The Senate Must Hear Witnesses

Prof. Krotoszynski Jr.'s argument (1//16/20, A23), that the Senate should reject President Trump's claim of executive privilege to prevent the testimony of his senior aides, is erudite, well-reasoned and substantially correct. However, I disagree that the Senate is free to fashion its own take on bedrock legal principles to guide an impeachment trial.

Had the House of Representatives obtained a final court ruling, that the president's assertion of privilege was bogus, I believe the Senate should be bound to apply that finding. In the absence of such a ruling, the Senate should be guided by the precedent established by the courts in other cases defining the limits of executive privilege. To disregard those precedents, and make its own law in this impeachment, the Senate would be announcing that the law is different for this president than it is for others, a dangerous acknowledgement that Mr. Trump is above the law.