Could President Donald Trump Be Indicted Or Impeached By Mueller Investigation?
As reports emerged that Robert Mueller’s investigation into the Trump campaign’s links with Russia was set to make its first arrests, President Donald Trump launched a Twitter tirade that was extraordinary, even by his own standards. The world has become used to Trump sounding off on the social media platform, but this time around Trump’s tweets carried more than a hint of desperation. As reported by the New York Times, Trump tried to deflect attention from himself to Hillary Clinton and the Democrats.
As reported by the Wall Street Journal, Robert Mueller was appointed as Special Counsel to investigate allegations that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to discredit Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential election campaign. Reports have emerged claiming that at least one person has been charged and that there could be arrests as early as today. The nature of the charges and the identity of those involved has not been revealed, but speculation is running wild in Washington.
Trump, of course, denies any wrongdoing, but speculation suggests that a grand jury has approved charges and that those charged could include former Trump senior advisors. Extraordinarily Trump suggested that it was no coincidence that charges are being laid as he tries to push through tax reforms.
As reported by The Guardian, Trump and his supporters have been trying desperately to cast doubt on the integrity of Robert Mueller and his investigation. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie told ABC’s Face The Nation that the alleged leaking of Mueller’s grand jury activity is illegal and that “the president is not under investigation.”
Of course, if there has been no wrongdoing by Trump’s campaign team then President Trump has nothing to fear from the Mueller investigation. If that is the case, then one might be given to wonder why Trump and his supporters are so keen to discredit Mueller. This is a point that is not lost on senior Republicans.
As reported by NBC, Republican Senator Rob Portman said that President Trump should stop being “defensive” about Mueller’s investigation. As reported by Fox News, Trey Gowdy slammed the leaking of the grand jury’s decision, but urged his fellow Republicans to give Robert Mueller “a chance to do his job.”
Could President Trump Be Indicted By The Mueller Investigation?
If the Mueller investigation finds evidence of collusion between Trump’s team and Russia, could we see the extraordinary sight of a U.S. president being indicted on criminal charges?
As reported by Newsweek earlier this year, “a federal grand jury can probably indict a sitting president for committing a serious felony, unless other rules preclude that.” However, the New York Times claims that “the prevailing view among most legal experts is that the president is immune from prosecution so long as he is in office.”
As reported by Slate Magazine, the Mueller investigation would be more likely to identify President Trump by name as an “unindicted co-conspirator” when bringing charges against other individuals. This, of course, would be grounds for Congress to launch impeachment proceedings against President Trump.
The Special Prosecutor did exactly that when President Richard Nixon was embroiled in the Watergate scandal. As reported by Business Insider, impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump become more likely every time he attacks a fellow Republican. As reported by the Inquisitr recently, Republican Senator Bob Corker branded Trump “utterly untruthful” last week. Trump has also been attacked by Republican Jeff Flake who said he could not “sleep at night” having to support Trump.
It looks like this week could be a very interesting one for President Donald Trump. The media will be watching closely to see what the Mueller investigation reveals about Trump and his presidential campaign team.
[Featured Image by Cliff Owen/AP Images]
