Alan Dershowitz: 'It's clearly UNCONSTITUTIONAL' to impeach Trump after leaving office



As the Senate prepares for former President Trump's second impeachment trial, many are asking whether it's constitutional to try a president after leaving office. Alan Dershowitz, lawyer and host of the of "The Dershow," joined Glenn Beck on the radio program to talk about the legal battles Trump still faces.

Dershowitz said he believes the Senate doesn't have the authority to convict Trump, now that he's a private citizen again, and thus can't use impeachment to bar him from running for office again.

"The Constitution says the purpose of impeachment is to remove somebody. He [Trump] is out of office. There's nothing left to do.
It doesn't say you can impeach him to disqualify him for the future. It says, if you remove him you can then add disqualification, but you can't just impeach somebody to disqualify them," Dershowitz said.

"The Senate can't try ordinary citizens. So once you're an ordinary citizen, you get tried only in the courts, not in the Senate. So it's clearly unconstitutional," he added.

Dershowitz, who served on Trump's legal team during the first impeachment trial, also discussed whether he thinks Trump is legally (or even just ethically) responsible for the Capitol riot earlier this month, and whether those engaging in violence could be considered "domestic terrorists."

Watch the video below to catch more of the conversation:


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Furious Wyoming Republicans rip Rep. Liz Cheney over impeachment stance: 'A true travesty'



The Wyoming Republican Party on Wednesday made a public declaration acknowledging widespread opposition among the state's GOP voters to the decision by U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) to vote to impeach President Donald Trump.

Cheney, the No. 3 Republican in the U.S. House, infuriated many Wyoming Republicans with her support for impeachment, and the state party reported that "our telephone has not stopped ringing, our email is filling up, and our website has seen more traffic than at any previous time" in response to her vote.

Feeling obligated to share publicly what voters are telling them, Wyoming GOP leaders published a "message" to Cheney sharing some of the comments they've received.

"The wind in Wyoming has been horrendous today — with gusts up to 65 miles per hour. That is nothing compared to the whirlwind created by Representative Cheney's announcement that she would be voting to impeach President Trump, and her subsequent follow-through of doing just that," the party said.

"There has not been a time during our tenure when we have seen this type of an outcry from our fellow Republicans, with the anger and frustration being palpable in the comments we have received," the message stated. "The consensus is clear that those who are reaching out to the Party vehemently disagree with Representative Cheney's decision and actions."

The party leaders then shared some of the comments they've received:

  • "By announcing her decision to vote for impeachment Representative Cheney denied President Trump due process; she judged the 'evidence' before it was presented and refused to listen to the arguments made," one commenter said.
  • "Wyoming voted for the reelection of President Trump by a margin of 70% to 30%. 195,000 Wyomingites voted for President Trump. Representative Cheney is in Washington, DC to represent Wyoming's interest, not the interest of the beltway elites," another declared.
  • "We have watched the leftists and progressives in this country riot, burn, kill, maim, loot and destroy cities and communities for 7 months, often with Democrat leaders egging them on, bailing them out and refusing to condemn their actions," another voter said.
  • "Representative Cheney has aligned herself with leftists who are screaming that what happened last Wednesday is the 'worst thing ever in our history' (or similar such claims). That is absurd and shows their lack of knowledge of history as well as their willingness to skew the facts to further their corrupt agenda," yet another stated.
  • "Wyoming's way of life and our entire economic future is under attack. We count on our elected officials to protect us. This move to impeach President Trump shows that we have a real reason to fear what is going to happen under the Biden administration," another voter wrote.

And there's more where that came from.

"These are only some of the themes of the comments we have received. We as a Party respect our elected officials and assume that they will respect and represent their constituents," the Wyoming GOP said. "We are receiving the message loud and clear that what happened yesterday is a true travesty for Wyoming and the country."

In the U.S. House of Representatives, some conservative lawmakers who vehemently disagreed with Cheney's impeachment vote circulated a petition to oust her from GOP leadership Wednesday. So far, Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is standing by Cheney, with one of his spokesman telling the Washington Examiner that the minority leader does not support any effort to remove her from leadership.

Cheney is not apologizing for voting to impeach the president and has said she will not step down.

