Should Trump Be Impeached? What Founding Father James Madison Gave as Grounds for Impeachment.

More than two centuries ago, when delegates at the Constitutional Convention were debating what offenses should be grounds to impeach the United States president, statesman James Madison suggested, “He might betray his trust to foreign powers.”

President Donald Trump’s relationship with Russia is the subject of investigation. But the handful of Democratic lawmakers who have filed articles of impeachment against him have cited reasons other than Madison’s centuries-old “foreign powers” justification.

The delegates discussed the topic of impeachment on July 20, 1787 at the Constitutional Convention, which met for a few months in Philadelphia. The convention was meant to address problems with the Articles of Confederation. From the meetings came the Constitution, which went into effect in 1789.

“The big question at the convention was how broadly or narrowly to define impeachable offenses,” said Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, a history museum in Philadelphia.