A law scholar Republicans called to testify before Congress in the impeachment investigation into President Trump said George Washington’s “powdered hair” would “catch on fire” if he were alive to see the process Democrats are going through to remove Trump from office.
“George Washington was the first guy to raise extreme executive privilege claims,” said Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University. “He had a rather robust view of what a president could say. If you were going to make a case to George Washington that you could impeach over a conversation he had with another head of state, I expect his hair, his powdered hair, would catch on fire.”
Turley, the lone Republican legal expert selected for Wednesday’s impeachment hearing, spent his time on the witness stand undermining the impeachment process and suggesting congressional Democrats have abused their power while attempting to conduct congressional oversight of the executive branch.
“I get it. You’re mad. The president is mad. My Republican friends are mad. My Democratic friends are mad. My wife is mad. My kids are mad. Even my dog seems mad. And Luna is a golden doodle, and they don’t get mad. We are all mad, and where has that taken us?” Turley said during his opening remarks. “Will a slipshod impeachment make us less mad, or will it only give an invitation for the madness to follow every future administration?”
The investigation, led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic leadership, centers on a July 25 phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, during which Trump pressured the foreign leader to investigate a political rival.
Trump has repeatedly claimed he “did nothing wrong” during a “perfect” call with Ukraine from which he “wanted nothing.”
The White House has claimed far-reaching executive privilege in response to virtually every congressional subpoena issued by Democrats as part of the impeachment probe.
The president has frequently compared himself to Washington, whom Trump has accused of trying to profit off the presidency after critics charged him with doing the same. Trump has also brought up that he doesn’t take a salary as president, like Washington.
“They actually say that George Washington may have been the only other president to do” that, Trump said during a cabinet meeting in October. “See whether or not all of the other of your favorites gave up their salary.”
