Donald Trump, with the help of Mike Pompeo, Bill Barr and Mike Pence, has clearly tried to force a foreign government to find or manufacture dirt on his political opponents. This is impeachable. This is literally the definition of "High Crimes" defined in the Constitution.

At this moment when it appears certain that Donald Trump has used the power of his office for corrupt political purposes, the larger question that we will all live with for years is how will the Republican Party respond.

Trump's Ukrainian extortion scandal is metastasizing across his administration. It's now apparent that his Chief of Staff played a role in stopping the money that Congress had appropriated for Ukraine to defend itself, and that Mike Pence communicated part of the implied threat, to the Ukrainian president.

In trying to solicit help for his presidential campaign from Ukraine, Donald Trump committed a unique crime: one that he could only do because he was president of the United States. Using your political office for your own personal and political advantage is the most severe form of political corruption possible.