Paul Bass Photo
Attorney John Cirello with some of his latest re-reading.
John Cirello has been riveted by the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump — and brings a distinctive set of perspectives to a controversy that leaves many people entrenched on one side.
He brings the perspective of a lifelong active Republican who mourns the direction his party has taken under Trump.
He brings the perspective of a New Haven attorney who does criminal defense work.
He brings the perspective of a student and defender of the Constitution.
From those three perspectives, Cirello has drawn conclusions from both sides of the aisle.
He concludes that Trump is guilty of one of the counts against him, misuse of power, for withholding military aid to an ally to press it to investigate a political rival. “It fits in line with treason — giving aid and comfort to our enemy,” Russia, which has been at war with U.S. ally Ukraine, Cirello said Monday during an appearance on WNHH FM’s “Dateline New Haven” program.
Speaking as a veteran of the courtroom, Cirello also praised Democratic U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff’s “brilliant” presentation of the case against Trump last week. Schiff “did a phenomenal job, on par with any prosecutor” he has seen, Cirello said. By contrast, he watched Republicans “fumbling with pages” during their own presentation of their defense of Trump Saturday: “That’s always a sign of somebody who is not confident of his defense.”
On the other hand, Cirello said he has not been convinced of the case against Trump on the second count, obstruction of justice. And he argued that while the Senate should vote to convict Trump on the first count, it should not remove him from office. The voters should resolve the question in this year’s election, he argued.
Click on the video below to watch Cirello make his argument in depth, including his response to Trump’s defense arguments and his concern that “what is right for the country” is getting “sidelined” in the process, on WNHH FM’s Dateline New Haven.”