Ron Fein is the legal director of Free Speech For People

NEWTON, Massachusetts -- As special counsel Robert Mueller's criminal investigation continues to rock Washington, new developments are sometimes understood as early steps in a long process that could lead to impeachment hearings.

But Congress shouldn't wait for the special counsel to complete his criminal investigation before opening an impeachment investigation.

President Donald Trump has abused his office in ways that lie outside the scope of Mueller's investigation, and Congress must not shirk its duty to defend the rule of law.

Under the U.S. Constitution, Congress may impeach the president for "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." This covers grave abuses of public power or violations of public trust, whether or not they also violate criminal statutes. And it is far broader than the scope of the special counsel's investigation, which centers on potential criminal violations from possible Trump campaign coordination with Russia and matters arising from that investigation.

An impeachment investigation should start with the president's abuses of power.

Last month, in one feverish day of interviews and Twitter ranting, Mr. Trump pressured the Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute former campaign opponent Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Party, and other political adversaries.

Directing law enforcement to persecute political enemies is characteristic of an autocracy, not a constitutional republic. That is why Republican and Democratic presidents alike have respected the independence of law enforcement. When President Richard Nixon similarly abused his office by using federal investigative agencies against political opponents, Congress drew up an article of impeachment.

As the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia once noted, quoting John Adams' words in the Massachusetts state constitution, "It is the proud boast of our democracy that we have 'a government of laws, and not of men.'"

But Mr. Trump takes a cruder view, foreshadowed in 2016 when he urged his supporters to "knock the crap" out of protesters and promised "I will pay for the legal fees."

That approach has continued throughout his presidency. At a June White House meeting, Native American leaders complained to the president that federal laws make it hard for them to mine coal. Trump's response? "Just do it . . . Once you get it out of the ground, are they going to make you put it back in there?"

Then, in July, he encouraged excessive police force by urging officers to be "rough" with arrested people. In August, he suggested that the military should commit war crimes by executing prisoners of war. And so on.

Study what General Pershing of the United States did to terrorists when caught. There was no more Radical Islamic Terror for 35 years! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 17, 2017

Now, he can do more than just pay for the legal fees. When his political ally, former Arizona Sheriff Joseph Arpaio, was convicted for flagrantly violating a court order to stop illegally detaining Latino drivers without suspicion of a crime, Mr. Trump offered that Arpaio was just "doing his job," and then pardoned him. That signaled that unscrupulous officials can follow Trump's advice, violate individuals' constitutional rights, and then ignore federal court orders to the contrary. Mr. Trump's pardon undercut the constitutional guarantee of due process of law and the ability of the courts to protect constitutional rights.

The Founders worried about this problem. When George Mason warned that the president might "pardon crimes which were advised by himself," and so "destroy the republic," James Madison replied that if a president used the pardon to "shelter" a person with whom he was "connected, in any suspicious manner," then Congress could impeach him. Madison called this "a great security."

Equally worrisome is Trump's open defiance of the Constitution's anti-corruption clauses, which prohibit the president from receiving emoluments (payments) from foreign governments, or from milking the federal or state governments for money beyond his salary. Because he refused to separate himself from his businesses, Donald Trump has been violating these provisions since the day he took office. The country is descending into banana-republic corruption as foreign potentates discover new ways to funnel money into the president's pockets.

These violations may be outside the scope of Mueller's investigation, but they are not outside Congress' scope; indeed, the Founders themselves cited them as grounds for impeachment.

Ultimately, the purpose of impeachment is not punitive, but protective. The point is to remove a lawless president to prevent him from further harming the country. There is still time for us to recover from the damage that Trump has done to the rule of law, but the window may be closing.

When the first call for impeachment hearings was made, some were skeptical. But public support for an impeachment investigation is growing.

At least 17 cities and towns around the country have passed resolutions in support of impeachment hearings, and some 49 percent of voters are in support. And just recently, six members of Congress, including U.S. Rep. Marcia Fudge of Warrensville Heights, introduced articles of impeachment.

It's time for Congress to hold hearings on whether to impeach the president.

Some in Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, may be tempted to use the special counsel investigation as an excuse to delay and defer. But the Constitution provides that the House of Representatives "shall have the sole Power of Impeachment." Congress must not hide behind Robert Mueller to avoid the greatest challenge to our constitutional government in modern times.

Ron Fein is legal director of Free Speech For People, a nonpartisan nonprofit calling for an impeachment investigation of President Donald Trump.

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