California university to offer course focused on impeachment of President Trump

Students at San Diego State University are being offered a class focused on removing President Donald Trump from office, Campus Reform reported.

What's the story?

The one-credit hour course called, “Trump: Impeachment, Removal or Conviction?” and taught by professor John Joseph Cleary, will be offered in March through the school's Criminal Justice program.

“Focus will be on the two constitutional grounds: impeachment and removal (25th Amendment), and the possible charges of the independent counsel,” the course description reads in part, according to Campus Reform.

It will cover “grounds for impeachment, removal, or indictment” such as “conflict of interests, foreign emoluments, climate change, racism, religious bias, improper influence, nepotism, and a host of crimes, including conspiracy, false statements, and obstruction of justice.”

Is there required reading?

The only reading required for the course is Allan Lichtman's "The Case for Impeachment," which looks back at presidential impeachments throughout U.S. history and makes a case for Trump's removal.

Lichtman, an American University history professor who claims to have predicted 30 years of presidential races correctly, has likened Trump to former President Richard Nixon.

The 70-year-old professor has predicted that Trump will be impeached, and his book makes a case for why impeachment would be appropriate.

“Trump’s penchant for lying, disregard for the law, and conflicts of interests are lifelong habits that will permeate his entire presidency,” Lichtman wrote. “He has a history of mistreating women and covering up his misdeeds. He could commit his crime against humanity, not directly through war, but indirectly by reversing the battle against catastrophic climate change, upon which humanity’s well-being will likely depend. His dubious connections to Russia could open him to a charge of treason. His disdain for constitutional restraints could lead to abuses of power that forfeit the trust of even a Republican Congress.”

What else?

Students found out about the course offering in an email Monday that advertised it, along with three other classes, as a way to get the final credit needed for a degree.

The course will be offered in March in two 15-hour sessions held about a week apart, and the cost will set the students back $221.