Pete F.
01-27-2020, 04:35 PM
Floridaman’s lawyers made an impeachment U-turn on Tuesday — one that could have immediate consequences for the president’s ongoing legal fight against the House’s oversight investigations.
After arguing in court for months that federal judges should stay miles away from disputes between Congress and the White House — for fear that they become political actors in a divisive impeachment probe — the president’s lawyers spent the first working day of Floridaman’s Senate impeachment trial arguing the exact opposite, and suggesting that those who disagree are hostile to the Constitution.
In other words, Floridaman’s case against his removal from office on charges of obstructing Congress — the second article of impeachment that House Democrats adopted last month — relies on an argument that his Justice Department and White House lawyers have explicitly rejected.
After arguing in court for months that federal judges should stay miles away from disputes between Congress and the White House — for fear that they become political actors in a divisive impeachment probe — the president’s lawyers spent the first working day of Floridaman’s Senate impeachment trial arguing the exact opposite, and suggesting that those who disagree are hostile to the Constitution.
In other words, Floridaman’s case against his removal from office on charges of obstructing Congress — the second article of impeachment that House Democrats adopted last month — relies on an argument that his Justice Department and White House lawyers have explicitly rejected.