Former independent counsel Ken Starr said Friday that sitting presidents should be indictable, but said special counsel Robert Mueller won’t indict Trump because that violates Justice Department policy.
“Yes,” Starr said on CNN when asked if he thinks the president is someone who can be indicted. “And I disagree with the Justice Department’s guidelines but it is the historic position of the department.”
.@johnberman: “Do you think a sitting president can be indicted?”
Ken Starr: “Yes, and I disagree with the Justice Department’s guidelines but it is the historic position of the department.” https://t.co/L08r3GetHd pic.twitter.com/PIiGepOB6M
— New Day (@NewDay) March 8, 2019
Starr investigated the Whitewater case that eventually led to the impeachment of former President Bill Clinton for lying under oath about his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Starr said as part of that dispute, the Supreme Court rejected Clinton’s argument that he was immune from a civil lawsuit as president.
“I think that, plus first principles, no person is above the law, means that a president can be indicted,” Starr said.
“But that’s not the Justice Department policy, and Bob Mueller as you know is an officer of the Justice Department and is therefore required to follow that policy,” Starr added. “He cannot indict.”
Former Clinton spokesman Joe Lockhart, who appeared with Starr on CNN, called the Justice Department’s policy of not indicting a sitting president a “glitch” in the system.
Washington has been waiting for months for Mueller’s final report on Trump’s alleged collusion with Russia to win the 2016 election. Some report said Mueller’s report could be out as early as last week, but Mueller has been silent on the timing so far. ‘
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