US outlet calls for Trump's impeachment in cover story

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON

U.S. President Donald Trump should be removed from office because he has sought to upend the foundations of American democracy, the Atlantic magazine said in a cover story published Thursday.

"It's time for Congress to judge the president's fitness to serve," the magazine's subheadline reads.

The Atlantic posted an image of its March issue's cover on Twitter.

Trump "has mounted a concerted challenge to the separation of powers, to the rule of law, and to the civil liberties enshrined in our founding documents. He has purposefully inflamed America’s divisions. He has set himself against the American idea, the principle that all of us—of every race, gender, and creed—are created equal," wrote senior editor Yoni Appelbaum.

Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has so far quelled calls for Trump's impeachment, saying shortly after assuming office earlier this month that such efforts would not proceed in the chamber until such a time as there is bipartisan support for the House to begin the process that could result in his ouster.

But the Atlantic argued the president has "repeatedly trampled" on the liberties guaranteed by the Constitution, including his efforts to ban U.S. entry based on religion, repeatedly assailing the press as the "enemy of the people," and making false claims of electoral fraud.

"These actions are, in sum, an attack on the very foundations of America’s constitutional democracy," it said.

Democrats took control of the House of Representatives this month after winning a majority in the chamber in last year's midterm elections.

Articles of impeachment must be passed in the House before they can be tried in the Senate, according to the Constitution.

"With a newly seated Democratic majority, the House of Representatives can no longer dodge its constitutional duty. It must immediately open a formal impeachment inquiry into President Trump, and bring the debate out of the court of public opinion and into Congress, where it belongs," wrote Appelbaum.