On Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee held its first impeachment hearing that starred constitutional law professors from some of the nation’s top universities.
And Rep. Louie Gohmert of East Texas, who sits on the Committee, was clearly unhappy with what the legal experts had to say, namely that President Trump had committed, constitutionally, “high crimes and misdemeanors.”
“Mamas don’t let your babies grow up to go to Harvard or Stanford law school,” he mocked to reporters after the hearing.
Noah Feldman and Pamela Karlan, of Harvard and Stanford, respectively, argued that what Pres. Trump had done in the context of Ukraine was an impeachable offense and that simply letting the upcoming election decide would not be sufficient.
“The framers of our Constitution realized that elections alone could not guarantee that the United States would remain a republic,” Karlan said. “One of the key reasons for including an impeachment power was the risk that unscrupulous officials might try to rig the election process.”
Michael Gerhardt, a law professor from the University of North Carolina, also made the case for impeachment in the hearing. It is unclear why UNC was spared from Gohmert’s tirade.
Gohmert has been a fiery defender of Trump throughout the impeachment process. He previously warned of a civil war over impeachment after the House voted to pass an impeachment resolution and was one of the House Republicans involved in storming the Capitol’s secure hearing room.
During the Wednesday hearing, Gohmert smeared the witnesses.“We need some factual witnesses…We need a chance to bring in actual fact witnesses,” he proclaimed.
Gohmert’s attack on the process rather than the substance, as well as his silly attack on two prestigious law schools, is further evidence that Republicans do not have a robust defense for the president’s actions.
