Nancy Pelosi Wants To Pass New Law Saying That Sitting Presidents Can Be Indicted
Nancy Pelosi wants Congress to pass a new law clarifying that sitting presidents can be indicted, going after the Department of Justice policy that many believe prevented Donald Trump from facing charges related to the Russia investigation.
Pelosi spoke to NPR on Friday, saying she wants to pass laws that provide greater clarity for future presidents by stating that they can be indicted if they break the law. In her statements, Pelosi alluded to the fact that the policy practiced by the Justice Department was never actually spelled out.
“There is nothing anyplace that says the president should not be indicted,” Pelosi said. “That’s something cooked up by the president’s lawyers. That’s what that is. But so that people will feel ‘OK, well, if he — if he does something wrong, [he] should be able to be indicted.'”
Special Counsel Robert Mueller said both in his final Russia report and in his testimony before Congress that his investigation could never have recommended charges against Trump, despite outlining several instances that would constitute obstruction of justice. Instead, Mueller said it must be up to Congress to decide the matter, as the legislative branch has sole authority on whether to impeach the president.
Pelosi added that Donald Trump’s presidency is without precedent in terms of its lawlessness and actions to stymie the co-equal branch of the government in Congress.
“The Founders could never suspect that a president would be so abusive of the Constitution of the United States, that the separation of powers would be irrelevant to him and that he would continue, any president would continue, to withhold facts from the Congress, which are part of the constitutional right of inquiry,” Pelosi said.
While Nancy Pelosi may be pushing to change the rules and allow Trump to be indicted, many Democrats have been at odds with the House Speaker for her slow-walking of impeachment hearings against Trump. While an increasing number of Democratic caucus members have been vocal in pursuing impeachment, Pelosi has remained deliberate in her approach.
As The Inquisitr reported, some Democrats are growing more and more frustrated at Pelosi’s approach. A new report from The Daily Beast said that Democrats in both chambers of Congress are increasingly upset with her approach, especially in light of an anonymous whistle-blower who reportedly revealed that Trump pressured the Ukrainian president and its government into digging up dirt on Joe Biden that’s supposedly related to his son’s business dealings in the country.
