Although high-profile attorney Alan Dershowitz was part of Donald Trump ‘s impeachment defense team, Newsweek reports that the retired Harvard professor told Chris Wallace that the president’s Ukraine foreign policy will still have an impact on his 2020 vote.
“Do you find it troubling, problematic that a president would link in any way, forget his motive, and I’m not saying it’s criminal, his support for an ally and even military aid for an ally to investigating his political opponent?” Wallace asked him on Fox News Sunday .
“And on Election Day, as a citizen I will allow that to enter into my decision who to vote for,” Dershowitz responded, although he said he believes that Trump’s actions were nevertheless not impeachable.
“I’m a liberal Democrat,” Dershowitz added.
Dershowitz has claimed to have voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016 and says he would have defended her in the same way if she were impeached in place of Trump.
“I would be making the very same constitutional argument had Hillary Clinton, for whom I voted, been elected and had a Republican House voted to impeach her on these unconstitutional grounds.”
Nevertheless, Dershowitz’s defense of Trump’s Ukraine foreign policy has stirred controversy . His argument that Trump’s alleged quid pro quo with Ukraine was in the public interest was particularly controversial. Some noted that such a defense appears to condone President Richard Nixon’s behavior in the Watergate scandal, which ultimately led to his resignation.
MUST WATCH: Alan Dershowitz responds to political and media backlash over his controversial comments in defense of the President on the Senate floor. #FNS #FoxNews #ImpeachmentTrial pic.twitter.com/zIAlVjglKx
— Fox News Sunday (@FoxNewsSunday) February 2, 2020
Dershowitz’s argument that impeachment requires a crime also raised eyebrows. Fox News Judge Andrew Napolitano noted that Dershowitz’s position differs from his previous stance — referring to a 1998 CNN interview — and argued that the Constitution does not require statutory crimes for impeachment.
Independent Justin Amash echoed Napolitano’s belief and claims that the high crimes and misdemeanors charge relates to abuse of the office of the presidency that puts the public interest at risk.
Following the Senate’s vote against hearing from additional witnesses, it appears that Trump will be acquitted . The president allegedly met with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and pressed him to wrap up the process. Regardless, Trump’s acquittal will not remove him from the list of impeached and acquitted presidents along with Presidents Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton.
As many Trump allies have argued, Dershowitz claims that Trump should not be considered impeached. During an appearance on Fox News on Friday, Dershowitz claimed that Trump was not given a fair trial and believes that his situation is unique from the trials of Johnson and Clinton.