Precedents abound in a country whose first presidential election took place 230 years ago, and which has seen 41 presidential contests between two political parties founded 187 and 165 years ago. Three of our 44 presidents have faced impeachment proceedings — Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton — and now it seems that Donald Trump will be the fourth.

Democrats have been itching to oust Trump from office since the 9:00 p.m. hour Eastern Standard Time on election night, nearly three years ago, when it became clear he had won. High law enforcement and intelligence officials, despite having little more than a dossier full of unverified Russian-supplied hearsay evidence, had been trying to keep him from the White House starting months earlier. For more than two years, they pushed the theory that he and his campaign were acting in collusion with Russia.