Allan J. Lichtman

Allan J. Lichtman is Distinguished Professor of History at American University in Washington, DC, and formerly Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and Chair of the Department of History. His books include FDR and the Jews (with Richard Breitman), which won the National Jewish Book Award in American Jewish History, and was a New York Times Editor’s Choice pick and a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in History. He has also been a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award.

Lichtman's latest book is The Case for Impeachment.

From the author's April 2017 Q&A with Jay Willis at GQ:

Aside from treason, which potential grounds for impeachment do you think are most likely to stick?

Conflicts of interest. The White House makes numerous decisions that are going to impact the profitability of Trump's businesses around the world, and although he might not be running them anymore, he knows in broad terms what policies would impact them and generate profit for them. Nonetheless, he refused to fully divest himself of his business interests before taking office. I understand that doing so might be complicated, and that he might take a financial hit in doing so, but no one forced him to run for president. He holds the most powerful position in the world, and if he has to make sacrifices to hold that position honorably, so be it.

There are specific constitutional provisions and laws that his conflicts of interests may violate. There has been a lot of discussion of the Emoluments Clause, which prohibits the president from taking things of value from a foreign power or their agents—even if the president gets nothing in return. For example, Trump recently obtained trademarks in China that had previously been held up there for a very long time. To what extent is his administration's China policy being influenced by those trademarks? We don’t know how his private interests are intertwined with the national interests, and that’s exactly what...[read on]

Visit Allan J. Lichtman's website and Facebook page.

The Page 99 Test: FDR and the Jews by Richard Breitman and Allan J. Lichtman.

The Page 99 Test: White Protestant Nation by Allan J. Lichtman.

The Page 99 Test: The Case for Impeachment.

--Marshal Zeringue