Can a Sitting President Be Charged With a Crime?

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/30/opinion/letters/trump-president-indictment.html

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To the Editor:

Robert Mueller’s public statement left most with the impression that the president would have been indicted but for the legal opinion of the Office of Legal Counsel that a president cannot be charged with a crime while in office. This is enshrined in a Justice Department policy that Mr. Mueller had to follow. But this policy is not based on any provision of the Constitution, any law passed by Congress or any court decision.

The policy flies in the face of the principle that no man is above the law in this country, including the president. That is not just a concept. It is the basis of numerous court decisions such as United States v. Nixon and Clinton v. Jones. No case has decided otherwise.

It is time that the policy that handcuffed Mr. Mueller be revisited and abandoned, or tested in court. Otherwise the only consequence for a criminal president is the impeachment process, which is unlikely today with a Senate controlled by the president’s own party.

William F. BauerMadison, Wis.

To the Editor:

I believe that Robert Mueller is wrong in stating that he is precluded by law from offering an opinion on whether President Trump’s acts warrant indictment. He relies on Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel opinions.

During the Reagan administration I served as the deputy head of the Office of Legal Counsel for matters related to presidential authority in the foreign affairs sphere. As the office’s opinions are recommendations, not judicial opinions, it stands to reason that they cannot be relied on to curb Mr. Mueller’s freedom as a special counsel vested with authority to fully investigate and make appropriate recommendations.

Allan GersonWashington