Nancy Pelosi says it may be possible to indict President Trump while he’s in office, and that Justice Department guidelines arguing against indictments of a sitting president are not “conclusive.”
“I do not think that [guidance] is conclusive. No, I do not,” Pelosi told NBC in an interview that aired Thursday morning.
“I think that is an open discussion in terms of the law,” Pelosi said when asked if special counsel Robert Mueller could indict President Trump while he was still serving as president.
“Do you believe the special counsel should honor and observe the DOJ guidance that states a sitting president cannot be indicted?” –@savannahguthrie
“I do not think that that is conclusive. No, I do not.” –@NancyPelosi pic.twitter.com/Kyxy5SYCiY
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) January 3, 2019
Mueller has been investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and whether it helped Trump win the presidency.
Democrats have also floated the idea of impeaching Trump, but Pelosi said if impeachment were pursued, it should not be for political reasons.
“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. So we’ll just have to see how it comes,” Pelosi said.
Pelosi will become speaker of the House for the second time as the 116th Congress convenes Thursday.
