Nadler Says Evidence ‘Uncontested’ That Trump ‘Put Himself Above The Country’

Democratic New York Rep. Jerry Nadler claimed again Sunday on “Meet the Press” that Republicans aren’t contesting the Democratic claim that President Donald Trump “put himself above the country.”

“Remember, some of these things are very clear at this point. There is overwhelming evidence, uncontested by the Republicans, that the president put himself above the country,” said Nadler, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

In his opening statement at Wednesday’s impeachment hearing, Nadler said the impeachment charges were “undisputed.” But President Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Republicans leaders have all disputed Democratic claims that the president was attempting to pursue his personal agenda in the July 25 telephone call that prompted the impeaching inquiry and that no meeting or military assistance was ever contingent on any investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden or his son, Hunter Biden.

Nadler continued by suggesting accusations that “the president sought foreign assistance in elections [and] sought to cover it up” are also not being disputed by Republicans. (RELATED: Nadler Appears To Doze Off During Impeaching Hearing)

I’m reserving judgment. We’re going to have to decide what we do after we have the evidence tomorrow and after consultations with others in the caucus. There are a wide variety of factors that have to be considered, including the degree of proof, the degree of confidence and where the members of the caucus are. We certainly had an abundance of evidence on various things and again, the Republicans have virtually not contested.

The congressman said he is focussing on “abuse of power” as an impeachable act, adding that he believes Trump is guilty of “obstruction of Congress in his not cooperating … He refused every single document. He told everybody in the executive branch: do not cooperate.” (RELATED: Nadler Hits Trump And House Republicans With Deadline For Impeachment Participation)

Nadler was asked, “By the way, if the president os counsel shows up tomorrow [for the impeachment hearing] will you let him in?”

“He said he’s not showing up,” Nadler responded.

When pressed if Trump would be admitted if he changed his mind, Nadler insisted, “He has said he is not going to come. That’s a very academic question. The president was invited to submit system testimony, invited to send his counsel. He has declined to do so.”