Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the incoming chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, explained exactly how Donald Trump could be indicted while still in office.
Schiff tweeted:
If the Justice Department finds that a president has engaged in a conspiracy to commit illegal acts to help his campaign AND would escape justice by staying in office beyond the statute of limitations, it should allow indictment even if a trial must await the end of the term. https://t.co/38dEc9TY1c
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) December 14, 2018
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The idea is that federal prosecutors can’t put a sitting president on criminal trial, that’s been established by the Supreme Court, but they can indict the president and hold off on the trial until he leaves office.
Trump’s worst nightmare isn’t losing reelection, or maybe even being impeached. Trump’s biggest fear appears to be facing criminal charges. It is why he and his White House defenders that they have nothing to worry about because a sitting president can’t be indicted. There is nothing in the Constitution that prohibits a sitting president from being indicted.
The only thing saving Trump is a 2000 opinion from the legal counsel at the Justice Department that a sitting president can’t be indicted. Rep. Schiff makes a great argument. A sitting president can’t use the office as a way to run out the statute of limitations on a crime. The country has already reached the point with Trump where his criminal activity is no longer debated. The only point of contention is what can be done about it.
If Adam Schiff is correct, Trump will someday leave the leave the White House and step into the waiting arms of law enforcement to face indictment for his crimes.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
