There were those who said the Trump administration couldn’t get any worse, but last week they did. The explosive news hit over the weekend that a government whistleblower filed an official complaint to the intelligence community inspector general alleging that, on multiple occasions, President Trump attempted to pressure the president of Ukraine. Specifically, that allegation continued, the president pressured Ukraine to investigate the son of his potential Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, by threatening to withhold foreign aid to that country. While the Muller Report made it clear to most Democrats that no bar was too low for Trump and his team in order to get to the White House, even Republicans are admitting that the Commander-in-Chief is now just getting sloppy.

This is the news that many of Trump’s critics have been waiting for. His alleged actions as president are the now the most serious on a continuum of what should have been impeachment-triggering events, starting with his actions as a private citizen, which are detailed in the Muller Report and were presented to Congress in July. A week ago, the Manhattan District Attorney subpoenaed eight years of Trump's financial records for a possible criminal investigation into hush money payments that were made to a porn actor during his presidential campaign. Things are definitely getting worse.

Calls to impeach the 45th president are louder than ever. Indeed, at least 137 lawmakers in the House of Representatives have stated that they support impeaching Trump, while Republican members of Congress continue to gaslight the American people.

But the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, remains hesitant. In an interview with National Public Radio on Friday she lamented a Department of Justice (DOJ) Memorandum that prohibits a sitting president from being indicted on criminal charges. She also argued for Congress to pass a law that would allow for a president to be criminally indicted – a measure Republicans would surely support if a Democratic president were accused of lesser misdeeds.

Pelosi is right about three things: first, she should be worried about alienating Democrats and losing their majority in the House of Representatives. Second, she’s right thatTrump will not face criminal justice while in office: the DOJ memo makes that clear. And third, she’s correct when she says that, in spite of a House impeachment, the Republican-controlled Senate wouldn't move forward with conviction proceedings (the second part of the Congressional impeachment process).

But the Speaker’s reasoning is also flawed.

The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Show all 25 1 /25 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Bernie Sanders The Vermont senator has launched a second bid for president after losing out to Hilary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primaries. He is running on a similar platform of democratic socialist reform Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Joe Biden The former vice president recently faced scrutiny for inappropriate touching of women, but was thought to deal with the criticism well and has since maintained a front runner status in national polling EPA The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Elizabeth Warren The Massachusetts senator is a progressive Democrat, and a major supporter of regulating Wall Street Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Amy Klobuchar Klobuchar is a Minnesota senator who earned praise for her contribution to the Brett Kavanaugh hearings Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Michael Bloomberg Michael Bloomberg, a late addition to the 2020 race, announced his candidacy after months of speculation in November. He has launched a massive ad-buying campaign and issued an apology for the controversial "stop and frisk" programme that adversely impacted minority communities in New York City when he was mayor Getty Images The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Tulsi Gabbard The Hawaii congresswoman announced her candidacy in January, but has faced tough questions on her past comments on LGBT+ rights and her stance on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Pete Buttigieg The centrist Indiana mayor and war veteran would be the first openly LGBT+ president in American history Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Deval Patrick The former Massachusetts governor launched a late 2020 candidacy and received very little reception. With just a few short months until the first voters flock to the polls, the former governor is running as a centrist and believes he can unite the party's various voting blocs AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Beto O'Rourke The former Texas congressman formally launched his bid for the presidency in March. He ran on a progressive platform, stating that the US is driven by "gross differences in opportunity and outcome" AP The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Kamala Harris The former California attorney general was introduced to the national stage during Jeff Sessions’ testimony. She has endorsed Medicare-for-all and proposed a major tax-credit for the middle class AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Bill De Blasio The New York mayor announced his bid on 16 May 2019. He emerged in 2013 as a leading voice in the left wing of his party but struggled to build a national profile and has suffered a number of political setbacks in his time as mayor AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Steve Bullock The Montana governor announced his bid on 14 May. He stated "We need to defeat Donald Trump in 2020 and defeat the corrupt system that lets campaign money drown out the people's voice, so we can finally make good on the promise of a fair shot for everyone." He also highlighted the fact that he won the governor's seat in a red [Republican] state Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Cory Booker The New Jersey Senator has focused on restoring kindness and civility in American politics throughout his campaign, though he has failed to secure the same level of support and fundraising as several other senators running for the White House in 2020 Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Wayne Messam Mayor of the city of Miramar in the Miami metropolitan area, Wayne Messam said he intended to run on a progressive platform against the "broken" federal government. He favours gun regulations and was a signatory to a letter from some 400 mayors condemning President Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord Vice News The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Kirsten Gillibrand The New York Senator formally announced her presidential bid in January, saying that “healthcare should be a right, not a privilege” Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: John Delaney The Maryland congressman was the first to launch his bid for presidency, making the announcement in 2017 AP The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Andrew Yang The entrepreneur announced his presidential candidacy by pledging that he would introduce a universal basic income of $1,000 a month to every American over the age of 18 Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Julian Castro The former San Antonio mayor announced his candidacy in January and said that his running has a “special meaning” for the Latino community in the US Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Marianne Williamson The author and spiritual adviser has announced her intention to run for president. She had previously run for congress as an independent in 2014 but was unsuccessful Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Eric Swalwell One of the younger candidates, Swalwell has served on multiple committees in the House of Representatives. He intended to make gun control central to his campaign but dropped out after his team said it was clear there was no path to victory Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Seth Moulton A Massachusetts congressman, Moulton is a former US soldier who is best known for trying to stop Nancy Pelosi from becoming speaker of the house. He dropped out of the race after not polling well in key states Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Jay Inslee Inslee has been governor of Washington since 2013. His bid was centred around climate change AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: John Hickenlooper The former governor of Colorado aimed to sell himself as an effective leader who was open to compromise, but failed to make a splash on the national stage Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Tim Ryan Ohio representative Tim Ryan ran on a campaign that hinged on his working class roots, though his messaging did not appear to resonate with voters Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Tom Steyer Democratic presidential hopeful billionaire and philanthropist Tom Steyer is a longtime Democratic donor AFP/Getty

