The Case for Impeachment

The Case for Impeachment is a non-fiction book by American University Professor of History Allan Lichtman. The book argues for the impeachment of Donald Trump. It was published on April 18, 2017, by Dey Street Books, an imprint of HarperCollins. Lichtman predicted to The Washington Post that after ascending to the presidency, Trump would later be impeached from office. He developed this thesis into a set of multiple arguments for Trump's predicted impeachment.

Lichtman argues in the book that Trump could face impeachment for reasons including: complicity of conspiracy with foreign governments, crimes against humanity for the U.S. neglecting global warming, and violation of the Foreign Emoluments Clause of the constitution barring the president from taking personal monetary offerings from other governments. He provides the reader with an overview of the Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections and links between Trump associates and Russian officials, asserting such ties could be used in efforts to impeach President Trump. He uses the Watergate scandal as the backdrop to compare Trump's reactions to criticism with those of Richard Nixon during Nixon's impeachment process. The author discusses assertions of sexual misconduct against Trump, and delves into some of his legal affairs stemming from them. Lichtman places the Donald Trump and Billy Bush recordings within a larger context of public degradation of women.

The Financial Times gave The Case for Impeachment a positive review, writing: "Lichtman's powerful book is a reminder that we are only at the start of the Trump investigations." The Washington Post called it "striking to see the full argument unfold". New York Journal of Books recommended it as a resource, "if you are a member of Congress trying to grapple with all that this administration has wrought". The Hill gave the author praise, writing: "Lichtman has written what may be the most important book of the year." CBC News consulted law scholars who said Lichtman's impeachment prediction was unlikely, especially with a Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives. However, Lichtman was proved to have been right after the 2018 midterms, when Trump was impeached once for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress in 2019, and then again for incitement of insurrection in 2021.

The Case for Impeachment sets forth multiple arguments why President Trump's actions warrant impeachment from office. The author organizes the book into subsets of different grounds for impeachment. These include complicity or conspiracy with foreign governments. Lichtman explains to the reader the Foreign Emoluments Clause of the constitution, barring the president from taking personal monetary offerings from other governments. The author contends impeachment could be brought for actions by the president intended to benefit himself financially based on inside information about economic dealings. Lichtman observes the president has not garnered knowledge from a study of earlier key events in U.S. politics: "A president who seems to have learned nothing from history is abusing and violating the public trust and setting the stage for a myriad of impeachable offenses."

Lichtman compares and contrasts Trump's actions with the Impeachment of Richard Nixon stemming from the Watergate scandal. Discussion of prior impeachment proceedings for presidents Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton are placed within historical context, and the book makes comparisons between Trump and Richard Nixon. The author writes that Trump's decisions threaten American values: "Even early in his presidency, Donald Trump exhibits the same tendencies that led Nixon to violate the most basic standards of morality and threaten the foundations of our democracy." Lichtman argues that Trump's failure to learn from Nixon's negative example will harm his presidency, noting: "They also shared a compulsion to deflect blame, and they were riddled with insecurities." He criticizes what he documents as Trump's disregard for veracity: "Neither man allowed the law, the truth, the free press, or the potential for collateral damage to others to impede their personal agendas." Lichtman feels Trump and Nixon's potential political success can be viewed as stifled by a perceived need for covert decision making devoid of critical viewpoints: "They obsessed over secrecy and thirsted for control without dissent."

The author provides an overview of actions taken by Trump before his presidency that could also lead to his downfall, including possible violations of the Fair Housing Act, the operations of Trump University, and donations or lack thereof related to the Donald J. Trump Foundation. With regard to the Foreign Emoluments Clause, the author outlines for the reader the basis for impeachment with discussion of Trump and Trump family debt, trademark negotiations with China, and financial transactions in the Philippines, arguing these obligations could allow foreign powers control over the Trump Administration. In a proposal that the author acknowledges is unlikely, he submits the International Criminal Court could potentially prosecute the president for crimes against humanity related to reneging on agreements to combat climate change. Legally this would not have significant standing on its own for impeachment in the U.S. however, the author suggests that it could provide the moral impetus for legislators to take further actions instead.

The Case for Impeachment devotes a chapter to assertions of sexual misconduct made by women against Trump, and details some of Trump's legal affairs stemming from them. Lichtman describes Trump as driven by lust, and places the Donald Trump and Billy Bush recording within a larger context of public degradation of women. Events contained in the discussion of this topic are later contrasted with the fact that despite such details, Trump garnered a majority of white female voters' support compared to his opponent Hillary Clinton.

Lichtman takes the reader through the Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections and links between Trump associates and Russian officials, and writes that President Trump: "stands a chance of becoming the first American president charged with treason or the failure to report treason by agents and associates". He likens the multiple investigations by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the House Intelligence Committee, and the Senate Intelligence Committee into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, and Trump associates' links a "Sword of Damocles" awaiting Trump. The author concludes these investigations could have disastrous impact for the president: "Neither Republicans nor Democrats in Congress will tolerate a compromised or treacherous president. Impeachment and trial will be quick and decisive."