Zeldin: Calling Impeachment Witnesses Would Mean 'Opening a Door'

Calling witnesses to testify before the Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump would mean "opening a door" for Republicans to call the witnesses they want to testify as well, Rep. Lee Zeldin, one of eight GOP representatives picked to help defend Trump, said Tuesday. 

"If you want to go down that door, the Republicans have been trying to call the whistleblower and Hunter Biden, and if you want to have firsthand material facts outlined, you would call (Reps.) Adam Schiff and Jerry Nadler," the New York Republican told Fox News' "Fox and Friends." "They're the ones who know more than anyone else as it relates to that second article of impeachment."

Meanwhile, the articles of impeachment don't allege any impeachable offense, said Zeldin, and "you cant reward prosecutorial misconduct."

The call for witnesses has grown after revelations in former national security adviser John Bolton's upcoming book that Trump had told him that aid was withheld from Ukraine in return for an investigation of former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter. 

"Remember that Adam Schiff did not issue a subpoena to John Bolton at any point during the House process, Zeldin said. 

Meanwhile, he said thinks Trump's legal team has been doing a good job outlining the facts of the case.

"The House impeachment managers, the Democrats, many in the media want to say it's just a debunked conspiracy theory that was laid out so eloquently first by Pam Bondi," said Zeldin. "I  would challenge these same people the House impeachment managers and Democrats in Congress and the mainstream media to tell us what did Pam Bondi say that wasn't true. She was using their own words."

He also noted that Harvard Law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz laid out the argument that the articles of impeachment don't allege the president committed a crime. 

"They said a thousand times over that no one is above the law, but they don't accuse the president of violating any law," said Zeldin. 

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