First, a failure to secure a Senate conviction doesn’t matter in the long term – and as a nation we are in this for the long haul. An impeachment (even without a conviction) could serve as an important precedent for later criminal investigations into Trump's dealings before and during his presidency. But more importantly, impeachment is a critical precedent for future holders of the Oval Office who chose to abuse their executive powers for political and financial gain.

In other words, to provide evidence to convict Trump later, as well as demonstrate to Americans and the world that the concept of Rule of Law still holds meaning in our democracy, Congress has no choice but to proceed with the impeachment process.

To those who say impeachment is futile because of the DOJ memo: I agree. But Trump can still face justice once he is out of office. We know from the case of Nixon vs. US that the president is not above the law, even while in office. In that 1974 landmark case, then-president Richard Nixon argued that executive privilege and national security shielded him from having to share confidential White House conversations from the 1972 break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters (which Nixon ordered). The Supreme Court didn’t agree with Nixon and concluded that argument for executive privilege doesn’t necessarily override the “fundamental demands of due process of law in the fair administration of criminal justice.” Nixon resigned before he could face an impeachment and conviction process.

Again, to those who argue that Nixon’s case was different: I agree. Nixon didn’t have blind support of the Senate, as Trump does; Nixon knew he was going down. But what about the importance of impeachment as a democratic process? Just look at Bill Clinton, who was impeached for lying about having extramarital affairs while in the Oval Office to Congress, which, while incredibly distasteful and unethical, hardly rises to the level of Trump’s alleged abuse. Furthermore, if we don’t pursue impeachment for Trump under such extraordinary and unprecedented circumstances, the process is stripped of its meaning and is damaging to the integrity of our democracy.

Joe Biden says Trump 'deserves to be investigated' over Ukraine scandal: 'He knows I'll beat him like a drum'

It’s true – we are hardly nearing Trump’s final act. The corrupt and lecherous wizard of reality television who now holds the country hostage with his Twitter rants, ICE raids and foreign policy circus certainly has more tricks up his sleeve. But regardless of whether Trump and his cronies win the next round of elections, at some point Donald Trump will once again be a private, legally prosecutable citizen, and those who helped him hide his crimes will have to account for their actions.

An impeachment on Trump’s record will make him more vulnerable to criminal indictment at some point and will subject him to public humiliation; it is the modern equivalent of tarring and feathering the sovereign. But more important than subjecting the fragile ego that sits in the Oval Office to public shaming, more important even than Trump’s criminal record, is the fact that Democratic leaders need to remember this country is supposed to stand for the Rule of Law. Americans need to be reassured that regardless of the eminence of the position, those who abuse their official powers shall face some form of justice.