Alan is spot on with the exception of the above snippet.
“Alan is spot on with the exception of the above snippet. “
Not so.
Because the constitution is amorphous on what “High Crimes and Misdemeanors” are, the Congress can impeach and convict for any reason they damn well please.
It requires no basis in statutes.
All it requires is a simple majority in the House and 2/3 of the Senate.
Of course, there’s political reality they would have to deal with, but they could move forward because the POTUS has a “hot wife”...AND CONVICT.
Sorry, Dershowitz is correct. Impeachment is a completely political process and aPOTUS can be impeached for doing things the Congress opposes. High crimes are not crimes as recorded in Title 18. To satisfy a public that believes they are actions can be interpreted as crimes or, as in Johnson’s case, a POTUS can be manipulated into violating a federal law. In a real court room Dershowitz is spot on. This stuff would not make it past a motion to dismiss, but Dershowitz’ caveat you quoted shows he understands what is happening and is trying to make it clear that the entire charade is completely pklitical in nature.
You can impeach for anything. It’s a political act.