‘Huh? What are we doing?’ Doug Collins opens GOP impeachment defense with bafflingly loud rant

Rep. Doug Collins opened the Republican defense against the impeachment of President Donald Trump with a loud and lengthy rant attacking the constitutional process.

The Georgia Republican failed to defend the president on the facts at hand, but instead accused Democrats of seeking Trump's removal for personal and political reasons.

"The clock and the calendar are what's driving impeachment, not the facts," Collins said. "When we understand this, that's what the witnesses here will say today. What do we have here today? What is really interesting over today and for the next few weeks, is America will see why most people don't go to law school. No offense to our professors, but please -- really?"

Collins complained at several points during his opening statement that law professors had been called to testify in the Judiciary hearings, including one invited by Republicans.

"We're bringing you in here today to testify on something most of you have already written about, all four, for the opinions that we already know out of the classrooms that you're getting ready for finals in, to discuss things that you probably haven't even had a chance, unless you're good on TV or have been watching the hearings for the last couple of weeks, you couldn't have digested the Adam Schiff report from yesterday or the Republican response in any real way," Collins said. "They can be theoretical all we want, but the American people is going to look at this and say, 'Huh? What are we doing?' Because there's no fact witnesses planned for this committee. That's an interesting thing."

"Frankly, there's no plan at all except next week an ambiguous hearing on the presentation from the other committee that sent us the record and Judiciary Committee," he added, "which I'm not still sure what they want us to present on, and nothing else -- no plan. I asked the chairman before we left for Thanksgiving to stay in touch, let's talk about what we have because history will shine a bright light on us starting this morning. Crickets until I asked for a witness the other day, and let's just say that didn't go well."