Impeach the president

The Constitution is clear

President Trump, Bill Clinton, and Richard Nixon.
(Image credit: Illustrated | AP Photo/File, AP Photo/APTN, Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images, Wikimedia Commons, DickDuerrstein/iStock)

Honoring the long tradition of Republican criminals in and around the executive branch, President Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort was convicted Tuesday on eight counts of financial fraud. At almost the exact same moment, Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to eight federal crimes — one of which he testified was committed at Trump's direct instruction. They join former Trump National Security Adviser Michael Flynn (pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI) and former campaign aide George Papadopoulos (same) in the roster of proven Trump criminal associates.

People tend to be resigned to the idea that Republicans will do absolutely nothing about this. But it's worth remembering that if the Constitution was functioning as intended, Trump would be impeached immediately. This is a crisis undermining the basic legitimacy of the American state.

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Ryan Cooper

Ryan Cooper is a national correspondent at TheWeek.com. His work has appeared in the Washington Monthly, The New Republic, and the Washington Post.