Harvard law professor: Trump civil war tweet impeachable on its own

John Coates, a Harvard Law School professor, said Monday that President Trump’s tweet from the day before in which he quoted a pastor saying that his impeachment could trigger a “Civil War like fracture” in the country is “itself an independent basis for impeachment.”

This tweet is itself an independent basis for impeachment – a sitting president threatening civil war if Congress exercises its constitutionally authorized power. https://t.co/JL9XzClGXf

— John Coates⚽️ (@jciv) September 30, 2019

” ‘If the Democrats are successful in removing the President from office (which they will never be), it will cause a Civil War like fracture in this Nation from which our Country will never heal,’ ” Trump had tweeted Sunday, quoting Pastor Robert Jeffress on Fox News.

{mosads}House Democrats launched a formal impeachment inquiry against the president last week after he admitted to asking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about looking into former Vice President Joe Biden, who is a Democratic presidential contender. 

An intelligence community whistleblower’s complaint alleges that during the July 25 phone call, Trump “sought to pressure” Zelensky “to take actions to help the President’s 2020 reelection bid.” 

The call came just days after Trump delayed hundred of millions of dollars in U.S. aid for Ukraine, and a partial transcript released by the White House only inflamed Democrats’ anger when it showed Trump asking Zelensky to do him the favor of looking into Biden after Zelensky tried to discuss military assistance in the fight against Russia.

Though Trump has said he does not know the identity of the whistleblower, he has attacked the individual’s credibility and tweeted on Monday that the complaint is “fake.” 

“The Whistleblower knew almost nothing, its 2ND HAND description of the call is a fraud!” he also tweeted Monday.

Attorneys representing the whistleblower say negotiations over whether the individual will testify on Capitol Hill remain ongoing.