Gregg Jarrett: Impeachment probe another partisan witch hunt against Trump
Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett says the presumption of quid pro quo is not evidence.
House Democrats' impeachment inquiry is a "witch hunt" and allegations of quid pro quo are based on speculation, Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett said Thursday.
Appearing on "Fox & Friends" with hosts Steve Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt, and Brian Kilmeade in St. Petersburg, Fla. after Fox Nation's first-ever "Patriot Awards," Jarrett said this was nothing more than a "partisan witch hunt."
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"Well, we learned that Mark Zaid had set this all up. ... The attorney for the whistleblower actually came upon a recommendation from Adam Schiff's committee. So that speaks volumes that this is a partisan witch hunt," he said.
Jarrett added that all of the witnesses who will be called in for depositions have "already testified secretly."
"They're all opinion witnesses -- offering their interpretations of a conversation they weren't privy to," he said.
He added that diplomat Bill Taylor said it was his "understanding" that a quid quo pro took place, but later said he heard it secondhand.
"If that were in a court of law, a judge would say to the jurors: 'Disregard the testimony. Strike it from the record; it's irrelevant,'" he said.
Jarrett told the "Friends" hosts there's no "there" there.
"There's no high crime and misdemeanor, and in fact, the Department of Justice (DOJ) Criminal Division looked at the conversation of the Trump phone call with Zelensky and said there's no crime here. So. we're left with a sort of amorphous concept of 'Oh, it's an abuse of power because there was a quid pro quo,'" he said.
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Jarrett said that the best evidence the president has against the Democrats is the transcript of his phone call with the Ukrainian president.
"The president is entitled -- if he has reason to believe that there's evidence of corruption in the hands of a foreign government -- he has every right and, in fact, I would argue a duty, to say, 'Please look into it. If you have evidence turn it over to us.'" said Jarrett.
"All of these people -- including [U.S. ambassador to the European Union] Gordon Sondland -- said 'I presume there was a quid pro quo.' Presumptions? Speculation? Conjecture? That's not evidence -- it's junk," he concluded.
All eyes are on Capitol Hill Thursday to see if John Bolton, President Trump's former national security adviser, shows up to testify. Sources say he has not yet received a subpoena.
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