, what has happened in the case before you is something that I don’t think we ever seen before; a president who has doubled down on violating his oath to ’faithfully execute’ the laws and to ’protect and defend the Constitution,’” she will say.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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