Where in the Constitution Does It Say the President Is Not above the Law

Section 1. No slavery or involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime for which the party has been duly convicted, shall exist in the United States or in any place under its jurisdiction. Remember this phrase: “No president is above the law.” In any prosecution, the accused shall have the right to a speedy and public trial before an impartial jury of the State and district in which the offence is alleged to have been committed, as determined in advance by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the charge; to be confronted with prosecution witnesses; to have a mandatory procedure for obtaining witnesses on his behalf and to be assisted by a lawyer for his defence. The Constitution clearly gives Congress the power to hold presidents accountable for their illegal actions. In practice, however, this constitutional principle has been repeatedly frustrated. The bottom line: No, the president is not above the law. His supporters may be fine if he “shoots someone on Fifth Avenue,” but a local prosecutor might have a different point of view — and that prosecutor will have all the tools he or she would have against any target in a criminal case. Done at the Convention by the unanimous assent of the States celebrating the seventeen September of the year of grace one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven and the independence of the United States of America the twelfth In witness whereof we have signed our names, The articles of impeachment did not include: his violation of the remuneration provisions of the Constitution by retaining the property and interests of his corporations; his campaign finance violations, when he ordered his personal lawyer Michael Cohen – who is currently in jail for campaign finance violations, fraud and more – to pay secret money to two women after they claimed to have had dealings with the president; or the 10 times he was able to obstruct justice revealed by Robert Mueller`s Russia investigation – to name a few. These claims are remarkable, perhaps especially for international observers of U.S. politics. Can it really be that the President of the United States is above the law? In addition to these constraints, the clause raises a number of annoying questions.

For example, should the president also enforce laws that he deems unconstitutional? Some scholars argue that presidents must enforce all laws of Congress, regardless of their own constitutional views. Yet modern presidents sometimes wield the power to ignore such decrees because they are not true “laws” subject to faithful duties of execution. In doing so, they somewhat imitate the arguments and practices of President Thomas Jefferson, who refused to pass the Sedition Act on the grounds that it was unconstitutional. Our democracy only works if everyone can be held accountable. Congress should clarify that presidents can be impeached for criminal activity, including obstruction of justice. Add your name if you agree: no president is above the law. The Take Care clause is at the heart of several ongoing disputes. First, consider restrictions on the dismissal of officers. In a number of unfortunate cases, the Supreme Court has approved the creation of independent authorities that would act as the government`s fourth estate.

These agencies enforce various federal laws (communications, banking, securities) in investigating and prosecuting alleged violations. Congress has protected these agencies from the executive branch by imposing restrictions on the removal of their senior officials “for cause.” It is hard to escape the conclusion that such laws are unconstitutional. They violate the granting of executive power and interfere with the duty of care. By creating mini-fiefdoms, Congress essentially stripped the president of the executive branch and granted it to these agencies. In addition, Congress has erected legal hurdles that make it quite difficult for the president to judge whether the law is being executed conscientiously. Second, the president`s power has expanded because every president who succeeds him can rely on the actions of his predecessors to justify his own use of power. In this way, the use of presidential power functions as a one-way street, with each president relying on the actions of those who came before him. Fifth, presidential power has increased due to the changing nature of politics. In the current political environment, elected members of Congress often see their political duty as supporting their party rather than protecting their institutional concerns as legislators.

For this reason, many are unwilling or unable to control the president`s power when their party is in the majority. Moreover, and paradoxically, contemporary politics has contributed to increasing presidential power, even when the presidency and Congress are controlled by different parties. Under these circumstances, Congress has sometimes spoken out so strongly against a president`s agenda that presidents could argue that their use of unilateral executive power was necessary to overcome congressional “obstructionism.” The Court broadened its reasoning in Clinton v. Jones, a civil case, to Trump v. Vance, a case that involves a criminal investigation. The Speaker does not enjoy immunity from investigation and trial, and he will receive, according to Chief Justice Roberts, exactly the procedures and protections that are afforded to each litigant in each case. We need an attorney general who doesn`t believe the president is above the law. In the event that a sitting U.S.

president shamefully prevents an opponent from derailing his re-election and is assured that he will not be impeached, is there another constitutional review? Sorry no comment, question. Is the President of the United States really above the law? Legal scholars Josh Blackman and Alan Dershowitz may have made the best version of this argument. It`s something like that. The President has the power under Article II of the Constitution to remove the Director of the FBI for any reason or no reason. While other forms of presidential misconduct could constitute obstruction of justice — such as accepting bribes or tampering with witnesses — impeaching an FBI director, an official constitutionally authorized act of the president, could not. It is not so much that the president is above the law when he fires the FBI director, but that there is no law that can be enforced, since the president has full discretion as to whether, when and why the FBI director should be impeached. Since his acquittal, the president has continued to act illegally and endanger the American public. Conflicts over the extent of presidential power are a persistent feature of American democracy. In the past, the parties involved have sometimes managed to circumvent some of the open questions and avoid direct confrontation. In 1998, Ken Starr, the independent attorney who investigated President Clinton, issued a subpoena asking the president to testify before a grand jury. Legal experts were divided on whether the president could be compelled to testify before a grand jury. Instead of resisting subpoena on constitutional grounds, the Clinton administration worked out an alternative deal with the independent counsel, whereby the president appeared at the White House for four hours to testify under oath.

This plan was originally released during Senator Elizabeth Warren`s presidential campaign. The court also recognized Congress` power to issue subpoenas. However, he also fired a warning shot through the bow of Congress, calling on Congress in less direct terms to pull itself together. The subpoenas that Congress served on financial institutions demanding Trump`s records made any possible legislation appear an afterthought — secondary to Congress` concern that the president was involved in some sort of wrongdoing or illegality. In this way, Congress acted more like a law enforcement agency (an executive function) than a legislature, seeking the information it might need to shape future national policy. Fourth, presidential power has expanded due to the need for sophisticated decision-making in the modern world. The suddenness with which current events demand a government response inevitably confers power on the only branch that can react immediately – the executive.