Donald Trump’s pal Alan Dershowitz goes completely off the rails
Alan Dershowtiz was a professor of law at the Harvard Law School from 1964 until 2013, for the last twenty years the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law. He has been involved in several high-profile criminal defense matters, including O.J. Simpson.
Dershowitz is and has been respected as a scholar of constitutional law. However, that attribute might need to be reconsidered in light of Dershowitz’s apparent dearth of wits when it comes to impeachment.
For a constitutional scholar to be so blinded by his loyalty to the current president that he can’t find how impeachment works in that concise document, the United States Constitution, says much about his perhaps being wrongly distinguished all these years.
Accusing the House Democrats of acting about impeachment in a partisan manner, Dershowitz told Maria Bartiromo over the weekend: “Congress is not above the law. They just can’t make it up as they go along. The constitution provides specific criteria for impeachment. And I think these hearings demonstrate beyond any doubt that these criteria haven’t been met.”
Umm, that’s not how it works, Dershowitz. The Constitution only provides Congress power to impeach upon evidence that the president or other officer engaged in treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. Those terms, except for treason and bribery, are left to interpretation. Dershowitz might study President Andrew Johnson, whose “crimes and misdemeanors” consisted of ignoring an act of Congress.
The means and procedures and process are up to Congress. Only the House has the power to impeach, and the Senate holds the trial, but the Supreme Court has definitively informed the nation that how Congress goes about impeachment is left solely to Congress.
Dershowitz went on to again without basis assert: “It’s very, very unfair. I mean, the impeachment process is quasi-criminal in nature. And the person being accused is supposed to have rights comparable to the rights of somebody being accused of a crime.”
Again, Dershowitz, you are destroying any reputation you might have enjoyed, as you very well know that impeachment is a political process and the person being accused has no rights comparable to a criminal defendant during the impeachment process.
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.