In an interview with MSNBC broadcast on Friday, former United States Attorney Barbara McQuade argued that President Donald Trump should be impeached, even if he loses reelection, Raw Story reported.
McQuade appeared on Rachel Maddow’s show hours after Trump commuted his former adviser Roger Stone’s prison sentence.
Discussing the Stone situation, McQuade pointed out that Attorney General William Barr’s Department of Justice has explicitly said that a sitting president cannot be indicted. However, she posited, “one could make an argument that this is bribery, pure, and simple.”
According to McQuade, this is why Trump could potentially be charged with a crime after he leaves the White House, given that the statute of limitations for bribery is five years.
Impeachment is another option, she said. Even though Republicans in the United States Senate have made it clear that they would not vote to convict a Republican president, this option would still be worth exploring because impeachment has other political implications, the former U.S. attorney argued.
McQuade explained that “even if Trump should lose reelection in November, there could be value in impeaching him because the remedy for impeachment is not simply removal from office, but it is to bar someone from seeking office in the future.”
“And if President Trump were to decide to run for president in 2024, if he were impeached, he could also be barred from holding office in the future.”
McQuade also discussed the Stone case itself, pointing out that the president’s ally has been accused of obstructing justice and threatening witnesses. However, according to the legal expert, Trump did not commute Stone’s sentence because Stone was a “loyal friend,” but in order to protect himself.
“This is President Trump protecting President Trump,” the former U.S. attorney said.
As The Inquisitr reported, Trump’s decision to intervene in the Stone case was met with intense backlash. Prominent Democratic politicians denounced his actions, with Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren calling him “the most corrupt president in American history.”
The White House defended Trump’s decision. In a statement, press secretary Kayleigh McEnany described Stone as a “victim” of former special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian election interference.
It has long been speculated that Trump might intervene in the former GOP operative’s case. For months, Stone’s allies have reportedly been urging the president to take action. Some of them did so publicly, appearing on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show.
Barr was allegedly opposed to the idea of helping the 67-year-old, as were some of the president’s closest advisers.