Republican argues every president was impeachable in new attempt to scuttle hearing

As the first impeachment hearing in the House Judiciary Committee wound down Wednesday, Republican Rep. Ken Buck tried a new way to quash Democrats' impeachment rationale - that every other president had met their standard too. Rep. Ken Buck, a Colorado Republican, tried a new way to dash Democrats' push for impeachment - he used examples from other presidents, suggesting they all committed impeachable acts under Democrats' standards Ken Buck brought up actions by LBJ, JFK, Barack Obama, even Republican darling Abraham Lincoln as he came to the defense of President Trump during Wednesday's House Judiciary Committee impeachment hearing Rep. Ken Buck brought up how Robert F. Kennedy deported Ellen Rometsch to cover-up a relationship she had with his brother, President John F. Kennedy, suggesting that would be an impeachable offense The Republican congressman brought up the Benghazi attacks, claiming President Obama told Hillary Clinton to lie about the genesis of the attack for his own political gain, as he was up for re-election later that year Even Abraham Lincoln could have been impeached, suggested Buck, when he had Maryland legislators arrested in an effort to make sure the state didn't join the Confederacy 'How about when the president directed his national security adviser and the secretary of state to lie to the American people about whether the ambassador to Libya was murdered as a result of a video or was murdered as a result of a terrorist act, would that be an abuse of power to a political benefit, 17 days before the next election?' The House Judiciary Committee held its first impeachment hearing Wednesday, with the opening moments featuring protests from Republicans, who wanted to subpoena the so-called 'whistleblower' and force Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff to testify Rep. Doug Collins, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, speaks during Wednesday hearing as Democrats on the committee look on Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler kicked off the hearing by linking President Trump's Ukraine pressure campaign, which is central to the current impeachment inquiry, to Russia and the Mueller Report House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler talks with the committee's top Republican, Rep. Doug Collins Rep. Doug Collins, the top Republican on the committee, called the impeachment inquiry a 'sham' and said Democratic Chair Jerry Nadler was trying to impeach President Trump long before the whistleblower complaint about the Ukraine call came to light YOUR GUIDE TO THOSE PRESIDENTIAL 'ABUSES' ALLEGED BY GOP'S BUCK Abraham Lincoln Used federal troops to arrest Maryland legislators who were going to vote for secession in August 1861, which would have been a crushing blow to the Union. Green is the sponsor of some impeachment legislation in the House, long supporting the move before his Democratic colleagues Members of the House Judiciary Committee listen to Constitutional scholars Wednesday as they take over the impeachment proceedings Members of the audience show support for Democratic positions during Wednesday's House Judiciary Committee hearing on impeachment The hearing kicked off with Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner quickly interrupting Nadler, requesting Republicans get their own day of hearings. He said that he didn't vote for President Trump, but also argued that the president didn't commit impeachable offenses Journalists swarm the four witnesses as they entered the House Judiciary Committee hearing on impeachment Wednesday on Capitol Hill President Trump's comments - shown on video screens in the hearing room - were occasionally used during Wednesday's House Judiciary Committee hearing Republicans have been critical of Schiff and have accused him of knowing the identity of the whistleblower, who first alerted the inspector general of the intelligence committee that Trump brought up investigating a political rival on a phone call with the new president of Ukraine.