Rep. Adam Schiff discussed the fact that setting a precedent where a former president is considered above the law is a much greater danger than any political concerns anyone may have over whether Trump should be indicted.
July 3, 2022

Rep. Adam Schiff discussed the fact that setting a precedent where a former president is considered above the law is a much greater danger than any political concerns anyone may have over whether Trump should be indicted.

During an an interview on this Sunday's Face the Nation, following some discussion about whether or not there was any communication between anyone in the White House, and the white nationalist groups such as the Oath Keepers and the Three Percenters, Schiff was asked about Liz Cheney's assertion that not prosecuting Trump "would be a much graver constitutional threat to the country than the political difficulties involved with bringing charges."

Brennan also asked Schiff if he agreed that "there are possible criminal referrals" coming.

"I do. I do. You know, for four years, the Justice Department took the position that you can't indict a sitting president. If the Department were now to take the position that you can't investigate or indict a former president. Then, a president becomes above the law. That's a very dangerous idea that the founders would have never subscribed to," Schiff responded. "Even more dangerous, I think in the case of Donald Trump. This- Donald Trump is someone who has shown when he's not held accountable, he goes on to commit worse and worse abuses of power. So I agree with Judge Carter in California, I think there was evidence that the former President engaged in multiple violations of the law, and that should be investigated."

After Brennan noted that "there will be a political calculus to this as well," and how divided the country is right now with so many believing his lies that the election was somehow stolen from him, she asked Schiff "isn't there a very high risk to that?"

"You know, it's certainly not a step to be taken lightly at all," Schiff replied. "At the same time, immunizing a former president who has engaged in wrongdoing, I would agree with our vice chair- I think is more dangerous than anything else, and the decision not to move forward to the investigation or not to move forward to the prosecution, because of someone's political status or political influence or because they have a following. To me, that is a far more dangerous thing to our Constitution than following the evidence wherever it leads, including when it leads to a former president."

Can you help us out?

For nearly 20 years we have been exposing Washington lies and untangling media deceit, but now Facebook is drowning us in an ocean of right wing lies. Please give a one-time or recurring donation, or buy a year's subscription for an ad-free experience. Thank you.

Discussion

We welcome relevant, respectful comments. Any comments that are sexist or in any other way deemed hateful by our staff will be deleted and constitute grounds for a ban from posting on the site. Please refer to our Terms of Service for information on our posting policy.
Mastodon