MSNBC guest says Democrats are overthinking impeachment: ‘Just say crimes and coverup’

A legal scholar told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" that House Democrats were overthinking the impeachment of President Donald Trump.

Jennifer Taub, a professor at Vermont Law School and board member for the advisory group Impeach Trump Now, said congressional Democrats must be willing to open an impeachment inquiry to build a public case for a conviction.

"As a citizen I'm very frustrated of this disregard of the rule of law and treating these procedures as optional," Taub said. "On the other hand, I understand that for the general public, what they actually need to see is the crimes and misdemeanors, in other words. So to the extent this game is played on procedure and who is showing up, as opposed to getting the facts in front of the people."

Taub agreed with "Morning Joe" contributor Donny Deutsch, who argued last week that Democrats should talk less about impeachment and highlight the president's criminality.

"I think we also need to use the right words," she said. "We should be saying the words, the crimes and the coverup. We don't need to use these fancy legal terms. Crimes and coverup -- that's what we're looking at."