Time for impeachment: Trump sought loyalty from third top justice official

Donald Trump has twice attempted to determine whether the top justice officials in the country might be more loyal to him than to the Constitution they have sworn to uphold — and now there is a third.

During a December meeting with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, Trump quizzed Rosenstein about the direction of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, and, according to CNN, “wanted to know whether Rosenstein was ‘on my team.'”

Rosenstein replaced Attorney General Jeff Sessions as head of the Russia investigation after Sessions allegedly recused himself, and any order to fire Robert Mueller would fall to Rosenstein.

This marks the third report of Trump seeking the loyalty of high-ranking officials of an independent agency charged with investigating Trump for collusion and obstruction of justice.

Former FBI Director James Comey testified before Congress that Trump asked him for a loyalty pledge while he was still serving in that post, a fact confirmed in separate congressional testimony by the bureau’s deputy director, Andrew McCabe.

Shortly after firing Comey, Trump also tried to figure out whether McCabe might be more favorable to him by asking how he voted in the 2016 presidential election.

This latest disturbing news builds on a pattern of Trump seemingly believing — wrongly — that those charged with enforcing our justice system should put Trump’s interests before the law. Those who fail to do so have publicly faced the consequences of his wrath, with Trump and the Republican Party waging smear campaigns against them in an attempt to undermine and discredit them and their findings.

Many Democrats have warned for the better part of a year that Trump’s attempts to derail investigations should trigger impeachment proceedings. Indeed, only last week, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said news of Trump’s attempt to fire Mueller proved a “constitutional crisis is looming.”

This latest development is further evidence of how reckless and dangerous Trump is and how deep his disrespect for the rule of law. It is time to protect this country and its Constitution and impeach Trump.