Robert Mueller’s window of opportunity during the Supreme Court vacancy
“It is proper, constitutional, and legal for a federal grand jury to indict a sitting president for serious criminal acts that are not part of, and are contrary to, the president’s official duties. In this country, no one, even President Clinton, is above the law.” Those words were written by Professor Ronald Rotunda, an adviser to Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr while considering whether or not to present a criminal case against President Bill Clinton during the Whitewater investigation.
Despite what Donald Trump’s lawyers have written, spoken, and even screamed to anyone who will listen, there are many constitutional scholars who have explained that nowhere in the Constitution does it state a sitting president cannot be indicted. While Trump’s lawyers disagree with this publicly, they most certainly have told Trump that there is a good chance he could be indicted following Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.
Even those who believe that a president cannot be indicted while in office have stated that it’s not a get-out-of-jail-free-card but simply a delay in justice. “He is not going to be in office forever. We do not have kings. Eventually, he will leave,” states Brian Kalt, a constitutional scholar and law professor at Michigan State University. However, there are more clues emerging each day that Trump’s plan to circumvent his imminent prison sentence is to remain in office indefinitely.
Trump’s lawyers, especially Rudy Giuliani, have recently made it clear that they will fight anything, including a subpoena to testify before a grand jury, that Mueller requests. This will ultimately result in the Supreme Court having to decide if Trump actually is above the law. The sudden announcement of the upcoming retirement of Justice Kennedy makes all of this that much more important. Things became even more interesting with the revelation that Deutsche Bank loaned Trump $1 billion while Kennedy’s son led a real estate division at the company.
If Mitch McConnell and the Senate Republicans are able to confirm whoever Trump selects to fill Kennedy’s seat before the midterm elections, many suspect that Trump will try anything to end the investigation, up to and including trying to fire Mueller, under the belief that the Supreme Court will return a decision favorable to him. Mueller and his team have prepared for every possibility. If they feel it necessary, watch for them to indict those around Trump (and possibly Trump as well) after Kennedy steps down but before a ninth justice is seated.
I’m a ceramic engineer living in Central New York, avid sports fan but find myself more interested in politics lately.