There Are 8 Ways Trump Could Be Impeached, According To A 'Prediction Professor'

From legal experts to judges to members of Congress, a lot of people are considering a possible impeachment of President Donald Trump.

There are a handful of reasons why people are thinking about this, all stemming from the former reality TV host's uniqueness as a president.

And there's one professor who's really thinking the Trump impeachment through.

Allan Lichtman, a political history professor at American University, has thought out eight legitimate ways Trump could get impeached.

Now, Lichtman's not just any professor thinking about today's events in the context of political history.

He is, some would say, a fortune teller.

Lichtman was one of the only people to predict Trump would actually win the election back in November. He has successfully predicted every election since 1984.

Remember way back when? Everyone thought Hillary Clinton was a sure bet down to the final moments of November 8 -- everyone, that is, except for Allan Lichtman, seer.

Trump actually wrote Lichtman a note to congratulate him on his correct prediction, according to a new interview Lichtman did with the Washington Post.

"What he probably didn't pay attention to was, at the same time, I also predicted that although Donald Trump would be elected, he would also be impeached, becoming the first president to be impeached, of course, since Bill Clinton," Lichtman said.

Lichtman's election predictions are based on party patterns, but his impeachment prediction is based in part on Trump himself rather than any particular historical pattern.

As Lichtman explains, impeachment isn't based on committing a legitimate crime, but on what the House of Representatives decides crosses the line, including "any violation of the public trust."

Impeachment is like a check on the presidency. It's basically the House of Representatives saying, "Yoooooo, that's not cool," to the president.

Based on previous impeachments of Andrew Jackson, Bill Clinton and Richard Nixon -- who resigned before he could be formally impeached -- Lichtman figures there are eight ways Trump could be impeached in the next four years.

Trump's personal history makes him especially vulnerable to impeachment, Lichtman analyzes. He "repeatedly, as a businessman, flouted the law," Lichtman told the Washington Post, with "a pattern of playing fast and loose with the law."

This includes breaking the Fair Housing Act and possibly breaking the Cuban embargo and employing illegal immigrants. Lichtman said,

His overriding pattern is Donald Trump first, and nothing else matters nearly as much. And when you're not president, you can get away with that, you can walk away from things. But as president, you can't. You are accountable for what you do and for what you say. And what is the ultimate accountability for a president? That accountability is impeachment.

Trump's apparent pro-torture feelings is one way Trump could break laws as president, Lichtman said, for example. His new book, "The Case for Impeachment," lays out the other ways he's figured Trump could be impeached.

Lichtman also noted that although the House of Representatives is controlled by Republicans, Republicans don't particularly like Trump.

"Republicans really don't trust Donald Trump. He's a loose cannon,"Lichtman said. "But they love Mike Pence."

Now that's a scary thought.

Citations: Prediction Professor Lays Out 8 Ways Trump Could Be Impeached (Washington Post)