Donald Trump’s lawyer, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, made some rather bombastic claims over the weekend, arguing that the President cannot be indicted while he’s in office. Giuliani went as far as to claim that the President could have shot former FBI director James Comey and still not be charged.
Giuliani offered some nuance to the claim, noting that Congress would immediately impeach the President, which would allow for charges to be brought forth. As Giuliani stated, “Impeach him, and then you can do whatever you want to do to him.”
Update: President Trump has echoed Giuliani’s statement, saying he has the “absolute” right to pardon himself.
As has been stated by numerous legal scholars, I have the absolute right to PARDON myself, but why would I do that when I have done nothing wrong? In the meantime, the never ending Witch Hunt, led by 13 very Angry and Conflicted Democrats (& others) continues into the mid-terms!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 4 June 2018
These claims are disturbing. There is nothing in the Constitution that places the President above the low. Indeed, precedence suggests that the President can be detained. President Ulysses S. Grant was once detained for speeding after racing his horse and buggy through Georgetown, for example.
The Constitution does lay out a process for removing the President from office for breaking the law. This is the infamous impeachment process. However, impeachment concerns the removal from office. There is nothing in the Constitution that suggests that the President is above the law and can’t be charged. The two are separate issues.
President Trump does have the right to fire anyone serving underneath him. However, if the President were to fire someone in an effort to hinder investigations into legal matters, it may constitute a violation of the law. This would be because the seemingly legal act was carried out for an illegal purpose, namely obstruction of justice.
Giuliani’s comments come on the heels of a report by the New York Times, which revealed that the President’s legal team argued to James Comey that it is impossible for the President to interfere with an election. Specifically, the legal team argued: “It remains our position that the President’s actions here, by virtue of his position as the chief law enforcement officer, could neither constitutionally nor legally constitute obstruction because that would amount to him obstructing himself, and that he could, if he wished, terminate the inquiry, or even exercise his power to pardon if he so desired.”
The letter to Comey also noted “the astounding public revelations about the corruption within the FBI and Department of Justice which appears to have led to the alleged Russia collusion investigation.”
More or less, Trump’s legal team is arguing that the investigation is politically motivated. There have been a few high profile leaks demonstrating that some of the investigators were politically compromised. Leaked texts between FBI lawyer Lisa Page and FBI agent Peter Strzok, both of whom were engaged in an intimate relationship, suggested that the two had a person vendetta against Trump. Lisa Page subsequently resigned, while Strzok was removed from the Trump investigation.
A lack of objectivity in any investigation is disturbing. The FBI was right to remove Strzok, and Page’s resignation was likely the right personal choice for the former FBI lawyer. Regardless, nothing has come forward to suggest that special counsel Robert Mueller himself is compromised. Mueller is a long-time Republican and has been noted for being a fair, objective investigator. That’s why he was chosen for the job.
My personal position remains unchanged: the Mueller investigation must go on. American democracy supersedes the Office of the President, no matter who is sitting in the Oval Office. If Trump is innocent of any crimes, the Mueller investigation will clear him and the President can move on with his administration. On the other hand, no person is above the law; if Trump is guilty of any crimes, he should be charged in the same way as any American.
