John Bolton’s attorney says the impeachment trial is Constitutionally sound and should proceed.
“The strongest argument against the Senate’s authority to try a former officer relies on Article I, Section 4 of the Constitution,” attorney Chuck Cooper wrote in The Wall Street Journal.
The section says that the president, vice president, and all civil officers of the U.S. “shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.”
Rand Paul and several Republicans argued that the impeachment of a former president is unconstitutional.
“Given that the Constitution permits the Senate to impose the penalty of permanent disqualification only on former officeholders, it defies logic to suggest that the Senate is prohibited from trying and convicting former officeholders,” Cooper wrote in the Journal. “The senators who supported Mr. Paul’s motion should reconsider their view and judge the former president’s misconduct on the merits.”
Speaking on Face the Nation on Sunday, Lindsey Graham tried riding the fence on Trump’s guilt, but will still vote for the unconstitutional approach, since Trump is in Florida instead of the Oval Office.