Federalist 66 establishes a check on the powers of the Presidency. It assumes that offenses like abuse of power or obstruction of justice constitute at least a misdeed, and therefore are legitimate grounds for impeachment.
Always remember that the phrase high crimes and misdemeanors, as it's used in the Constitution, cannot be understood in an ordinary legal / criminal sense. Efforts to mislead the public, by means of flawed or false data, may not be illegal. But the Founders viewed such conduct as eminently impeachable.
James Madison laid it all out in Federalist No. 51.
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