Striking footnote-Raises seriously the possibility of criminal liability when Trump leaves office

[kpete]

MUELLER, p. 390, footnote 1991: "A possible remedy through impeachment for abuses of power would not substitute for potential criminal liability after a President leaves office."

Link to tweet

[Raven123]

1. Absolutely. Trump is not out of the woods

I think that's why he got so many people on record. Their testimony can and may be used in a court of law at a time TBD.

[dflprincess]

2. It gives me a new fantasy

as soon as the new president finishes the oath in 2020, Federal Marshals move in and handcuff Trump right there on viewing stand.

It makes my toes tingle - though not as much as the fantasy of him being frogged marched down the White House driveway soon does.

[tclambert]

7. He'll flee to Alaska and try to hide in a pod of walruses,

but we will find him when the other walruses reject him for being too ugly.

[BannonsLiver]

11. This was always the most dangerous scenario for Donnie.

Also the only real scenario where he could face actual jail time. To me, given the level of entanglements and sheer number of investigations means he could be tied up in legal problems for many years after he leaves office.

[babylonsister]

3. When he's fighting tooth and nail to stay in, we'll know why. nt

[Marie Marie]

5. This is what scares me. He will do anything to stay in office and out of jail.

[ffr]

4. He'll be mostly dead by then anyway.

What's left of him now, but a corpse of flatulating layers of dying human tissue.

[TalenaGor]

6. impeach then convict

[madville]

8. He will pardon almost everyone before he leaves office

And I would imagine he will resign shortly before he leaves and Pence will pardon him. Pence gets to be President for a week is his payoff.

[BannonsLiver]

9. What happens if he's charged with something a year after he leaves office?

Your scenario doesn’t account for that. Given the depth of his business entanglements he could face years of legal problems. Sounds like the SDNY and NYAG have a lot on their plate.

[tritsofme]

10. A "full pardon" ala Nixon could cover all crimes that may or may not have happened

over a period of time, at least in terms of federal charges.

[BannonsLiver]

12. Ford's pardon covered Nixon for crimes committed while president.

With Trump, a lot of what the SDNY is investigating centers on things he may have done before he was president or, president elect.

[tritsofme]

13. There is no practical reason a pardon could not cover the time period before taking office.

[BannonsLiver]

14. Who said it couldn't?

But fords pardon covered him for crimes committed while in office. That’s the precedent, as you pointed out.
In any event it’s not the slam dunk you think it is. There would be a variety of legal opinions on whether or not Pence can pardon Donnie for something he did a decade before becoming president. That’s just reality, like it or not.

[tritsofme]

15. I'd imagine statutes of limitations would be more an obstacle to prosecuting decades old crimes.

Than the very settled question of whether the president can issue pardons for crimes that happened decades ago, or perhaps didn’t happen at all.