Presidential hopeful and senator from Massachusetts Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) gave her best attempt at dunking on renowned legal scholar Alan Dershowitz, but Sen. Warren’s criticism fell flat.
Warren on Dershowitz’s presentation: “I truly could not follow it.”
— Seung Min Kim (@seungminkim) January 28, 2020
Alan Dershowitz’s argument is contrary to both law & fact.
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) January 28, 2020
Professor Dershowitz is a key player on President Trump’s legal defense team amidst the highly political effort by Congressional Democrats to impeach and remove him from office. Dershowitz’s legal philosophy is respected by both sides of the political aisle.
Dershowitz argued that even if people take issue with the president’s conduct, an impeachable offense is not present, per The Hill:
"You cannot turn conduct that is not impeachable into impeachable conduct simply by using words like ‘quid pro quo’ and ‘personal benefit.’ It is inconceivable that the framers would have intended so politically loaded and promiscuously deployed a term as ‘abuse of power’ to be weaponized as a tool of impeachment. It is precisely the kind of vague, open-ended and subjective term that the Framers feared and rejected," Dershowitz said
Citing intent in criminal law, Sen. Warren calls Dershowitz’s defense ‘nonsensical:’
"Criminal law is all about intent. Mens rea is the heart of criminal law. That's the very basis of it. So it makes his whole presentation just nonsensical. I truly could not follow it," Warren said.
Professor Dershowitz clapped back at Warren’s delusion, and attempts to create impeachable crimes that do not exist:
She also willfully mischaracterized what I said, claiming that I spoke about “intent.” I challenge her to find that word anywhere in my presentation. I talked about the difficulty of discerning mixed motives. (2 of 3
— Alan Dershowitz (@AlanDersh) January 28, 2020
(3 OF 3)
— Alan Dershowitz (@AlanDersh) January 28, 2020
If Warren knew anything about criminal law she would understand the distinction between motives – which are not elements of crime—and intent, which is. It’s the responsibility of presidential candidates to have a better understanding of the law.
President Trump's legal team has obliterated the alarmist, partisan rhetoric pushed by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY). The impeachment trial of President Trump continues in the Senate chamber.