I’m sure that sophist constitutional observers can come up with a way to say this isn’t technically obstruction of justice, but to those of us who live in the world of common understanding, this is a clear, admitted effort by Trump to place himself above the workings and accountability of the rule of law.

And for those wondering if this is an impeachable offense, one would be inclined to ask, if not this, then what?

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We could throw onto the scales that Trump also wants to undermine, sideline and eliminate actual facts and science from his administration when it conflicts with predetermined policy preferences. But bad as that is, and it’s jaw-droppingly outrageous, we don’t actually need to even go there.

The basic role of the chief executive of the United States is to, wait for it, enforce the laws. When he says out loud that a requirement of the legal apparatus of the United States is to place the president outside of the bounds of investigation and accountability, you have grade A, classic, unmistakable grounds for disqualification from the job of executing the laws.

And for the legal scholars who choose to argue that this may not be actual technical grounds for impeachment, think again. The wording of the impeachment clauses are open enough to allow common understanding of what are grievous grounds for impeachment to the elected representatives of the legislative branch. If they fail to execute their responsibilities there, it hardly exonerates the president’s behavior, it merely implicates them in it as well.