Top Conservative Lawyers Call For An ‘Expeditious’ Impeachment Investigation

Sixteen conservative lawyers issued a public statement Thursday urging the House to complete an “expeditious” impeachment investigation and asserting that President Donald Trump has abused his power.

“In the past several weeks, it has become clear to any observer of current events that the president is abusing the office of the presidency for personal political objectives,” the statement published on Checks and Balances begins.

George Conway, husband to Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway and outspoken Trump critic, cosigned the letter.

“He can’t take into account the interests of the country. He can’t take into account the interests of the Constitution. He can’t take into account his duties, and he puts his self — his own interests, above the country’s in almost any circumstance,” Conway said in a podcast interview with Preet Bharara.

Despite his wife’s career in the White House, Conway criticized Republicans for not challenging Trump.

“It’s just disappointing to me that there isn’t somebody of some stature who’s willing to just say ‘this man is unfit,’ because they all know it,” said Conway.

He added, “I think the calculation they should be making is he’s going to be gone at some point and there’s going to be a reckoning and history isn’t going to be kind to people who said nothing or stood up for Trump.”

Among the statement’s cosigners is Paul Rosenzweig, former general counsel to the Whitewater investigation during the Clinton administration.

Rosenzweig appeared on MSNBC Thursday night to talk about the statement.

“The president here is clearly using public authority to advance his personal interests,” said Rosenzweig. “And that’s not just inappropriate and illegal, it’s an abuse of his office and an abuse of the public trust, and precisely the type of action that the founders viewed as unfit.”

The co-authored letter focuses on three main points: Trump asking for “a favor” during a phone call with the president of Ukraine, a series of text messages from U.S. diplomats seeking Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and Trump’s public suggestion that China launch an investigation into Biden.

“We believe the acts revealed publicly over the past several weeks are fundamentally incompatible with the president’s oath of office, his duties as commander in chief, and his constitutional obligation to ‘take care that the laws be faithfully executed,'” reads the statement. “These acts, based on what has been revealed to date, are a legitimate basis for an expeditious impeachment investigation, vote in the House of Representatives and potential trial in the Senate.”