On Monday, an open letter signed by hundreds of historians was published, urging the House to confirm the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump for his scheme to extort Ukraine into investigating his political opponents by suspending military aid.
"President Trump’s numerous and flagrant abuses of power are precisely what the Framers had in mind as grounds for impeaching and removing a president," stated the letter, written by Princeton history professor Sean Wilentz and Andrew Johnson biographer Brenda Wineapple. "Among those most hurtful to the Constitution have been his attempts to coerce the country of Ukraine, under attack from Russia, an adversary power to the United States, by withholding essential military assistance in exchange for the fabrication and legitimization of false information in order to advance his own re-election."
"President Trump’s lawless obstruction of the House of Representatives, which is rightly seeking documents and witness testimony in pursuit of its constitutionally-mandated oversight role, has demonstrated brazen contempt for representative government," continued the letter. "So have his attempts to justify that obstruction on the grounds that the executive enjoys absolute immunity, a fictitious doctrine that, if tolerated, would turn the president into an elected monarch above the law."
The letter bears signatures from over 750 historians, including big names like Robert Caro and Ken Burns.
"As Alexander Hamilton wrote in The Federalist, impeachment was designed to deal with 'the misconduct of public men' which involves 'the abuse or violation of some public trust,'" stated the letter. "Collectively, the President’s offenses, including his dereliction in protecting the integrity of the 2020 election from Russian disinformation and renewed interference, arouse once again the Framers’ most profound fears that powerful members of government would become, in Hamilton’s words, 'the mercenary instruments of foreign corruption.'"
"It is our considered judgment that if President Trump’s misconduct does not rise to the level of impeachment, then virtually nothing does," said the letter.
You can read the full text here.