Were it not for a 1973 Department of Justice (DOJ) policy spelled out in a 1973 memo from the Office of Legal Counsel, there’s an excellent chance that Special Counsel Robert Mueller would have indicted President Donald Trump for obstruction of justice. But the OLC memo clearly states that indicting a sitting president would be harmful to the nation.
And that, according to CNN host Michael Smerconish, is a load of bull.
In an article he posted on his website and remarks he made later on his weekly show, Smerconish noted:
“Attorney General Bill Barr thinks that special counsel Robert Mueller could have reached a decision on whether the president committed obstruction. Guess what, he’s right, and his assessment only reinforces my longstanding belief that something’s missing regarding the Mueller report: accountability.”
That, Smerconish continued is a result of “monumental decisions” that “were made by individuals, not answerable to the people.” And that’s where the problem lies:
“The problem that I have is that neither Robert Dixon, the original author of the Justice Department OLC policy, nor Robert Mueller, who took the policy one step further, were acting pursuant to an express provision of the Constitution or edict of the Congress. Both were singularly setting policy with no accountability to the people.”
Clearly, the OLC memo is not a law, and unless Congress passes such a law that says a sitting head of state cannot be indicted, then we are relying on the opinion of one federal appointee who crafted a provision even though he was nothing by a political appointee who had a selfish interest in protecting his boss, who was Richard Nixon at the time.
Smerconish ended his commentary by urging Congress to take up the matter and show some political courage:
“If it’s the will of the people that a sitting president cannot be indicted, then Congress ought to pass a law saying so. Before acting Congress might want to first consider that the president has no such protection against being charged by a state, and that if we were to expressly offer the American president protection while in office, we’d be an outlier. Consider Israel, where prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is preparing for a pre-indictment hearing in the early fall. Because Israel has no prohibition against indicting a sitting prime minister.”
But of course a much larger question is raised by passing the matter on to Congress: Do they have the courage and will to act?
Featured Image Via CNN