"I'm laying out a positive agenda for the future, and it'll be one that will allow us to get the majority back in two years. That's what I'm focused on, and that's what I look forward to our conference being able to accomplish," Cheney said.

Axios poll: Republican voters stand by President Trump amid second impeachment



New polling suggests that the hopes of top Republicans who want President Donald Trump to go away forever are in vain as vast majorities of the base still support the outgoing president.

An Axios-Ipsos poll reported Wednesday found that Republicans across the nation are taking President Trump's side in the unfolding impeachment debate in Congress. A majority of Republicans believe Trump was right to challenge his election loss, don't blame him for the violence that occurred during the riots in the Capitol building on Jan. 6, and want him to be the 2024 Republican nominee for president.

The poll found that the GOP is divided, with 56% of Republican respondents identifying as "traditional" Republicans and 36% identifying as "Trump Republicans."

These factions have different opinions on the president, obviously.

Among traditional Republicans, 24% believe that Trump is to blame for promoting the unrest at the Capitol and should be immediately removed from office.

Only 1% of Trump Republicans think this. An overwhelming 91% of Trump Republicans support the president's efforts to challenge the election results, while only 46% of traditional Republicans say they support the president's election challenges.

Just 41% of traditional Republicans want Trump to be the 2024 GOP nominee; 94% of Trump Republicans want the president to run for office again in four years.

Overall, only 17% of Republicans think the president should be removed from office.

Axios pointed out that the polling explains why there were only 10 House Republicans to vote to impeach the president a second time, blaming him for inciting the violence in the Capitol. Most congressional Republicans are responding to how a significant portion of their base feels.

Offering some insight into why the Republican base opposes impeaching Trump, Ben Shapiro wrote the following in Politico's Playbook newsletter:

Opposition to impeachment comes from a deep and abiding conservative belief that members of the opposing political tribe want their destruction, not simply to punish Trump for his behavior. Republicans believe that Democrats and the overwhelmingly liberal media see impeachment as an attempt to cudgel them collectively by lumping them in with the Capitol rioters thanks to their support for Trump.

"The monopoly Trump's had on the Republican base for the last four years is a little more frayed than any time in recent history," pollster Chris Jackson, senior vice president for Ipsos Public Affairs, said. "A substantial chunk doesn't necessarily think their future goes with Donald Trump. The big question is, is having a small-but-committed base going to be more valuable than a large-but-less-committed base?"

Trump releases video statement after second impeachment, addresses reports of new violent plots



President Donald Trump released a video statement after the House of Representatives voted to impeach him for a second time on Wednesday.

The president did not address the impeachment vote but instead called for peace and order while decrying incidents of speech being shut down by tech companies.

"As I have said, the incursion at the U.S. Capitol struck at the very heart of our Republic. It angered and appalled millions of Americans across the political spectrum," said the president in his statement.

"I want to be very clear. I unequivocally condemn the violence that we saw last week. Violence and vandalism have absolutely no place in our country, and no place in our movement. Making America great again has always been about defending the rule of law, supporting the men and women of law enforcement, and upholding our nation's most sacred traditions and values," he continued.

"Mob violence goes against everything I believe in, and everything our movement stands for. No true supporter of mine could ever endorse political violence," said Trump.

He went on to condemn all political violence from either the left or the right, and addressed reports of other acts of political violence being planned for the future.

"There has been reporting that additional demonstrations are being planned in the coming days, both here and Washington, and across the country. I have been briefed by the U.S. Secret Service on the potential threats," Trump continued.

"Every American deserves to have their voice heard, in a respectful and peaceful way. That is your First Amendment right, but I cannot emphasize that there must be no violence, no law-breaking, and no vandalism of any kind," he added.

"Everyone must follow our laws and obey the instructions of law enforcement," Trump said.

The president also addressed what he called the "unprecedented assault on free speech" in his video statement.

"These are tense and difficult times. The efforts to censor, cancel and blacklist our fellow citizens are wrong, and they are dangerous. What is needed now is for us to listen to one another, not to silence one another. All of us can choose by our actions to rise above the rancor, and find common ground and shared purpose," said Trump.

The president also didn't mention President-elect Joe Biden in his video address. He was impeached for the second time by a vote of 232 to 197.

Here's the full video statement from the president:

President Trump responds to second impeachmentwww.youtube.com