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re: Special Counsel Mueller Impanels Washington Grand Jury in Russia Probe

Posted on 8/3/17 at 3:25 pm to
Posted by bonhoeffer45
Member since Jul 2016
4367 posts
Posted on 8/3/17 at 3:25 pm to
quote:

The president cannot "obstruct justice." It's literally impossible. He has the power of the pardon -- a pardon that is not judicially reviewable. All he has to do is call Mueller and say "I am pardoning everyone of my associates. Have fun with the investigation" and there's not shite Mueller can do about it.



Whether the sitting president can be tried in a criminal court while president is an open debate amongst legal professionals, since there is not a whole lot of precedent for this. Though I am sure Trumpers will prefer to only look at the arguments of one side, which aren't weak, and the conclusions do lean heavily in that direction, but the president is not a dictator and our constitution made this very clear with how they organized the checks and balances to not be beholden strictly to criminal law.

Obstruction was part of the basis of the impeachment charges that were brought up(or planned to be brought up) against both Nixon and Clinton.

But ultimately that check and balance is only as good as the people in power of it. Trump could theoretically find a way to fire Mueller, preemptively pardon people, then tweet about how he did it specifically to end the investigation that was looking into him, but if congress doesn't act, there is a good chance Trump would not face any formal repercussions.
This post was edited on 8/3/17 at 3:28 pm
Posted by AUstar
Member since Dec 2012
17118 posts
Posted on 8/3/17 at 3:37 pm to
quote:

but the president is not a dictator and our constitution made this very clear with how they organized the checks and balances to not be beholden strictly to criminal law.


It's not the justice system's duty to hold him in check. The DoJ is part of the president's executive branch and the president is the chief executive. This means all of the DoJ (including the FBI) works for him. This is how the constitution was written. I am sorry if people don't like it, but that's how it is. There are "protocols" and etiquette put into place for "separating" the president from investigations going on at DoJ, but it is not a law and the president can end any investigation he chooses at any time for any reason.

Now, this doesn't mean the president is a dictator. The constitution allows the other 2 branches the power of oversight. In this case it would be the House who has the power of impeachment and the Senate with the power to convict (with a 2/3rds majority). If they don't like how the president is conducting his business with these investigations they are free to impeach and take it to trial.
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