It frustrates me to no end that the American people have exceedingly short memories and only know what The Media is currently feeding them.
During Donald Trump’s first impeachment in 2019 (and it’s astounding that we must specify which impeachment we mean), the OLC (“Office of Legal Council”) declared that NO “sitting” president could be criminally prosecuted “while in office” (ostensibly b/c it would be too disruptive, interfering with their ability to do their job.) But once OUT of office, THEN they can be prosecuted for crimes committed while in office (the “logic” being that only the threat of a post-presidency prosecution was left to serve as a check to dissuade any POTUS from freely committing crimes at will while in office.)
Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller was even grilled on this very issue before Congress by Republican congressman Ken Buck:
Buck: But the, ah, could you charge the president with a crime after he left office?
Mueller: Yes.
Buck: You believe that he committed… [that] you could charge the president of the US with obstruction of justice after he left office?
Mueller: Yes.
No ambiguity. Trump committed crimes for which he could be prosecuted upon leaving office. And only the threat of prosecution upon leaving office is left to keep a POTUS in check. But the GOP wants it both ways: Couldn’t prosecute Trump while in office (“you’ll get your chance once he’s out” was the excuse Mitch McConnell gave for refusing to convict him), and now that he’s out, you STILL can’t prosecute him for things he did while in office because… to quote Nixon… “When the president does it, that means that it is not illegal” (a comment so shocking when Nixon said it to David Frost in 1977 that it went down in journalistic history. Now they have convinced 50 million Americans that’s the way it should be.)
(Personally, I am CONVINCED the reason Trump left D.C. at 11:55am on January 20th, 2021 was because he was terrified Biden would call for his arrest the second he was sworn in… and he should have. It’s also why he was so desperate to stay in power. And his lack of prosecution since then has only served to convince him he must not have done anything wrong.)
It is almost unfathomable that the SCotUS even took up the question of “Presidential Immunity”. These are supposed to be “Constitutional Scholars”, are they not?
Article 2, Section 4 of the Constitution lays out the requirements for “impeachment”:
The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.
The famed “high Crimes and Misdemeanors” clause.
Now, I ask, how does one prosecute a POTUS for “high Crimes and Misdemeanors” if the Founders believed them to be “immune”?
Seriously.
(TRIVIA: President Ulysses S. Grant was once arrested for speeding, racing his horse-drawn carriage through town too fast.)
The (ridiculous) "logic" of the OLC's claim that you can't prosecute a “sitting” president because it would be a distraction that prevents them from carrying out their official duties was ALREADY specious considering IMPEACHMENTS ARE ALSO HUGE DISTRACTIONS. And they had NO prob hunting Bill Clinton for 6 years. But #IOKIYAR.
Oh, and let’s not forget “Hunter Biden’s laptop”.
(QUOTE OF THE DAY: "In my administration, I'm going to enforce all laws concerning the protection of classified information. No one will be above the law." - Donald Trump, August 18, 2016)