Amash: Democrats missed opportunity in hearing to ‘persuade people’ on Trump impeachment

Rep. Justin Amash (I-Mich.) knocked Democrats in the House for their handling of the ongoing impeachment inquiry on Thursday, claiming that lawmakers failed to adequately question a witness called by Republicans.

Amash tweeted Thursday that Democrats failed to capitalize on the testimony of George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley, an expert witness who Amash said frequently and incorrectly conflated the House and Senate procedures for impeachment during his testimony.

“Democrats made a strategic error in not engaging more with Turley. They need to persuade people in the middle and missed an opportunity by spending most of their time questioning their experts rather than Turley, whose testimony was potentially most damaging to President Trump,” Amash tweeted.

“When making historical comparisons or discussing standards of proof, Prof. Turley, like Judiciary Republicans, consistently conflates impeachment in the House and trial in the Senate. The House simply *charges* impeachable offenses, and there’s clearly probable cause for charges,” he added.

Democrats made a strategic error in not engaging more with Turley. They need to persuade people in the middle and missed an opportunity by spending most of their time questioning their experts rather than Turley, whose testimony was potentially most damaging to President Trump.

— Justin Amash (@justinamash) December 5, 2019

Amash, formerly a Republican, left the party earlier this year over his disagreements with President Trump and other Republicans over the president’s behavior, which Amash has said crosses the line into impeachable conduct.

The Michigan congressman remains the only current or former House Republican currently serving to endorse articles of impeachment against the president, which Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) indicated Thursday are imminent.