One flaw in the whole discussion on the subject of “acquittal immunity” is that so much of it takes places in the context of a modern political and legal landscape that didn’t exist when the Constitution was written. Specifically, it should be pointed out that any question about the legal exposure to criminal prosecution for an acquitted President in the 1790s would mainly focus on prosecution in a state court, not Federal court. That’s because there were hardly any Federal crimes listed in the U.S. criminal code at the time. The U.S. Department of Justice didn’t even exist until 1870, and the U.S. Attorney General and the various District Attorneys worked mainly in civil matters under the Treasury Department before that.
That link you posted is an interesting read.
One flaw in the whole discussion on the subject of “acquittal immunity” is that so much of it takes places in the context of a modern political and legal landscape that didn’t exist when the Constitution was written. Specifically, it should be pointed out that any question about the legal exposure to criminal prosecution for an acquitted President in the 1790s would mainly focus on prosecution in a state court, not Federal court. That’s because there were hardly any Federal crimes listed in the U.S. criminal code at the time. The U.S. Department of Justice didn’t even exist until 1870, and the U.S. Attorney General and the various District Attorneys worked mainly in civil matters under the Treasury Department before that.
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Exactly.
I skim read the memorandum by *Randolph D Moss and came away unimpressed. Most of the legal arguments start with the Nixon/Agnew takedown during the early 1970’s and extend to the present day. Then they go from 1973 back to quoting James Madison from the Federalist Papers and the Constitutional Convention.
The time period I’m most interested in, is 1790-1973.
Where is all the case law precedent in this period?
*Moss is a judge appointed by Obama and was an assistant attorney general during the Clinton Presidency.