Skip to content

Word play draws pushback at impeachment hearing

Stanford Law professor Pamela Karlan testifies during the House Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday. (Caroline Brehman/CQ Roll Call)
Stanford Law professor Pamela Karlan testifies during the House Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday. (Caroline Brehman/CQ Roll Call)

A witness in the House Judiciary Committee’s first impeachment inquiry hearing apologized Wednesday afternoon for comments she made during the hearing about President Donald Trump’s youngest son, Barron Trump.

Responding to a question from Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, Pamela Karlan, a Stanford Law professor, said, “the Constitution says there can be no titles of nobility. So while the president can name his son Barron, he can’t make him a baron.”

[jwp-video n=”1″]

About three hours later, Karlan apologized for the remarks saying it was “wrong of [her] to do that.” However, the quip had already received condemnation across Washington.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican who was already in a heated exchange with her at the time, yelled: “That does not lend credibility to your argument, it makes you look mean.”

In a tweet, first lady Melania Trump, Barron’s mother, said that Karlan should be “ashamed” and “a minor child deserves privacy and should be kept out of politics.”

Recent Stories

Ethics panel weighs case against Cherfilus-McCormick after rare public hearing

Competing claims on SAVE America Act disenfranchising voters

Senate passes bill to fund most of Homeland Security Department

Trump intervenes to pay airport security workers amid standoff

Rewritten air safety legislation moves out of House committees

House panel advances bill on temporary US attorneys