Hundreds of historians call for Trump removal

More than 200 historians, including Pulitzer Prize winners Ron Chernow and Stacy Schiff, are calling for President Trump to be removed from office in the wake of the deadly riot that killed five at the U.S. Capitol last week.

“Throughout his presidency, Trump has defied the Constitution and broken laws, norms, practices, and precedents, for which he must be held accountable now and after he leaves office,” the historians wrote in an open letter Monday. “No future president should be tempted by the example of his defiance going unpunished.”

The historians note Trump’s earlier impeachment in 2019, as well as his refusal to accept the results of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory and his speech before the siege urging supporters to march on the Capitol as Congress certified Biden’s victory.

The letter goes on to call Trump a “clear and present danger to American democracy and the national security of the United States” in the wake of the riot.

“He has disqualified himself from continuing to serve out even his few remaining days as president, as well as from ever again holding, according to the Constitution, ‘any Office of honor, Trust or profit under the United States,’ ” the letter concludes. “We urge members of the House of Representatives to conduct a speedy impeachment and the Senate to hold a prompt trial as the Constitution stipulates.”

In addition to Chernow and Schiff, signers of the letter include presidential biographer Douglas Brinkley, “Nixonland” author Rick Perlstein and Jon Meacham, who recently revealed he has written several speeches for Biden.

A single article of impeachment against Trump unveiled Monday charges him with inciting insurrection against the United States. If passed, it would make him the first president in U.S. history to be impeached twice.