Alan Dershowitz: Current 'scholars' who call for Trump's impeachment 'got woke' since the 19th Century
Alan Dershowitz slammed present-day scholars for changing their legal opinions based on partisan politics and aversion to President Trump.
Meghan McCain seemed to think her "View" co-hosts were underestimating renowned Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, reminding them that he "helped get a serial killer off" as the panel discussed impeachment on Thursday.
"I mean, I will say that Alan Dershowitz helped a serial killer get off -- OJ Simpson -- so he must be a pretty good lawyer because he did a really good job with that and I think OJ Simpson's guilty," McCain said. "So, we're laughing all the time at him and I don't think that's a person to be laughed at," she added.
Earlier in the program, Sunny Hostin and Whoopi Goldberg ridiculed Dershowitz's argument that it was permissible for President Trump to pressure Ukraine in order to help his re-election prospects. Presidents, Dershowitz said, believe that their re-election is in the public's interest.
"By that logic, we owe Richard Nixon a huge apology," said Goldberg, who added jokingly that maybe former President Clinton's "relaxation was in the public interest."
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"That argument is insane. It's insane," Goldberg added. Co-host Joy Behar chimed in: "So, if he wants to nuke the Ukraine to make [Vladimir] Putin happy, that's okay I guess."
According to Hostin, Dershowitz's argument could be easily dismissed by a first-year law student.
"It's such a disingenous argument that Alan is making and I was so shocked because he's basically arguing this mixed motive -- you know, even though Trump wanted something personally, he wanted this dirt on his political opponent to be re-elected," she said. "If he also wanted it for another reason like for the betterment of the country or to root out corruption, that's okay.
"But it's really not OK."
Hostin went on to suggest Dershowitz's argument was akin to excusing murder because the perpetrator takes out a bad person out of the world.
"That's just logical and that's the kind of hypothetical you get in law school and so Alan sort of just used, like, a first-year law school argument that any first-year law student would shoot down, and he tried to make it to the American people. Come on, Alan!"
On Wednesday, the panel clashed with Dershowitz in a raucous interview, with Behar saying at one point that Dershowitz's argument was "baloney."
Goldberg also cut off Dershowitz off as he attempted to give some historical background on whether impeachment could proceed without actual crimes.
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He was responding to co-host Joy Behar's claim that no other constitutional scholar agreed with him about needing a crime to take place in order to justify impeachment.
"In 18...," Dershowitz started before Goldberg interrupted him. "Ok, wait, wait, wait," Goldberg said. "Alan, you know, in 1492 Columbus sailed the seas blue but listen, I need us to move on."
Dershowitz, a renowned legal scholar, has written dozens of books. Behar and Goldberg do not have law degrees, while Hostin is a former prosecutor.
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