The lawyer representing the Republicans at the impeachment hearing in the House Judiciary Committee said Democrats have been trying to oust President Trump since he entered the White House in January 2017.
“The purpose of this hearing, as we understand it, is to discuss whether President Donald J. Trump’s conduct fits the definition of a high crime and misdemeanor. It does not,” Steve Castor told members of the panel in his opening statement on Monday.
He said the case Democrats presented comes down to “eight lines in a call transcript” of a July 25 phone call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“The record in the Democrats’ impeachment inquiry does not show that President Trump abused the power of his office or obstructed Congress,” Castor said.
“To impeach a president who 63 million people voted for over eight lines in a call transcript is baloney,” he continued. “Democrats seek to impeach President Trump not because they have evidence of high crimes or misdemeanors but because they disagree with his policies.”
