KEY POINTS

  • Trump issued a series of tweets indicating disbelief he will be impeached and again maintaining he did nothing wrong
  • Alan Dershowitz tweeted the impeachment is misguided and doesn's pass constitutional muster
  • Dershowitz may join Trump defense team

President Trump spent the morning Wednesday tweeting against the impeachment process as lawmakers debated ahead of a scheduled vote.

“Can you believe that I will be impeached today by the radical left, do nothing Democrats?” Trump asked, maintaining he did nothing wrong.

Trump faces two articles of impeachment charging him with abusing the power of his office for personal gain and obstructing Congress from investigating his actions. Once the House approves impeachment, the process moves to the Senate where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has said he plans to call no witnesses and move the trial forward swiftly.

Trump called the charges against him "atrocious lies."

Trump quoted Fox News’ Andy McCarthy as saying there’s no way Trump will be removed from office.

Trump quoted Fox News host Tucker Carlson and Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., who called the impeachment a “terrible idea” and based “on innuendo, not on the facts.”

Trump also retweeted a number of comments from attorney Alan Dershowitz, a professor emeritus at Harvard University, who may join Trump’s defense team. Dershowitz was part of accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein’s defense team. He also has represented O.J. Simpson, Roman Polanski and Mike Tyson.

Dershowitz tweeted the articles of impeachment do not meet constitutional standards and will harm the checks-and-balances set up in the Constitution. He said Congress should have waited for court rulings on whether investigators could compel testimony from key administration officials and the turnover of documents.

Dershowitz defended Trump publicly during the special counsel investigation into Russian 2016 U.S. election interference. He met with Trump last week at the White House but no formal invitation to join Trump’s defense team was made.

“I feel very strongly that the proposed articles of impeachment endanger the Constitution and endanger the separation of powers,” Dershowitz said. “But I can’t comment on any particular role I might play.”

If he joins the team, Dershowitz is expected to handle constitutional issues.

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