The Case for Impeachment: (At least) 12 reasons why Trump must be impeached — and convicted
Impeachment is essential because democracy cannot always depend upon the goodness of the American people.
This essay is part of a series called ‘The Case for Impeachment,’ which illuminates how Donald Trump has trampled the rule of law and is a clear and present danger to the republic.
Article 2, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution declares that “The President … shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of … high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”
As noted by impeachment scholar Michael J. Gerhardt, author of The Law of Presidential Impeachment and professor at University of North Carolina School of Law, the Founding Fathers considered “high crimes” to be “political crimes, serious crimes against the Republic” even if they are not indictable in criminal court. The punishment, he observed, is not jail or death, but removal and disqualification.
And as pointed out by Jeffrey Rosen, CEO emeritus of the National Constitution Center, the Founders’ inclusion of impeachment in the Constitution was based on their fear of tyranny, which they had endured under King George III. In fact, added Rosen, in Federalist No. 65, Alexander Hamilton said, “By its nature, impeachable offenses are political ‘crimes,’ that is, ‘crimes’ committed against public interest.”
Donald Trump’s myriad attacks on the Constitution are precisely the kind of high, political, serious, and tyrannical crimes that the Founders feared. They warrant immediate impeachment and conviction.
Accordingly, here are 12 reasons (although potentially there are many more) that the president — a 34-count convicted felon who was twice endorsed by former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke, who described Nazis as “very fine people,” whom Vice President JD Vance once called “America’s Hitler,” who called the slavery-promoting Confederate flag a symbol of “love” and “freedom, and who bragged about grabbing women by their genitals — should be impeached:
Fomented sedition by promoting the violent anti-democratic goals of the nearly 1,600 January 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol insurrectionists.
Granted blanket clemency to those insurrectionists.
Undermined voter confidence — hence democracy itself — by falsely claiming election fraud without any evidence whatsoever; by seizing election records; by targeting election officials; by attempting to gain access to state voter rolls; by appointing election deniers to key government positions; by pushing for mid-decade racist gerrymandering; and by threatening to send ICE agents to polls across the country.
Violated the 14th Amendment by issuing Executive Order 14160 to reject the birthright citizenship mandated by the Constitution.
Violated the First Amendment by banning CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House.
Engaged in war aginst Iran without congressional authorization and ignored Senate Resolution 185 and House Resolution 86.
Rejected the due process mandate of the Fifth Amendment and the cruel and unusual punishment mandate of the Eighth Amendment by misusing the Alien Enemies Act to deport approximately 250 alleged (but unproven) so-called gang members to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center also known as CECOT.
Refused to adhere to the judicial branch’s lawful court order in the deportation case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
Threatened political and groundless prosecution/persecution of former FBI Director James Comey and former acting U.S. Attorney and Special Counsel Jack Smith.
Authorized extrajudicial killings of innocent civilians in the international waters off Venezuela.
Purportedly used executive orders to allegedly extort and coerce major law firms to provide nearly $1 billion in free legal services.
Violated the Emoluments Clauses (Article I, Sec. 9. Cl. 8 and Article II, Sec. 1, Cl. 7) by purportedly corruptly generating an estimated $2.4 billion for himself in outside revenue and income during the first year of his second term and more than $1.6 billion for himself during his first term.
Impeachment is essential to the future of American democracy because I can honestly say, without hyperbole, that America in 2026 is where Italy was right before fascist dictator Benito Mussolini took over in 1922, where Germany was right before fascist dictator Adolf Hitler took over in 1933, and where Spain was right before fascist dictator Francisco Franco took over in 1939.
And don’t forget that Trump once bragged to Sean Hannity during a Fox News interview about aspiring to be a “dictator.”
I am hopeful that the America of unity will defeat the America of division in the 2026 midterms.
I take the position that impeachment by the House — along with conviction and removal by the Senate — are essential because American democracy cannot always depend upon the America of unity outvoting the America of division. After all, racist, misogynistic, homophobic, and Islamophobic Trump won in 2016 with 62,984,828 votes and in 2024 with 77,302,580 votes.
I am hopeful that the America of unity will defeat the America of division in the 2026 midterms. I am also hopeful that if Trump — the only president in American history who refused to accept the peaceful transfer of power — attempts to vacate the 22nd Amendment in 2028 so that he can seek a third term, law-abiding America will prevail then, too.
If a Congress reshaped by the midterms attempts to remove Trump from the Oval Office — he is the only president to have faced impeachment twice — I am optimistic that it will succeed. That sense is driven by the knowledge that more bipartisan House members (totaling 232 in 2021) voted in favor of impeachment and more interparty/Republican senators voted for Trump’s conviction (totaling seven) than in the cases of Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998.
There is hope. The aforementioned grounds for impeachment and conviction are the proof.
Michael Coard is a civil rights attorney and founder of the Avenging the Ancestors Coalition (ATAC), which led the successful effort to establish the President’s House slavery memorial at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia.
