Fox’s Napolitano: There is ‘ample and uncontradicted’ evidence supporting Trump’s removal from office

Fox News senior judicial analyst Andrew Napolitano on Thursday penned an op-ed arguing that the articles of impeachment and the House managers’ case against President Trump provide “ample and uncontradicted” evidence to support the Senate removing him from office.

“What is required for removal of the president? A demonstration of presidential commission of high crimes and misdemeanors, of which in Trump’s case the evidence is ample and uncontradicted,” he wrote.

The piece from Napolitano, a former judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey and frequent critic of the president, came as the Senate began day two of opening arguments in Trump’s Senate impeachment trial.

Napolitano wrote that the Constitution describes justification for impeachment as treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors.

“However, this use of the word ‘crimes’ does not refer to violations of federal criminal statutes. It refers to behavior that is so destructive of the constitutional order that it is the moral equivalent of statutory crimes,” the judge wrote.

Napolitano declared that there are “valid, lawful, constitutional arguments for Trump’s impeachment that he ought to take seriously.”

The Fox News commentator also took a knock at Republican senators who have promised that the president will be acquitted in the upper chamber.

“Whoever may have whispered that into his ear is unworthy of sitting as a juror and has violated the oath of ‘impartial justice’ and fidelity to the Constitution and the law,” Napolitano wrote.

Trump — who was impeached in the House for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress for his dealings with Ukraine — has accused Democrats of staging a “totally partisan impeachment hoax.” 

However, Napolitano noted that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) earlier this month found that the Trump administration violated the law when it froze the release of security assistance to Ukraine.

The GAO concluded that the White House violated the Impoundment Control Act, writing in a report that the president is not permitted “to substitute his own policy priorities for those that Congress has enacted into law.”

“The Government Accountability Office —  a nonpartisan entity in the federal government that monitors how the feds spend tax revenue — has concluded that Trump’s request for a favor was a violation of law because only Congress can impose conditions on government expenditures. So, when the president did that, he usurped Congress’ role and acted unlawfully.”

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who wrote to the GAO requesting a review of the Trump administration’s actions, released a slew of documents Thursday night that were either obtained during or related to the assessment.