A few months ago at a town hall meeting with Congressman John Curtis, I asked him what, in his view, would constitute “high crimes and misdemeanors” from President Trump. He answered, “I don’t know.”

Well, by now, we should all know. The transcript of Trump’s phone call with the president of Ukraine really is “perfect” — perfect grounds for his impeachment. Every living chief of staff from prior administrations has stated that what Trump did with Ukraine would never have been thought of in their administrations –Democrat and Republican.

Why? Because they all understood this simple principle: you do not ask foreign governments to dig up dirt on your political opponents. The minute you do this, that foreign government has power over you. They might claim they found something, but won’t tell you what it is until you “do them a favor, though.” They might tell you lies in order to get those favors. Even if they find something true about your opponent, they can threaten to disclose their help to the public as leverage to get even more favors. This is never a position we want the leader of our country to be in.

All of us who are familiar with the predominant religion in this valley know the teaching that “debt is bondage.” This is as true of sleazy political favors as it is of credit card bills.

Gordon B. Hinckley taught, “One has neither independence nor freedom from bondage when he is obligated to others.”

America cannot afford to have a president that is thus obligated to a foreign country–and especially one who put himself in that position! Once there, it is impossible for such a president to put “America first.”

Trump’s staff realizes this better than he does. That’s why they were “visibly shaken.” That’s why they rushed to hide the record of this phone call in a secure server. And that’s why two heroic American patriots have blown the whistle –they knew that we, the American people, have the right to know that our president has compromised himself.

That’s also why the White House has now decided to obstruct the impeachment inquiry of the U.S House of Representatives. Like all liars, Trump is terrified of the truth. So he tries to hide it.

Perhaps he has not read the Bible scripture in Luke 12:2-3 that says, “For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known. Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.”

And, I might add, there is nothing spoken in an official phone call that shall not be read in Congress.

If Trump had nothing to hide, he would welcome a Senate trial and the chance to prove his opponents wrong once and for all. Instead, he is attacking our Constitution, which vests in the House “the sole power of impeachment” and the power to “determine the rules of its proceedings,” including the rules of the impeachment process. Make no mistake: Trump is defying our Constitution, not defending it as he has sworn an oath to do.

Even if he had done nothing else, this blanket obstruction is enough to warrant his removal from office.

Opponents of impeachment claim that it’s just more partisan politics. They seem to forget that our founding fathers described this process as “POLITICAL” (all-caps in the original). It’s supposed to be about politics. That’s a feature, not a bug.

Remember also that Alexander Hamilton called “cabal, intrigue, and corruption” the “most deadly adversaries of republican government,” particularly when they involve foreign meddling. The founders took great pains to ensure that such corruption could be purged from our government. They included the process of impeachment for this very type of circumstance.

It is time for our legislators — Congressmen Curtis, Bishop, Stewart and McAdams; Senators Romney and Lee — to act as the Framers envisioned and the Constitution demands. Impeach President Trump and remove him from the office he has dishonored. History is watching. Our children are watching. And future generations will not forgive moral cowardice. We must choose the right in this critical moment.