Alan Dershowitz Says Impeaching Donald Trump Post-Presidency Is ‘Plainly Unconstitutional’
High-profile lawyer Alan Dershowitz, who acted as part of Donald Trump’s legal defense amid the first impeachment trial, believes that the current push to impeach the head of state after his time in office is “plainly unconstitutional,” Breitbart reported.
“If you can impeach anyone who is not a sitting president, there are no limits to the power of the Congress to try ordinary citizens,” he said during an interview on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures.
“It’s plainly unconstitutional and the Senate should not proceed with this unconstitutional act.”
Dershowitz warned that impeaching Trump post-presidency would have “horrendous” legal implications. Per Breitbart, the lawyer argued that the GOP lawmakers in the Senate do not have the jurisdiction to put Trump — who will leave the White House this week — on trial. Dershowitz warned that the decision would allow Congress to have unlimited power over ordinary citizens and suggested this purported expansion of influence would have political consequences.
“It would mean that if the Republicans came up with a terrific candidate, say, not Donald Trump, to run against President Biden in 2024, the Democrats could simply impeach him.”
Per WTOC-TV, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham echoed Dershowitz in a letter published on Sunday and claimed that the push for an impeachment case against Trump post-White House is an “unconstitutional act of political vengeance.” The GOP lawmaker argued that the power of impeachment is intended to protect the nation from harm that could be inflicted by an incumbent head of state while in the White House.
“Not to vindicate political grievances after a president has left office,” he continued.
The impeachment trial does not yet have a date. As reported by Global News, Democrats are currently in the process of crafting their argument to convict Trump in the wake of his impeachment by the House of Representatives last week for “incitement of insurrection.”
According to Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin, the argument will highlight Trump’s purported attack on America and the events that preceded it. In particular, Raskin pointed to Trump’s pre-riot attack on the results of the 2020 election and attempt to overturn incoming commander-in-chief Joe Biden’s victory.
“He was perfectly clear about that,” he said.
As The Inquisitr reported, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has expressed openness in convicting Trump. However, McConnell has not revealed how he plans to vote.
If Trump is convicted by the upper chamber, lawmakers could then hold a vote on prohibiting the real estate mogul from running for public office in the future.
