Yes, Trump as President is a menace to the rule of law in the US

Michael Schmidt and Maggie Haberman are reporting, Trump Wanted to Order Justice Dept. to Prosecute Comey and Clinton New York Times 11/20/2018:

President Trump told the White House counsel in the spring that he wanted to order the Justice Department to prosecute two of his political adversaries: his 2016 challenger, Hillary Clinton, and the former F.B.I. director James B. Comey, according to two people familiar with the conversation.

The lawyer, Donald F. McGahn II, rebuffed the president, saying that he had no authority to order a prosecution. Mr. McGahn said that while he could request an investigation, that too could prompt accusations of abuse of power. To underscore his point, Mr. McGahn had White House lawyers write a memo for Mr. Trump warning that if he asked law enforcement to investigate his rivals, he could face a range of consequences, including possible impeachment.

Ari Melber reported on the story for MSNBC, Bombshell: Trump Ordered Hillary Clinton, James Comey Prosecution 11/20/2018:

One of his guests, former Democratic Sen. Robert Torricelli, comments:

Well, first, There is, of course, a difference between the President proposing this, which would be outrageous in itself, and in actually contacting the Justice Department and attempting to order it. The first is bad government, unethical, and inexcusable; the second would be an impeachable offense. So lets try to assume that this is a thought that he had as something he wanted to do and he was talked out of it by staff.

Melber pushes back, saying, "Senator, I'm not assuming that. I got a report from the New York Times that says he used his liaison to the DOJ [Department of Justice], which is Don McGahn and told him, let's do this. And Don McGahn put a stop to it. That's the reporting.""

After Torricelli elaborates the point, Melber comments that his response "sounds very classic Washington Democrat, which is bending over backwards to find some bright spot in a very dark story.""

Now, admittedly, Torricelli has been known to make an extra effort to look for the bright side in a dark story (David Kocieniewski with Tim Golden, As Bush Rises, Torricelli Cools Partisan Fire New York Times 01/06/2001):

Last month, when the outcome of the presidential election was still in doubt and Democrats and Republicans were wrangling over the recounts in Florida, Mr. Torricelli was among the first Democrats to call for Vice President Al Gore to consider conceding. Since the concession, Mr. Torricelli has heaped praise upon President-elect George W. Bush and some of his cabinet selections -- even former Senator John Ashcroft, a staunch conservative whose choice as attorney general has been bitterly opposed by many Democrats."

Mr. Torricelli, who usually leans toward the liberal end of the Democratic Party, says that his independence and bipartisanship are nothing new -- only more noticeable with the changing balance of power in Washington and his own increasing visibility within the party."

"I think people are adjusting to this contradiction of seeing the fierce partisan who led the campaign who is now compromising on legislation,'' he said in an interview today. He later added, ''I don't apologize for not being ideologically predictable."

But as to what the current Times story says, Torricelli is not obviously wrong on that point:

President Trump told the White House counsel in the spring that he wanted to order the Justice Department to prosecute two of his political adversaries: his 2016 challenger, Hillary Clinton, and the former F.B.I. director James B. Comey, according to two people familiar with the conversation."

The lawyer, Donald F. McGahn II, rebuffed the president, saying that he had no authority to order a prosecution. Mr. McGahn said that while he could request an investigation, that too could prompt accusations of abuse of power. To underscore his point, Mr. McGahn had White House lawyers write a memo for Mr. Trump warning that if he asked law enforcement to investigate his rivals, he could face a range of consequences, including possible impeachment.

But the Times also notes that this is part of a Trump pattern showing that he "views the typically independent Justice Department as a tool to be wielded against his political enemies." We could add that the phrasing there by the Times is a typical Establishment press tendency to softpedal the seriousness of the matter. The Justice Deparetment has to be independent in order to have a consistent, functioning system of rule of law."

But the Times also explains, rightly:

It is unclear whether Mr. Trump read Mr. McGahn’s memo or whether he pursued the prosecutions further. But the president has continued to privately discuss the matter, including the possible appointment of a second special counsel to investigate both Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Comey, according to two people who have spoken to Mr. Trump about the issue. He has also repeatedly expressed disappointment in the F.B.I. director, Christopher A. Wray, for failing to more aggressively investigate Mrs. Clinton, calling him weak, one of the people said.

It's obvious to me that what we know in the public record, some of which the Times article summarizes, about Trump's attempts to interfere with the justice system for personal and political reasons is something Congress should have already been investigating as an impeachable offense.

But what Ari says about the Times article's reporting reporting that Trump told MCGahn something as direct as "let's do this," it doesn't actually say that. Later in the story, we see, "In his conversation with Mr. McGahn, the president asked what stopped him from ordering the Justice Department to investigate Mr. Comey and Mrs. Clinton, the two people familiar with the conversation said. He did have the authority to ask the Justice Department to investigate, Mr. McGahn said, but warned that making such a request could create a series of problems."

But with Trump's Mafia style, it's a reasonable guess that he meant it that way. Particularly given what's he's been saying about prosecuting Hillary Clinton since 2016.

Congress shouldn't be splitting hairs over this, though. They should thoroughly but quickly investigate Bush's attempt to use the Justice Department illegally and take appropriate action to stop it.

Update: The indispensable Charlie Pierce also weighed in on this question along with a couple of others: What Trump Has Done Is Already Impeachable By Any Reasonable Standard Esquire Politics Blog 11/21/2018. He says it more bluntly and creatively than I did. But I'm fully in agreement.