Pelosi Says It May Be Possible to Indict a Sitting President

“I think that that is an open discussion.”

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Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appeared to reject the Justice Department’s opinion that a sitting president cannot be indicted, saying in a new interview that she did not believe those guidelines to be definitive.

“I do not think that is conclusive. No, I do not,” the California Democrat told the Today Show in an interview that aired Thursday morning, just hours before she is expected to return to the speaker’s office.

“Everything indicates that a president can be indicted after he is no longer president of the United States,” she continued.

When pressed specifically on whether special counsel Robert Mueller could seek indictment against a president who is still in office, Pelosi said that it may be legally possible. “I think that that is an open discussion. I think that is an open discussion in terms of the law.”

She also did not rule out the possibility that Democrats would seek to impeach President Donald Trump, though she signaled that they would wait to see what emerged from Mueller’s final report on Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election.

“We have to wait and see what happens with the Mueller report. We shouldn’t be impeaching for a political reason, and we shouldn’t avoid impeachment for a political reason.”

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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