Republicans who voted against impeaching Trump should not vote to impeach Mayorkas

When I represented then-President Donald Trump in his first impeachment case, many Republicans argued that the Constitution only allowed impeachment for “treason, bribery, and other high crimes or misdemeanors.” They praised me for proving that. Trump was not charged with any of those crimes, but rather vague charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The Senate voted to acquit Trump on constitutional charges brought by Democrats. Republicans applauded the result.

Many of those same Republicans are now seeking to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on similarly vague and unconstitutional grounds. Regardless of what else Mr. Mayorkas may or may not have done, he has not committed bribery, treason, or any high crime or misdemeanor. In fact, most Republicans don’t even claim that his actions or inactions meet these horrific constitutional standards, but they are willing to apply double standards based on partisan considerations.

Under our Constitution, double standards are anathema to justice. There must be one constitution for everyone, regardless of their political affiliation. If Republicans want to amend the Constitution, let them try, but neither Republicans nor Democrats have the right to redefine constitutional standards on an ad hoc basis to serve partisan interests.

So we listened to some principled Republicans who may not like what Mr. Mayorkas is doing, but who understand that they have voted for standards that have not been met before. Let’s look at.

The philosopher La Rochefoucauld said, “Hypocrisy is the compliment that vice pays to virtue.” It is also the currency of politics in Washington today. But it’s wrong regardless of which side promotes it.

Congress has the power to issue a statement condemning Mr. Mayorkas, just as it had the authority to issue a statement condemning Mr. Trump. But the extraordinary power of impeachment should be reserved for constitutionally impeachable offenses and not invoked simply because one party has the votes to impeach.

Alexander Hamilton in the Federalist Papers warned He said the “greatest danger” regarding the impeachment power is when it is “regulated more by the relative power of the parties than by actual proof of innocence or guilt.”

We experienced that danger when President Clinton was impeached by the Republicans and when President Trump was impeached by the Democrats. Now we are watching things unfold again with Republicans in the House majority.

I hope there are enough principled Republicans to stop this abuse of the Constitution. But even if that were not the case, the Senate’s system of checks and balances, which requires a two-thirds vote to convict, would prevent Mr. Mayorkas from being unconstitutionally removed from office. Even if Mr. Mayorkas remains in office, a House vote to impeach him would add to the dangerous precedent set by previous partisan abuses of the articles of impeachment.

It’s time for members of Congress who claim to be originalists in interpreting the Constitution to realize that the framers of the Constitution explicitly refused to authorize impeachment and removal for “misgovernment” and other such vague abuses of office. came, in fact, too late. It is the voters who are assigned the power to vote against those who have failed to govern.

Just because Democrats were hypocritical when they impeached Trump on unconstitutional grounds does not give Republicans the right to do the same. What is at stake is not a right, but two wrongs. And the real losers are the American people who expect Congress to uphold the Constitution, especially in the area of ​​impeachment, where the courts have taken a hands-off view.

We live in a time when partisanship trumps principles and noble ends are thought to justify base means. There is legitimate debate about how to achieve border security. I might agree with some Republicans who are critical of the current administration’s border policies and say Mayorkas is to blame. However, such criticism does not justify distorting the Constitution, whether for or against it.

In an era of partisan division, it is especially important that the Constitution’s nonpartisan principles be strictly observed. Therefore, I urge principled Republicans who value the Constitution to oppose members of their own party who are trying to impeach and remove Mr. Mayorkas from office based on charges of constitutional violations.

Alan Dershowitz, professor emeritus at Harvard Law School, is the author of numerous books, including his most recent. “War on the Jews: How to end Hamas’ barbarism” He is also the host of Darsho in the Rumble.follow him @Alandash.