CNN panel pounds Rick Santorum for claiming Democrats went 'too far' in calling Trump an existential threat

On Monday's edition of CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360," former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) tried to argue Democrats were overreaching in the impeachment hearings — only to be smacked down by his co-panelists.

"The thing that bothered me from the hearing was this whole thing that the president is an existential threat to the republic," said Santorum. "You know, I've always said this about my friends on the left. They always go one step too far that just — that makes people sort of scratch their head and say, well, I may not like what he did, but to call this an existential threat to the republic is just a little bit too far ... I understand why they're doing it. They're trying to stoke it up. I get why they're doing it. I just don't think it's very effective. It's too much."

"It doesn't seem too far to me," shot back analyst Kirsten Powers. "I think if you listen to the legal scholars and the law professors, I mean they were essentially saying the same thing. If we're not going to impeach someone for this, what are we going to impeach them for? If the president did do, in fact, what he's been accused of, I think that is an existential threat to the country."

"So him dealing with an issue of foreign aid to Ukraine, which by the way the previous president didn't even want to give them, so let's set aside the policy for a second," spluttered Santorum. "So that the president potentially, it's not — you can say it's crystal clear. Okay, that makes him an existential threat to the republic? I'm sorry, it doesn't go there."

"The president was withholding a White House meeting, possibly aid, to get another — to get another country to do his dirty work—" said Powers.

"To do an investigation," said Santorum. "It's not dirty work."

"—to interfere into a campaign. I just can't even believe that you're actually defending that," said Powers. "There's no way if Barack Obama had done that—"

"I am going to defend it because I don't think it's nearly as — even if I accept your facts—" said Santorum.

"It's not to do an investigation, it's just 'announce an investigation,'" said Cooper.

"He didn't care about the investigation," agreed analyst Gloria Borger. "He wanted the announcement."

"All I'm saying is I think it's too far," said Santorum.

Watch below: