I think after the Mueller hearings yesterday, I’m going to go ahead, suck it up, and read the 400+ pages of the Mueller report. Maybe I’ll even write my thoughts down here.
But for today, I’ve been thinking in general terms about the report and the criminal in the White House. I’ve talked in the past about how the Democratic candidates are very close in policy terms and what they can do to distinguish themselves for my meager vote and/or contributions. Here’s another.
Pledge to pursue indictment of this President after he leaves office. And pledge to reexamine the OLC opinion which says that a sitting President cannot be indicted while she is in office. These pledges can come in the form of a “no one is above the law” announcement. It runs the risk of looking like what the current occupant does in going after his political rivals. But the circumstances of what this President has done I think are extraordinary.
It’s also a step you can use if you don’t want to come out forcefully for impeachment. Say the House slow rolls the impeachment or just bails on it entirely. It’s important to keep this President’s criminality in people’s minds to a certain extent. You can say you accept the current circumstances and that it’s important to win the election in 2020 to get him out of office. But it’s also important that he doesn’t just escape without accountability for what he’s done. Yes, this has a potential downside in firing up support from his base, but it might also lead him to get even more unhinged in his tweeting and continue to alienate the soft middle.
As for the OLC memo, I haven’t read it or analyzed it from a legal perspective. There may be very good, nonpartisan reasons why that policy should stand. That’s why you pledge to reexamine, rather than just overturn it.
It’s probably important for both of these matters that it not look like a partisan matter. Don’t just hand it over to your AG nominee. Give it to career federal lawyers to handle. Heck, make a Truth and Reconciliation type commission to handle Trump’s indictment.
I think one point in favor of these pledges is that they don’t have to be seen as simple retaliation against the guy who preceded the President in 2021. Set this precedent and make this change and it could also be used against Presidents of your own party, or even against you, as the person making this change.