WATCH: Rep. Collins cites Nadler’s 1998 speech about impeachment | Trump's first impeachment

In his opening remarks, Rep. Doug Collins, the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, criticized the impeachment proceedings, calling it "one-sided" and "factless." Collins cited a 1998 speech from the House floor by Rep. Jerry Nadler, who now serves as the House Judiciary Committee chair. The Nadler speech was given when impeachment came up against then-President Bill Clinton. "The American people are watching; they will not forget: You have the votes, you may have the muscle, but you do not have the legitimacy of a national consensus or of a constitutional imperative," Collins said, addressing Democrats, but citing Nadler’s speech from 21 years ago. "The 'partisan coup d'état' will go down in infamy in the history of the nation," Collins said, quoting Nadler’s speech again. Collins spoke ahead of testimony from Noah Feldman, a Harvard law professor, Pamela S. Karlan, a Stanford law professor, Michael Gerhardt, a University of North Carolina law professor, and Jonathan Turley, a George Washington University law professor. The Dec. 4 questioning came on the first day of public hearings by the House Judiciary Committee as part of the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. The focus of the Judiciary hearing, which came after the House Intelligence Committee had hearings in late November, is to define the grounds for a presidential impeachment.

For more on who’s who in the Trump impeachment inquiry, read

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