When Is an Offense Impeachable?

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There are more serious crimes than violating campaign finance laws. Some offenders face jail time, while others catch a break.

But the campaign finance violation President Trump’s former lawyer accused him of on Tuesday — arranging to pay hush money to influence an election — may nonetheless be precisely the sort of offense that the drafters of the Constitution meant to cover in granting Congress the power to impeach and remove a president.

“At the constitutional convention, the framers repeatedly expressed anxiety about the president seeking to obtain office through corrupt means,” said Joshua Matz, an author of “To End a Presidency: The Power of Impeachment.”

“In fact,” he said, “that was one of the principal reasons they included an impeachment power in the first place.”