One of the high-profile lawyers hired by Donald Trump to defend him in the Senate trial starting this week says he will argue that abuse of power is not an impeachable offence.

Alan Dershowitz, who has previously represented clients including Jeffrey Epstein, Harvey Weinstein and OJ Simpson, said only “criminal-like” conduct should see a president impeached.

Mr Trump is accused of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

Last year the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives concluded that he had abused his office by pressuring the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to announce investigations into political opponents including Joe Biden by withholding military aid and a White House meeting.

They said he also obstructed their investigation by stopping key staff from testifying and refusing to hand over documents.

The president insists he has done nothing wrong and that the case against him is a Democratic ploy to stop him winning re-election in November.

This week the Senate will begin a trial triggered by the impeachment. While in theory he could be removed from office, the Republican majority in the upper chamber is expected to acquit him.

Mr Dershowitz was named on Friday as one of several high-profile legal experts added to Mr Trump’s defence team, along with Kenneth Starr, the special counsel who led the impeachment inquiry against President Bill Clinton in the late 1990s.

He told CNN’s State of the Union show: “I will be advocating against impeachment of this president based on the constitutional criteria.”

Mr Dershowitz cited Justice Benjamin Curtis — who defended President Andrew Johnson during his impeachment in 1868 – in arguing that “criminal-like conduct” is required, an argument that he said prevailed in clearing the 17th president of the United States.

The Harvard Law emeritus professor told CNN: “I will be making that argument as a lawyer on behalf of the president’s defence team against impeachment.”

Speaking to ABC’s This Week, he said Mr Trump should be cleared even if his behaviour was wrong. “If the allegations are not impeachable, then this trial should result in an acquittal, regardless of whether the conduct is regarded as OK by you or by me or by voters. That’s an issue for the voters.”

However, Adam Schiff, who is leading the case against Mr Trump for the Democrats, called the position “absurdist”.

He told This Week: “You had to go so far out of the mainstream to find someone to make that argument. You had to leave the realm of constitutional law scholars and go to criminal defence lawyers.

“The logic of that absurdist position that’s being now adopted by the president is he could give away the state of Alaska, he could withhold execution of sanctions on Russia for interfering in the last election, to induce or coerce Russia to interfere in the next one.”

_______________________________________________________________________ LAWBREED NEW WIG SPECIAL OFFER — Give a newly called lawyer a lasting professional gift. Get up to 20% off selected LAWBREED Supreme Court Reports, plus access to My S.C Extra, featuring Supreme Court judgments from 1972 to date. Call/WhatsApp: 08077011741 | 08077011755 | 08077011730 | 08023269613 Email: orders@lawbreed.com | mails@lawbreed.com LAWBREED — Equipping You For Greater Success! _______________________________________________________________________

“Order Justice Omolaye-Ajileye’s Electronic Evidence Books Now” — Essential Guides On Evidence Act, Case Law And Digital Proof

Two leading books on electronic evidence by Hon. Justice Professor Alaba Omolaye-Ajileye, Rtd., PhD, FICMC, are now available for purchase. The publications, Electronic Evidence (Second Edition), With The Evidence Act, 2011 and Compendium Of Cases On Electronic Evidence, Volume II, 2020–2025, provide practical guidance, legal analysis and recent judicial authorities on electronic evidence in Nigeria.Order directly from the author here: https://velvety-cendol-7387ed.netlify.app/ ______________________________________________________________________ Groundbreaking Guide For Lawyers: Adigwe Publishes ‘Artificial Intelligence For Lawyers’ With Free Research eBook As an added bonus, every purchase comes with a FREE ebook titled: “How to use the AI in Legalpedia and Law Pavilion.” Ohio Books Ltd praises the publication, stating: "....this is the only Nigerian book I know of on the topic." How to Order: 📞 Call, Text, or WhatsApp: 08034917063 | 07055285878 📧 Email: benadigwe1@gmail.com 🌎 Website: www.benadigwe.com Ebook Version: Access it directly online at https://selar.com/prv626 Authored by Ben Ijeoma Adigwe Esq., ACiarb (UK), LL.M, Dip. in Artificial Intelligence, Director at the Delta State Ministry of Justice, Asaba, Nigeria.   ______________________________________________________________________ [A MUST HAVE] Evidence Act Demystified With Recent And Contemporary Cases And Materials
“Evidence Act: Complete Annotation” by renowned legal experts Sanni & Etti.
Available now for NGN 40,000 at ASC Publications, 10, Boyle Street, Onikan, Lagos. Beside High Court, TBS. Email publications@ayindesanni.com or WhatsApp +2347056667384. Purchase Link: https://paystack.com/buy/evidence-act-complete-annotation ________________________________________________________________________ “Enhance Legal Practice With Authoritative Reports” — Alexander Payne Offers Comprehensive Law Reports, Spanning Over A Century Of Nigerian Jurisprudence

Interested buyers are encouraged to place their orders and enquiries via: 0704 444 4777, 0704 444 4999, 0818 199 9888 Website: www.alexandernigeria.com

_______________________________________________________________________