Day 3 of President Trump's impeachment trial is underway, and Democratic impeachment managers plan to focus much of the day's arguments on the abuse-of-power allegation against the president, reports the Hill. "The Constitution is not a suicide pact," said one of those managers, Rep. Jerry Nadler. It "does not leave us stuck with presidents who abuse their power in unforeseen ways that threaten our security and democracy." Coverage:
- Early slam: Nadler told senators that Trump's conduct "puts even Richard Nixon to shame," reports Politico. “This conduct is not ‘America First,’” he said, a nod to Trump’s campaign slogan. “This conduct is Donald Trump first.”
- About-face? Nadler also sought to use Trump attorney Alan Dershowitz's own words against him, reports the Washington Post. He played a video of Dershowitz in 1998 speaking about the Bill Clinton impeachment and asserting that no crime was necessary to impeach. “It certainly doesn’t have to be a crime if you have somebody who completely corrupts the office of president and who abuses trust and poses great danger to our liberty," said Dershowitz, who has since changed his view. (Dershowitz was grilled about this by Anderson Cooper.) Nadler made similar points about previous comments by Lindsey Graham and Attorney General Barr.