Trump case puts Nixon to shame, Nadler says
WASHINGTON – As House impeachment manager Jerry Nadler pressed the case that President Donald Trump’s conduct put “President Nixon to shame” during the second day of opening arguments Thursday, Republicans said they looked forward to Trump’s defense team shedding new light on the events that led to his impeachment.
“There’s all kinds of allegations that have been thrown up in the air and so they’ll have a chance to lay out their timeline, their version of events,” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said.
Trump’s team is expected to open its case on Saturday and continue Monday and Tuesday. Each side gets 24 hours over three days to present its arguments in the historic case.
“All I can tell you is from the president’s point of view, he did nothing wrong in his mind,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican and a close Trump ally.
Trump was impeached Dec. 18 after hearings by the House Intelligence and Judiciary Committees into whether he had tried to leverage military aid to Ukraine in exchange for digging up dirt on political rival Joe Biden.
House managers began the day by focusing on the Constitutional principles they say underpin the first of the two articles of impeachment, abuse of power. They are expected to spend the third and final day of their opening arguments Friday focusing on the second article, obstruction of justice.
Nadler, D-N.Y., and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said abuse of power could have been charged just for Trump asking Ukraine
to investigate Biden. But Nadler said Trump went further, withholding $391 million in vital military aid.
“Since President George Washington took office in 1789, no president has abused his power in this way,” Nadler said. “No president has ever used his office to compel a foreign nation to help him cheat in our elections.”
Nadler said the accusation of obstruction stems from Trump directing his administration to defy all subpoenas for testimony and documents during the investigation.
“The articles are overwhelmingly supported by the evidence amassed by the House, notwithstanding the president’s complete stonewalling, his attempt to block all witnesses and all documents from the United States Congress,” Nadler said. “It puts even President Nixon to shame.”
Nadler also challenged the argument from Trump’s defenders that impeachment must allege a violation of statutory law.
To make his point, he played a 1999 video of Graham, who was a manager 20 years ago in the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton. The Constitution allows impeachment for “high crimes and misdemeanors,” a term that has been debated during the Trump investigation.
“What’s a high crime?” Graham asked in the well of the Senate in 1999. “How about an important person hurting somebody of low means? It’s not very scholarly, but I think it’s the truth. ... Doesn’t even have to be a crime. It’s just when you start using your office and you’re acting in a way that hurts people, you’ve committed a high crime.”
Graham had left the chamber shortly before Nadler’s remarks and returned about 10 minutes later.
Republicans have challenged the accusations of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress as vague and not grounded in established law.
“This view is completely wrong,” Nadler said.
Trump, just back from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, launched an early morning tweet storm aimed at opponents who have accused him of abuse of power.
“The Democrats are trying hard to damage Republicans prior to the Election!” he tweeted.
Trump left Washington midday for a trip to Miami, where he was scheduled to give a closed-door speech to the Republican National Committee.
But he appeared to be watching at least part of the trial. Minutes after Thursday’s session opened, Trump tweeted out a warning: His legal team will call witnesses of their own if House Democratic managers get the opportunity to question witnesses.
As senators sat through the second eight-hour day of opening arguments, which followed an 11-hour session on trial procedure, they found a variety of ways of coping with the tight rules governing the proceedings.
During the first two sessions this week, several Senators nodded off, while others sat raptly and took extensive notes.
On Thursday, senators were seen passing notes back and forth, and least three were spotted with fidget spinners.
When they’re not in their seats, they will have the chance to review classified testimony from an assistant to Vice President Mike Pence that Democrats have unsuccessfully tried to make public.
After Senate Republicans rejected an attempt Tuesday to allow the Senate to receive classified information into evidence, Chief Justice John Roberts late Wednesday announced an agreement to allow classified information into the record. Senators will have to review it in a secure setting.
The information is part of a description of Pence’s Sept. 18 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky given to the committee by Jennifer Williams, a foreign policy adviser to Pence.
Democrats argue the testimony is corroborating evidence and there’s no reason it should be classified.
The trial resumes at 1 p.m. Friday.