Credit: Gary Raynaldo /  ©Diplomatic Times /   South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson speaks at press briefing   outside the U.S. Senate on Capital Hill  in Washington D.C. Jan. 22, 2020 announcing the first ever “friend of the Senate” letter denouncing the impeachment trial against President Trump. Wilson is joined by a group of other attorney generals. 

By  Gary Raynaldo         DIPLOMATIC TIMES

WASHINGTON  DC  –   A group of Republican State attorneys general, led by South Carolina’s Alan Wilson, has filed what they’re calling the first-ever “friend of the Senate” letter – condemning the impeachment trial against President Trump, saying it threatens the separation of powers. Wilson is spearheading the an unprecedented action in which 21 Republican attorneys general filed the so-called  “friend of the Senate” letter outlining what they contend are legal flaws of the “perilous partisan move”  by the Democrats to use the impeachment of President Trump as a political weapon to destroy a cornerstone of the Constitution: the separation of powers.  The South Carolina attorney general spoke at an impromptu press conference Wednesday in a grassy knoll in front of the U.S. Senate building in the Capitol known as the Senate Swamp on Day Two of the Trump impeachment trial.  The 14-page letter, signed by 21 different attorneys general, first addresses Article I of Impeachment, which focuses on ‘abuse of power.’  The letter disputes the phrase regarding abuse, alleging the article does not identify an actual crime.  Attorney General Wilson, who was instrumental in the creation and coordination of the letter, stated:

“The two Articles of Impeachment sent over from the House are fundamentally flawed, politically motivated, and fail to identify any high crimes or misdemeanors. Republican Attorneys General are asking the Senate to reject the manufactured theories upon which the impeachment articles are based. This impeachment proceeding threatens all future elections and establishes a dangerous precedent. That precedent will erode the separation of powers shared by the executive and legislative branches by subjugating future Presidents to the whims of the majority opposition party in the House of Representatives.”

-South Carolina Attorney General  Alan Wilson 

“We’re asking the United States Senate on constitutional and legal grounds, as well as lacking in factual sufficiency, to reject these articles,” South Carolina Attorney General Wilson told reporters Wednesday at the press conference.

Credit: Gary Raynaldo /  ©Diplomatic Times /  South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson  outside the U.S. Senate on Capital Hill  in Washington D.C. Jan. 22, 2020 explains the first-ever “Friend of the Senate” letter blasting the  Trump impeachment trial. 

DIPLOMATIC TIMES Video / A group of Republican state attorneys general, led by South Carolina’s Alan Wilson, speak outside U.S. SENATE in Washington D.C. Jan. 22, 2020,  explain why they have filed what they’re calling the first-ever “friend of the Senate” letter – condemning the impeachment trial against President Trump.

Credit: Gary Raynaldo /  ©Diplomatic Times /  Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill is among the 21 state lawmakers signing onto a friend of the  Senate letter denouncing the President Trump impeachment trial.  Hill spoke to press outside U.S. Senate on Capital Hill in Washington D.C Jan. 22, 2020 urging the Senate to acquit Trump. 

Credit: Gary Raynaldo /  ©Diplomatic Times /  South Carolina Attorney  General  Alan Wilson with (far left)  Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge,  Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, and (far right) Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill call for Senate to acquit Trump.

Credit: Gary Raynaldo /  ©Diplomatic Times /  Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry among state lawmakers calling for Senate to exonerate Trump on Capital Hill Jan. 22, 2020.

RAGA Chairman and Attorney General for Louisiana Jeff Landry said:

“Republican Attorneys General have grave concerns about the House Democrats’ politically motivated impeachment process. Impeachment seems to be just another effort by Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff, and liberal special interests to overturn the 2016 election results. The Democrats’ partisan attack on President Trump, using impeachment, will likely damage our American system of government for decades by weakening the separation of powers. Our filing urges the Senate to reject these partisan Articles of Impeachment to protect the integrity of the Constitution.”

The letter is signed by 21 attorneys general including: Alan Wilson (SC), Jeff Landry (LA), Sean Reyes (UT), Steve Marshall (AL), Kevin Clarkson (AK), Leslie Rutledge (AR), Ashley Moody (FL), Chris Carr (GA), Curtis Hill (IN), Derek Schmidt (KS), Daniel Cameron (KY), Lynn Fitch (MS), Eric Schmitt (MO), Tim Fox (MT), Doug Peterson (NE), Dave Yost (OH), Mike Hunter (OK), Jason Ravnsborg (SD), Herbert Slatery (TN), Ken Paxton (TX), Patrick Morrisey (WV).