The Mueller investigation and more recently Donald Trump’s impeachment and trial are just two of what Trump and his supporters believe are sick attempts to discredit him. They’ve even labeled those involved (i.e. the press, law enforcement, and even the courts) as “corrupt never Trumpers,“ hell-bent on removing him from office no matter what the cost.
To them, this has all been a colossal waste of time and taxpayer money. Many of Trump's detractors, including legal experts, agree that much time and money has been wasted. But that’s where all agreement ends.
Had it not been for the shaky policy that a sitting president cannot be indicted, they argue, much of this wasted time and money could have been avoided altogether. But, more importantly, they believe that continued adherence to this policy, which is nowhere to be found in the Constitution, renders the nation's entire legal apparatus defenseless against the lawless actions of an out-of-control executive.
Indeed, Mueller’s contortions while presenting his report demonstrated his determination not to deviate from this policy. It was at that historical moment that a befuddled and anxious nation wondered if there was any defense against a president whose own party may never remove him under any circumstances.
Clearly, the nation’s founders envisioned the possibility of a rogue president capable of all manner of vindictiveness and malfeasance and saw the Senate as the surest check against such lawlessness. But alarmingly, these original safeguards have proven insufficient and that’s precisely why the nation must be allowed to indict a sitting president. Especially one emboldened by a cowardly bunch of senators that with each passing day become accomplices to the president’s lawless actions.
Thomas R. Smith, Hurricane
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