Stanford Law School professor Pamela Karlan lashed out at House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Doug Collins (R-GA) in her opening statement Wednesday morning, saying she was “insulted” at his insinuation that she did not read her fellow witnesses testimony ahead of her testimony before the panel on impeachment.
“Here, Mr. Collins, I would like to say to you, sir, that I read transcripts of every one of the witnesses who appeared in the live hearing, because I would not speak about these things without reviewing the facts, so I’m insulted by the suggestion that as a law professor I don’t care about those facts,” Karlan, a Democrat witness, said in her remarks directed at Collins.
Karlan returned to her prepared opening statement, asserting that her knowledge of the U.S. Constitution makes it clear to her that President Donald Trump should be removed over his July 25 telephone call with the leader of Ukraine in which the president suggested the European country review allegations of corruption against former vice president Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden. A CIA analyst’s mischaracterization of the call laid out in a “whistleblower” complaint later sparked House Democrats’ effort to remove the president.
“Everything I read about our Constitution and its values, and my review of the evidentiary record, tells me that when President Trump invited—indeed, demanded—foreign involvement in our upcoming election, he struck at the very heart of what makes this country the ‘republic’ to which we pledge allegiance,” Karlan told lawmakers.
House Judiciary Committee members are hearing from four law professors as part of the ongoing impeachment inquiry. In addition to Karlan, the panel is hearing testimony from Harvard Law School’s Noah Feldman, Michael Gerhardt of the University of North Carolina Law School, and George Washing University law professor Jonathan Turley, a Republican witness.
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