. This is the moment.

. No political thriller, no science-fiction novel could ever have been seen as plausible if it had a plot line featuring a President of the United States causing a mob to attack the Congress in order to overturn an election in which he had been defeated. Yet that is precisely what has happened.

. Ever since Donald Trump was elected president, he has set out to destroy the political structure and the national culture of the United States. In a sense, whether or not Trump acted as he did as an agent of Russia was truly irrelevant. What was relevant was his conduct.

. When Donald Trump told the proud boys to “stand back and stand by,” too many people dismissed it as mere hyperbole. It seems clear now that, if Trump saw that he was losing his attempt to be reelected, he would do whatever was possible to keep himself in power.

.

. The issue is not merely the two weeks left before Donald Trump leaves office. If he is not impeached, convicted and removed from office, Trump will spend the next four years attacking not just Joe Biden and the Democrats, but the structure of government itself. He will do anything possible to run for election in 2024 and bring back this nightmare. The only way that he can be permanently stopped is for him to be impeached, convicted and removed from office. Article 1, Section 3, paragraph 7 of the U.S. Constitution says: “ Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from office, and disqualifications to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States…”

. The idea that the process of impeachment, conviction and removal could be done in two weeks may seem fanciful. But we will face years of Trump’s interference with our government and his four-year battle to reclaim the Presidency unless we stop him now.