The Atlantic

The Question Posed by Trump’s Phone Call

A whistle-blower complaint raises the possibility that President Trump has betrayed the duties of his office.
Source: Jonathan Ernst / Reuters

On the 20th of July 1787, Gouverneur Morris rose inside the stiflingly hot Independence Hall, in Philadelphia, to explain why he had changed his mind and now favored including a power of impeachment in the constitutional text.

Until that point, he and others had feared that an impeachment power would leave the president too dependent on Congress. He had thought that the prospect of reelection defeat would offer a sufficient control on presidential wrongdoing.

But the arguments of other delegates

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