George Washington law professor Jonathan Turley said at a House Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday that America’s first president would have been staunchly opposed to House Democrats’ attempts to impeach America’s 45th president.
Turley fired back against Democrats’ arguments that America’s founding fathers feared a leader like President Donald Trump by pointing out that George Washington held an expansive view on executive power. (RELATED: These Trump District Democrats Could Decide The Fate Of Impeachment
“I do find it rather surprising that you would have George Washington in this jury pool,” Turley told the committee. “George Washington was the first guy to raise extreme executive privilege claims.”
Turley also argued that Washington would not have supported impeaching a president over a private phone call with another foreign leader. (RELATED: Impeachment Proceedings Usually Move Swiftly, But Democrats Are Playing It Slow)
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“He had a rather robust view of what a president could say,” Turley said. “If you were gonna make a case to George Washington that you could impeach over a conversation he had with another head of state, I expect his hair, his powdered hair would catch on fire.”
Turley is the only one of the four law professors testifying before the committee Wednesday that opposes impeachment. Turley opposed Trump in the 2016 presidential election, but has said he does not believe there is sufficient grounds to impeach him.