Originally Posted by
broncofan
I am reading a book by Cass Sunstein on the history of the impeachment clause in the Constitution and how the founding fathers saw it as being essential to a republican form of government. It is not a purely legal book, but spends more time discussing the early history of impeachment in the colonies and even its roots in England against the King's ministers who were accountable to the Parliament. It is an extremely breezy read, and discusses the history of impeachment, which of course is not to overturn an unfavorable political result, but to remove a President when he begins to abuse his authority and how essential it was seen by the founders who did not think term limits and electoral accountability were sufficient to prevent creeping despotism. I am only one-third of the way through, but it appears that Trump's daily behavior is the type of misconduct and self-aggrandizement that impeachment was designed to check (maybe that's wishful thinking). I highly recommend it to anyone who is curious about how impeachment operates, what standards are relevant for determining impeachability, and just a general tour of its discussion at the constitutional convention.