While Trump's indictment takes the country into uncharted waters, the authors of the Constitution might have been surprised that it took so long — no president was ever immune from criminal liability. Democracy is tested as a president faces prosecution:
Vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009President of the United States from 1969 to 1974President of the United States from 2001 to 2009
No longer. That taboo has been broken. A new precedent has been set.
While the indictment of Trump takes the country into uncharted waters, the authors of the Constitution might have been surprised only that it took so long. Justice Department policy maintains that sitting presidents cannot be indicted, but the framers explicitly contemplated the prospect of them being charged after leaving office.
Indeed, while voting to acquit Trump at his second impeachment trial — the one charging him with inciting the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol — Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader from Kentucky, said he did so because Trump was no longer in office but added that he was still subject to criminal prosecution.
In 2008, voters in two small towns in liberal Vermont approved resolutions accusing Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney of “crimes against the Constitution” and instructing their town attorneys to draft indictments. Nothing ever came of it, but it is not hard to imagine a conservative local prosecutor trying to charge President Joe Biden with, say, failing to adequately guard the border.
Rep. Mark E. Green, R-Tenn., chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, compared any prosecution of Trump to political cases in less developed countries. “Daniel Ortega arrested his opposition in Nicaragua and we call that a horrible thing,” he said last week. “Mr. Biden, Mr. President, think about that.”
In the United States, Teapot Dome, Watergate, Iran-Contra and Whitewater never put a president in the dock. The only sitting president to see the inside of a police station as a defendant was Ulysses S. Grant, who was stopped for speeding down the streets of Washington in his horse-drawn carriage. He paid $20 and went on his way.
México Últimas Noticias, México Titulares
Similar News:También puedes leer noticias similares a ésta que hemos recopilado de otras fuentes de noticias.
Trump Indicted By Manhattan Grand Jury, Reports SayBREAKING: A Manhattan grand jury reportedly voted to indict former President Donald Trump over an alleged hush money payment to silence porn star Stormy Daniels.
Leer más »
Trump Indicted By Manhattan Grand Jury, Reports SayTrump is the first former president in American history to be criminally charged.
Leer más »
Trump live updates: Trump indicted by Manhattan grand jury, sources sayBREAKING: Former Pres. Trump indicted by Manhattan grand jury, multiple sources say. ABC News Special Report airing now.
Leer más »
Trump indicted live updates: Trump calls first-ever charges of an ex-president 'political persecution'Donald Trump was indicted by a New York grand jury, making him the first former U.S. president to face charges.
Leer más »
Trump live updates: Trump indicted by Manhattan grand jury; surrender expected early next week BREAKING: Former Pres. Trump is expected to surrender in New York early next week, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News. ABCNewsLive has continuing coverage.
Leer más »