Democrats are abusing the investigative powers of the House of Representatives to conduct an Inquisition of the president whose only purpose is to dig up dirt that can be used in a propaganda effort to remove him from office, whether through impeachment or the ballot box.

Like Joe McCarthy, who went beyond the bounds of reasonable suspicion, Democrats are determined to destroy Donald Trump and his family without any evidence of wrongdoing.

The House Democrats are not just demanding that the Department of Justice release the “underlying evidence” in the Russia collusion investigation. They are also demanding that the Internal Revenue Service release years’ worth of Trump’s tax returns; that banks produce records of Trump’s business dealings; and even that Fox News produce documents related to porn star Stormy Daniels’s claims to have had an extramarital affair with Trump years ago.

The flimsy justification Democrats offer for their inquiries, which have no legitimate oversight purpose, is the testimony of former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, a convicted liar who may have lied to Congress again last month. At the time, Trump claimed Cohen was lying “to reduce his jail time,” a claim the media mocked. Today, CNN reports that Cohen is offering Congress new accusations against the president in a bid to avoid prison.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) says if Trump is innocent, he should not fear the investigations. That is an odd claim to make after the Russia collusion conspiracy theory fell apart. In every case thus far, Trump has been exonerated.

Pelosi’s tactic is worthy of a police state: find the target first, then find the crime.

As president, Trump must be held accountable; as a citizen, his rights are our rights, too. When Democrats destroy his, they destroy ours.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. He is also the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, which is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.