Impeachment Issue Spotter

In How Many Impeachable Offenses Can A President Commit In Nine Days?, UM law grad Howard Brilliant lists (and documents) what he calls 18 impeachable offenses committed in nine days:

1. Removing DNI & CJCS from NSC and replacing them with a white supremacist[1];
2. Unconstitutional discrimination against legal immigrants- including visa holders, lawful permanent residents, and reportedly even some U.S. Citizens- based on religion and national origin[2];
3. Undermining confidence in our democracy by perpetuating meritless allegations of voter fraud[3];
4. Constant and repeated demonstrations of hostility to first amendment rights[4][5];
5. Intentionally and repeatedly lying to the American public[6][7][8];
6. Using the Office of President to enrich himself and members of his family[9];
7. Operating with extensive conflicts of business and personal interests[10];
8. Receiving emoluments from foreign governments[11];
9. Refusal to release his tax returns[12];
10. Violating his lease with GSA for the Old Post Office[13];
11. Potential subjection to blackmail by a foreign intelligence service allegedly in possession of compromising material[14];
12. Continued associations with individuals he knew or should have known possessed ties to hostile foreign governments[15][16][17];
13. Blatant disregard for established governmental norms and protocols[18][19];
14. Issuing executive orders against the advice of and/or without consulting the Office of Legal Counsel or other participants in the review process[20][21];
15. Apparent defiance of court orders[22][23];
16. Failure to rule out the use of torture[24];
17. Suffering from mental instability and/or psychological impairment[25]; and
18. Being generally incompetent and unfit for office[26];

While I grasp that at the end of the day, grounds for impeachment may just be what two houses say it is, it seems to me that under a fair reading of the Constitution, most of these are not in fact impeachable offenses but just actions that are evil, stupid, or both.

Have a look and mark down which you think qualify, then take a look at my cull from the list:

I’d say that if proved, ‘only’ ##s 8, 10 & 15 would be clear grounds for impeachment with ##s 2 & 6 also possibilities. And #15 only gets there if Trump ordered it, which seems unlikely (so far).

But “lying to the American people” (#5), heck that was practically standard operating procedure for a number of recent administrations.

Important note: # 11 is off my list only so long as it is “potential”.