Friday, June 14, 2019

Public Says A Sitting President Should Be Able To Be Indicted


These charts reflect the results of the latest Quinnipiac University Poll -- done between June 6th and 10th of a national sample of 1,214 voters, with a 3.5 point margin of error.

The Justice Department under Attorney General Barr is clinging to the 1973 Justice Department decision that a sitting president cannot be indicted and charged with a crime. The original stance, by a Republican Attorney General, was to protect Richard Nixon. The current stance, by Barr, is to protect Donald Trump.

They were both wrong. That Justice Department policy puts a sitting president above the law -- and no one should be above the law in a democracy governed by the rule of law.

I'm not the only one who believes that. A substantial portion of voters in this country (69%) say a sitting president should be indicted and charged if he/she commits a crime. And every demographic group agrees, including a majority of Republicans.

I have nothing against the impeachment process, and I believe it is time to start that process against Trump.  But that is a political process, and either party can abuse it to protect a president (as Senate Republicans obviously would currently). It should not substitute for the justice system. A president, like any other citizen, should be judged by 12 jurors in a fair and impartial trial if it is believed he/she committed a crime.

The charts below show some other interesting results from the Quinnipiac poll. About 55% say the Mueller Report did NOT clear Trump of any crimes or wrongdoing. About 55% say AG Bar did not accurately present the Mueller Report to the public. About 57% say Trump committed crimes before being elected. And voter are split (45% to 45%) on whether Trump has committed a crime since being elected.

With those in mind, I can't understand the last chart. About 61% say Congress should not begin impeachment proceedings against Trump. I disagree.






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