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You Lose, Democrats: Mueller Told Trump Legal Team The President Cannot Be Indicted

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  May 16, 2018 6:51 PM

Ever since Donald J. Trump won a stunning victory against Hillary Clinton and the Democrats, the Left was convinced there was something at play to cause this event. How could the politically tone deaf Hillary lose? How could a woman with no charisma, economic agenda, or political skill lose? How could a woman who wrote off half the country as deplorable racists lose? You know the answer to this, but for liberals it had to be the Russians. The mocking of the GOP over Russia being our biggest geopolitical rival was relegated to the trashcan. Now, it was the neo-red scare, a Russophobia that was both unhinged and unwarranted. Democrats now considered any contact with a Russian an act of treason. If you had Stoli vodka, it was treason. It was totally insane, but also insanely entertaining. 

Did the Russians try and interfere in our elections? Probably—but nowhere near the level of sophistication that the Left thinks caused Clinton to lose. There was no altering of vote tallies. It was mostly shoddy memes run by Facebook, ad campaigns that devoted little money given the length of the campaign and how much money that was spent during this period. 

Still, there were allegations that the Trump campaign colluded with the Kremlin to tilt the election. In July of 2016, the FBI began its counterintelligence investigation into the matter. This probe cited the Trump dossier, a piece of partisan campaign literature compiled by former MI6 spook Christopher Steele, which was funded by the Clinton campaign and the Democrats. The Clinton camp contracted Fusion GPS, who then hired Steele to dig up dirt on Trump.

The Left was bracing for collusion to be confirmed. They wanted all the nastiness to come out in order to stop Trump. The Resistance waited in eager anticipation of something devastating, something impeachable to drop. Nothing ever did. It was an endless string of nothing burgers. Now, we’re being told that Special Counsel Robert Meuller, who took over the investigation in May, told the president’s legal team that Trump cannot be indicted; citing a DOJ memo that stated it would be an unconstitutional act, preventing the executive from efficiently carrying out its duties  (via Fox News):

President Trump's attorney, Rudy Giuliani, told Fox News on Wednesday that special counsel Robert Mueller has told the president's legal team he will follow Justice Department guidance and not seek an indictment against Trump.

Giuliani, himself a former federal prosecutor and mayor of New York City, also told Fox News that Mueller's investigators have not responded to five information requests from the president's team. That has forced Trump's legal team to push off making a decision about whether the president will sit for an interview with the special counsel -- a decision they had hoped to reach by Thursday.

The precedent that federal prosecutors cannot indict a sitting president is laid out in a 1999 Justice Department memo. Giuliani told Fox News that Mueller has no choice but to follow its guidance.

"This case is essentially over," Giuliani said. "They're just in denial."

In early April, Mueller reportedly told the president that while he is under investigation, he’s not the target of a criminal probe. Later in the month, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein also told the president he had nothing to worry about concerning the Russia probe, or the investigation into his personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, who is under the microscope for possible bank fraud and FEC violations concerning payment he made to porn star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential election over her alleged affair with Trump back in 2006.

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Now, over at NBC News, they said an exception can be given:

During the final months of the administration of former President Bill Clinton in 2000, the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel said in a memo that "the indictment or criminal prosecution of a sitting president would be unconstitutional."

Neal Katyal, acting solicitor general in the administration of former President Barack Obama — the administration's top courtroom lawyer — wrote the current special counsel regulations as a young lawyer in Clinton's Justice Department in 1999. They specify that a special counsel "shall comply" with the policies of the Justice Department, for whom Mueller works.

Katyal said on MSNBC's "The Beat With Ari Melber" in February that means that Mueller is bound by the 2000 Justice Department memo but that he "can seek exceptions."

"This old opinion from 20 years ago does preclude, in general, the Justice Department from indicting a sitting president for constitutional reasons," Katyal said. "But an exception can be given."

I doubt that such an exception will be executed in this affair. So, overall—this could be the ballgame. Concerning Congress, they can impeach. And the Democrats are sure positioning themselves to do just that if they retake the House. The base wants it. The progressive wing of the party wants it. The low energy exhibited from leadership on this front is for political purposes. Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) was forced to resign over sexual misconduct claims last year. He was a ranking Democrat on the House judiciary Committee. Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), a reported constitutional scholar, has taken his place in the chance that there’s a showdown between Congress and the White House. They’re still getting ready for that fight. How can we avid it? It’s only if the GOP votes and wins the 2018 midterms.  

So, is this game over? Yeah, it looks like it could be. You lose again, Democrats.