The time has come to impeach Donald Trump. Not because I believe Trump meets the minimum criteria for impeachment set forth by his own Republican Party in the 1990s, nor because 370 former prosecutors say Trump would be charged with Obstruction of Justice if he weren’t a sitting president, but because impeachment is exactly how our founders and framers envisioned their newly formed government to function if they were ever to be in our current situation.

Further, impeachment can be used as a powerful tool to inform the public, frame the common narrative, and assist in winning the next election. In order to understand both of these, we must first dig deeper into how and why the impeachment provision was inserted into the United States Constitution in the first place.

In the late summer of 1787, as the Constitutional Convention was winding down in Philadelphia, our founding fathers were preparing to finalize the United States Constitution and create a new form of government. But there was one hold-up. George Mason, the author of Virginia’s Declaration of RIghts, feared they had provided too much power to the hypothetical executive. He felt that there would be no recourse if the president turned tyrannical in the vein of their recently defeated foe, King George III.

At the time of his concern, only “treason” and “bribery” were explicitly listed as grounds for impeachment, and he believed that this left too much leeway for the president to “subvert the constitution”. James Madison went on to note that without further constraints or consequences, the Constitution still lacked an avenue to remove a corrupt executive who “might betray his trust to foreign powers” or “involve himself in a scheme [of embezzlement]”.

As a result of this debate, Section 4, Article 2 of the United States Constitution came to read: “The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”

Put it all together and we appear to have a scheme designed to enrich the first family, a betrayal of the President’s trust to foreign powers via his alleged obstruction of the investigation into Russia’s attack on our elections, allegations of high crimes and misdemeanours in the form of campaign finance violations, and an outspoken desire to subvert the constitution with his authoritarian tendencies. To my mind, Donald Trump has successfully engaged in the full trifecta of concerns that surrounded the creation of the impeachment clause in the United States Constitution.

But Democratic leadership refuses to act, and instead they’ve opted to try to work with this president and find “common ground”. The Democrats' argument appears to be that Donald Trump is so volatile and so dangerous, they want to stay in the center and appease him in order to win the next election. All the while, they’re choosing to ignore something which seems pretty clear to me: that Trump has already met the threshold for impeachment, and that impeachment could be used as a powerful tool to frame the upcoming election. Look no further than President Richard Nixon’s run-up to impeachment in the early 1970s.

In 1973, Richard Nixon had an approval rating in the mid to high 60s, and in January of 1974, only 19 per cent approved of removing him from office. After Nixon fired the Special Counsel looking into Watergate and decried the investigation as a “witch hunt” and a “hoax” (sound familiar?), the House began to seriously consider impeachment proceedings. By July 1974, the Nixon Tapes had leaked and the House moved to recommend impeachment hearings. By that time, more than 45 per cent of America was in favor of removing Nixon from office.

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

When Nixon resigned one month later, a clear majority, nearly 57 per cent of Americans, thought he should be removed. The act of gathering evidence, detailing out charges, and recommending impeachment hearings framed the narrative and shifted public opinion on the matter, and now it’s time for Democrats to rise to the occasion and do the same today.

For those unsure of how to proceed, let me finish with this. The Constitution contains an impeachment provision for a reason, and it should be understood not as an end unto itself, but as a means to an end. The process of impeachment is akin to a trial, where evidence is gathered and presented, witnesses testify and are cross-examined, charges are alleged and disputed, and then an ultimate verdict is reached and presented.

After the 2016 presidential election, which was clouded by foreign interference and full of dark money, the American people deserve to see all of the underlying evidence behind the allegations of obstruction, the allegations of campaign finance violations, and the allegations of self-enrichment by the Trump family. The only way to do this effectively is through impeachment.