Can the President Be Indicted? A Long-Hidden Legal Memo Says Yes - https://nytimes.com/2017/07/22/us/po...tarr-memo.htmlVery good, orangelicker! I'm impressed that you dug that up.
Your move, princess. Originally Posted by zerodark13
Funny how the New York Times didn't try to shine a spotlight on this never-used 1998 Ken Starr internal memo back when Slick Willy the Perjuring Sexual Predator was still in office. Maybe they were too busy waiting for Slick Willy's own Office of Legal Counsel to issue their 2000 opinion stating as follows:
"In 1973, the Department (of Justice) concluded that the indictment or criminal prosecution of a sitting President would impermissibly undermine the capacity of the executive branch to perform its constitutionally assigned functions... We believe that the conclusion reached by the Department in 1973 still represents the best interpretation of the Constitution."
Of course, Ken Starr never acted on his 1998 internal memo - the one that the NYT is now treating so respectfully. It was a potential position paper whose arguments were never tested. As the Times notes, Starr ended up taking the "more prudent and appropriate course" of referring the results of his investigation "to Congress for potential impeachment."
So it looks like Ken Starr recognized how weak the memo's arguments were. Especially the one claiming “If the framers of our Constitution wanted to create a special immunity for the president, they could have written the relevant clause.” They DID write the relevant clause - it's called impeachment!
Your NYT story goes on to note that Mueller would be violating DOJ "policies and practices" if he tried to indict Trump (assuming he had evidence of criminal wrongdoing) despite the 2000 opinion of the Department's own Office of Legal Counsel saying it was impermissible under the Constitution.
Good effort, orangesucker... close, but no cigar! Slick Willy smoked 'em all.