In a sane world, in you’re indisputable correct. The criminal case law isn’t even a close question. There is NO WAY they could sustain a conviction on appeal.
BUT, in the last few months in the DC Circuit, we’ve seen a judge sentence a white collar criminal to PRE-TRIAL solitary confinement (Manafort) and then saw another judge refuse to dismiss a case after the GOVRENMENT withdrew the charges. The Judge said: No problems y’all, I’ll be the judge and the prosecutor.
So honestly, I would not be surprised to see an indictment obtained against Trump.
The Democrats are going to have to ask themselves, is going after Trump actually a smart way to use their time and energy? Because, with control of all the presidency and Congress they could be working on achieving a lot of their other goals. It seems to me, purely from a practical angle, spending their time going after Trump isn't a smart use of their time and energy.
When the Democrats took over Congress in 2007, and when Obama later became president, a lot of Democrat voters wanted them to go after Bush. I think Pelosi realized it wasn't worth it.