CNN’s chief political analyst Gloria Borger said Wednesday on her network’s coverage of the Senate impeachment trial that the argument in defense of President Donald Trump from Alan Dershowitz was “outrageous” and “ridiculous.”
Anchor Jake Tapper said, “This is perhaps the most striking thing that has been said all day— Alan Dershowitz defending President Trump said if the president does something which he believes will get him elected in the public interest, that cannot be the kind of quid pro quo that results in an impeachment. So in other words, if it’s being done for the quote-unquote, public interest, and every single politician thinks everything they do is in the public interest, and like of course their re-election is in the public interest because they are great and their rivals are horrible, then that cannot be considered impeachable. It’s a remarkable statement, and it set off a bunch of questions including, what if Obama had done such a thing, and then there was a back and forth. But it’s really a remarkable assertion, and I’m sure that a lot of attorneys, including conservative constitutional attorneys, would take issue with it. The idea that as long as a president does something and he believes that that action is in the public interest and that includes his own re-election, then it’s completely kosher.”
Borger replied, “The Dershowitz statement, which to me is outrageous and remarkable. Maybe he was trying to appeal to the narcissism of politicians. I have absolutely no idea what he was trying to do, but he effectively said if you believe you should be president, then you can do anything you want to make yourself president because you will believe that is in the national interests. So my question would be, can you arrest an opponent of yours? You know, you can ask questions like that ad infinitum. It is a ridiculous argument. I’m not a lawyer so, okay, stipulate that, but to me just as an American citizen, it seems ridiculous to say that just because you think you should be elected to an office, you can do anything you want to get there?”
She added, “Because you believe you’re the chosen one or whatever it is, it’s just absurd.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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