Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., on Sunday dismissed President Donald Trump’s legal team’s arguments ahead of the upcoming Senate impeachment trial, calling the defense “so far out of the mainstream.”
In an interview on ABC News’ “This Week,” Schiff, the lead House impeachment manager, targeted constitutional legal expert and Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz’s assertion that abuse of power is not an impeachable offense, calling it “absurdist.”
"You had to go so far out of the mainstream to find someone to make that argument you had to leave the realm of constitutional law scholars and go to criminal defense lawyers,” he said.
According to Schiff, “the facts aren’t seriously contested” in the legal team’s brief that was released Saturday.
"The only thing really new about the president's defense is that they're now arguing — I think, because they can't contest the facts — that the president cannot be impeached for abusing the power of his office,” he said.
He added that although it is yet unknown if witnesses will be allowed in the Senate trial, “the threshold issue here is, will there be a fair trial.
Related Stories:
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.