The question keeps repeating itself. Debates ensue. I say, “Go for it!” We have legal backup, after all!
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is calling for a law to “enable indictment of presidents.” In actuality, no law exists that does not enable the indictment of a US president. However, the issue appears to warrant clarification. Why?
There exists today some confusion on this point, due to a decades old Dept. of Justice (DOJ) Office of Legal Counsel memo that stated an "opinion," where the counsel "guides against" indicting sitting presidents. The Constitution, however, does not place the presidential office "above the law."
I cite this one. Article II, Sec. 4 of the Constitution, specifically STATES:
“The President, Vice President, and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”
Obviously, said "Conviction" would necessitate a prosecutorial "indictment" of said US official. Seriously, it confounds me that the DOJ legal counsel would conclude that "a sitting president cannot be indicted," even in a written "memo." In fact, they did not. They essentially "cautioned against it."
Obviously, the founders considered the possibility of upper government officials practicing corruption and criminal behavior. Their concern behooved them to include this very provision, for the purpose of ousting any corrupt government official from the US gov't., as it is decreed in this very Article II, Sec. 4. Elsewhere in the Constitution, some additional procedures apply for crimes, and the possible removal of “criminal officials.” Yet, this one is specific, for the impeachment and removal from office, of such convicted criminal.
I have NO doubt that a president, or any other top position in US gov't., is NOT above the law, nor immune from prosecution for criminal behavior. Why, then, is everyone still debating whether the “president” can or cannot be arrested? It is a fact that the criminal behavior of the current US president has tested the laws of our nation.
If Congress deems it necessary to make it clearly "legal" to prosecute a "criminal president," so be it. If that's what it takes to plow through the bullshit, I wish they would get it done, and get to prosecuting, already! "Most of us" are sick and tired of indulging this fiasco of a "presidency."