Gerhardt says Congress defines bribery, not the courts
After much discussion over bribery at Wednesday's House Judiciary Committee impeachment hearing, Michael Gerhardt of the University of North Carolina Law School testified that bribery is defined by Congress, not the courts. Congressman Cedric Richmond (D-LA) asked the witnesses to comment on testimony from another witness, Jonathan Turley, a CBS News legal analyst and George Washington University law professor, who asserted that using public office for personal gain is a "viable impeachable offense." After all three remaining witnesses affirmed Turley's statement, Gerhardt said, "Much talk has been made here about the term bribery ... It's your job, it's the House's job, to define bribery, not the courts. You follow your judgement on that."