Democrats Should ‘Reopen The Impeachment’ Inquiry, Says Fox News Judge
In the wake of recently reported emails that reveal Donald Trump provided “clear direction” to hold Ukraine aid, Fox News senior judicial analyst Andrew Napolitano said that Democrats should “reopen the impeachment” inquiry due to the “newly acquired evidence.”
Napolitano made the comments on Monday’s edition of America’s Newsroom, Newsweek reports. The former New Jersey Superior Court judge noted the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi could control the rules of the Senate trial, which are currently being argued by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. However, Napolitano suggested an alternative legal path for Democrats.
“If I were a Democrat in the House, I would be moving to reopen the impeachment on the basis of newly acquired evidence, which are these new emails of people getting instructions directly from the president to hold up on the sending of the [military] funds” to Ukraine,” he said.
“That would justify holding on to the articles of impeachment, because there’s new evidence, perhaps new articles.”
Pelosi has received criticism from many Republicans for her decision to hold onto the two articles of impeachment passed against Trump, while some Democrats have praised it as a savvy political move. As for the opportunity for new articles, Pelosi has not commented on the possibility.
Following the release of the recent damning emails, Schumer called them a “devastating blow” to the president’s case. Outside of the emails, the 69-year-old politician has been fighting for GOP Senate leaders to allow for additional witnesses that were prevented from testifying during the House inquiry. McConnell does not appear to be set to do so and claims that he has the votes to move forward with the Senate trial on his own accord without Democratic approval.
Napolitano has expressed his support for Trump’s impeachment in recent weeks. He previously predicted that there could be three of four articles of impeachment against the president. Although only two exist at the moment, he will be proven correct should Democrats pursue another article of impeachment based on the recently surfaced evidence.
The Fox News legal previously predicted that Trump would testify live on television for the Senate impeachment trial.
“I think it will be the most dramatic legal political event in the history of our era,” Napolitano said, per The Hill.
According to Napolitano, the testimony will take place in front of the chief justice and the full Senate, as well as the 200 million people that will watch on television.
