Abuse of power may not be a crime, but it is impeachable

Published October 23, 2019 4:58pm ET



If this line of defense proves the best that the White House has, President Trump ought to begin packing his bags now. For the sake of the nation, let’s hope that these talking points from Matt Whitaker came from his own idiocy and not any member of the administration:

I’m a former prosecutor and what I know is this is a perfect time for a preliminary hearing, where you would say, “Show us your evidence. What evidence of a crime do you have?” I mean, the Constitution, you know, sort of — abuse of power is not a crime. Let’s fundamentally boil it down to — you know, the Constitution is very clear that this has to be some pretty egregious behavior, and they cannot tell the American people what this case is even about.


Whitaker, who made the remarks to Laura Ingraham on Fox News last night, is correct that evidence is key. And unlike in the Russia farce, the charge of Trump’s attempt to initiate a quid pro quo using his presidential powers to advance his own personal gain with Ukraine is backed by a disturbing amount of evidence.

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