Friday, January 31, 2020

Mixed Motives


Harvard Law Professor Emeritus Alan Dershowitz has quit President Trump’s defense team in a huff ... I think because he felt that they didn’t come to his rescue when he got attacked for his extra-refined legal argument against impeachment. Basically, Dershowitz felt, if the president was doing something in the public interest ... even though in the back of his mind he might feel that this would help him get re-elected, that this was not impeachable. In other words, even if the president had mixed motives, this was OK.

Of course, the Democrat House managers jumped on this subtle distinction by saying, if the president felt that his re-election was in the public interest, that this was OK too ... crowing that Dershowitz felt that the president could do anything to get re-elected. (This, unfortunately for Dershowitz, did fit the perception of many that this fits Trump’s personality.) Then the spittle-flecked media attacked him like the pack of wild viewer-rating-dogs that they are.

Dershowitz’s law school peer, Elizabeth Warren, even said she couldn’t follow his logic. (Of course she could, but this was easy punishment for jumping ship in the name of scholarship.) And, his new friends, Trump’s defense team, chose not to walk this no-win plank with him ... so, now he left his new buddies in a huff.

He, of course, was logically right in his legal arguments. But, for once in his illustrious career, Dershowitz has found that being right does not necessarily prevail.

6 comments:

DEN said...

According to your "extra-refined" argument, Hitler could not be impeached for firmly believing that certain types of people needed to be exterminated. "He thought it was in the best interests of his country." Clinton, whose impeachment you prayed for, lied about the BJ's because he believed his Presidency was good for the country.
This is such a ridiculous argument that betrays a warped sense of logic. Read the Constitution; it is clearly not what the founders intended when they stipulated presidential powers.

George W. Potts said...

You’re being silly. I don’t recall the call transcript indicating that Trump was asking Zelensky to kill the Jews.

DEN said...

Yes or no, do you believe Trump's motives on that call were to help his chances of winning the 2020 election?

George W. Potts said...

Do you believe that Hillary spending a few millions on the Russian dossier was meant to help her win in 2016? Answer my question and I’ll answer yours.

DEN said...

I already know your answer: "Yes. And I don't care."

My answer about Hillary is: Yes, and I can discern a difference between dirty tricks by a candidate versus Presidential misconduct."

George W. Potts said...

It seems your answer is also, “Yes, and I don’t care.”