Posted on 05/20/2018 4:46:09 PM PDT by Magnatron
Can special counsel Robert Mueller require President Trump to testify before a grand jury? It would be unprecedented, and his effort to do so could lead to a major constitutional confrontation.
The president could, of course, resist a grand jury subpoena by asserting his right under the Fifth Amendment not to be a witness against himself. However, for political reasons, he may not wish to do that. And he may not need to.
Another off-ramp for the president, which he may choose not to take, is to remove the special counsel. Mueller is an appointee of the Department of Justice, part of the executive branch. He is therefore a subordinate of the president. Trump might have to jump through some hoops to remove him—such as removing the deputy attorney general who selected Mueller—but he has the power to do so. If, that is, he’s willing to withstand the public outcry and demands for impeachment that would surely follow. Legislative measures, such as those already introduced in Congress, to shackle or impede the president’s power to remove the special counsel are almost surely unconstitutional. So the president could avoid a grand jury subpoena by removing the official who is threatening to obtain one. But this is another step with potentially grave political implications that he may not wish to risk.
The president is not “above the law”; there are many court decisions saying so. But the Constitution is part of the law, and it makes the president the sole repository of the executive power of the United States. He is therefore not just like any other citizen.
(Excerpt) Read more at weeklystandard.com ...
Nobody can compel a sitting president to testify. Period. But yes, it’s long long long past time for PDJT to shut down this mueller farce!!
Robert Swan Mueller: “Do you still beat your wife?”
Donald J. Trump: “In the immortal words of Hillary Rodham Clinton, “I don’t recall.”
Robert Swan Mueller: “Do you...?”
Donald J. Trump: “In the immortal words of Hillary Rodham Clinton, “I don’t recall.”
Robert Swan Mueller: “Do you...?”
Donald J. Trump: “In the immortal words of Hillary Rodham Clinton, “I don’t recall.”
Robert Swan Mueller: “Do you...?”
Donald J. Trump: “In the immortal words of Hillary Rodham Clinton, “I don’t recall.”
Robert Swan Mueller: “Did you...?”
Donald J. Trump: “In the immortal words of Hillary Rodham Clinton, “I don’t recall.”
“At this point, what difference does it make?”
Mueller's got nothing.
If a president can be charged with a crime while in office, then all that is necessary to get rid of him is for his enemies to set up false witnesses, as Mueller is doing at this moment. No president henceforth will be exempt.
Case closed.
I don’t really think our Founders were that stupid so as to allow that.
The President is not above the law but he is above the court system. The Constitution provides for indicting and trying a President by Congress.
What were you thinking when you fired Comey?
I was wondering would Rod Rosenstein be that stupid to create a Special Council to investigate me for firing Comey. I was also wondering what were Rosenstein, Comey, Mueller, and Clintons role in Uranium One?
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