Donald Trump Indicted at Manhattan Criminal Courthouse April 4, 2023. (Timothy A. Clary. Pool Photo via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>How so? It\u2019s all about that obscure, 1973 memorandum drafted by the Office of Legal Counsel in the U.S. Department of Justice that occurred in response to the Watergate affair, in which President Richard Nixon resigned his office. Special counsel Robert Mueller had cited this memo in his report investigating alleged Russian interference in our 2016 presidential election in which Russian operatives supposedly tried to prevent former Secretary of State and First Lady Hilary Clinton from defeating Donald Trump. Mueller refused to indict Trump for ten possible obstruction of justice charges merely on the basis of that memo. Yet, it had never been challenged in the U.S. court system. When Mueller\u2019s report was made public, I thought he would have known that memo in advance when the U.S. Congress asked him to take that job and that he should have told Congress he would not do so unless that memo was abolished. Why?<\/p>\n
Mueller cited the memo in his report and stated in it, \u201ccharging the president with a crime was therefore not an option we could consider.\u201d Also due to that memo, Mueller says in the report, \u201cWe did not, however, make a determination as to whether the president did commit a crime.\u201d Mueller adds in the report that if his investigative team had thought President Trump did not commit a crime, they would have said so in the report. On the other hand, Trump claimed that Mueller\u2019s report exonerated him since it did not indict him, which is clearly false because of this last statement above.<\/p>\n
Then, what does the OLC\u2019s 1973 memo say? This memorandum states that prosecuting a sitting president would \u201cunconstitutionally undermine the capacity of the executive branch to perform its constitutionally assigned functions.\u201d That clearly places the president of the United States of America \u201cabove the law.\u201d It also affirms what Donald Trump said early during his 2015-2016 presidential campaign. At a campaign stop on January 23, 2016, at Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa, Trump boasted to the crowd, \u201cI could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn\u2019t lose any voters, OK? It\u2019s, like, incredible.\u201d Yeah, Trump could have done that as president according to the Office of Legal Counsel and gotten away with it.<\/p>\n
However, in the year 2000, the Office of Legal Counsel revisited this 1973 memo and added to it, \u201cWhile the impeachment process might also, of course, hinder the President\u2019s performance of his duties, the process may be initiated and maintained only by politically accountable legislative officials.\u201d That provides an escape mechanism from placing the president above the law. But it puts the responsibility of performing the president\u2019s duties upon the whole Congress, which the legislative body was not willing to do even though the House did impeach President Trump twice.<\/p>\n
During Republican President Donald Trump\u2019s term in office, Republican Mitch McConnell was leader of the U.S. Senate. On the second impeachment of Trump, McConnell refused to cast his vote for impeachment even though he had declared unequivocally that Trump had been guilty of causing the insurrection on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. And his retort was that Trump would be held liable for his criminal behavior as president when he exited the White House.<\/p>\n
That is now what is playing out in several U.S. courts, in Georgia, Washington D.C., and multiple cases in New York City. Donald Trump may no longer be Teflon Don, who has never suffered the consequences of what appears to be a long history of lawlessness. Thus, the president is above the law while he or she is president, but after that president leaves the Oval Office, she or he is no long above the law and therefore may be prosecuted for crimes committed while president. Weird!<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/347\/2022\/02\/trump-front-cover-01-200x300.jpg\")
<\/a>The Bible\u2019s proverb has already proven true about Donald Trump which appears on the front cover of my book, Bible Predicts Trump Fall.<\/a> It reads, \u201cPride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall\u201d (Proverbs 16:18). If Trump is found guilty of crimes, either committed while president or after, this proverb will be even more true of him.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"How so? It\u2019s all about that obscure, 1973 memorandum drafted by the Office of Legal Counsel in the U.S. Department of Justice that occurred in response to the Watergate affair, in which President Richard Nixon resigned his office. Special counsel Robert Mueller had cited this memo in his report investigating alleged Russian interference in our […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1477,"featured_media":17838,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,551],"tags":[7251,734,7122,2986],"class_list":["post-17910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-events","category-the-bible","tag-above-the-law","tag-donald-trump","tag-office-of-legal-counsel","tag-robert-mueller"],"yoast_head":"\n
The Sitting U.S. President Is "Above the Law"<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How so? It's all about that obscure, 1973 memorandum drafted by the Office of Legal Counsel in the U.S. Department of Justice that occurred in response to\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kermitzarleyblog\/2023\/04\/the-sitting-u-s-president-is-above-the-law\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Sitting U.S. President Is "Above the Law"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"How so? It's all about that obscure, 1973 memorandum drafted by the Office of Legal Counsel in the U.S. Department of Justice that occurred in response to\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kermitzarleyblog\/2023\/04\/the-sitting-u-s-president-is-above-the-law\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Kermit Zarley Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/kermit.zarley\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-04-15T18:43:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/347\/2023\/04\/TrumpIndictedInManhattanCourtroom.-4-4-23.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"275\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"183\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kermit Zarley\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kermit Zarley\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kermitzarleyblog\/2023\/04\/the-sitting-u-s-president-is-above-the-law\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kermitzarleyblog\/2023\/04\/the-sitting-u-s-president-is-above-the-law\/\",\"name\":\"The Sitting U.S. President Is \\\"Above the Law\\\"\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kermitzarleyblog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-04-15T18:43:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-15T18:43:19+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kermitzarleyblog\/#\/schema\/person\/8393f2e63455a2915f7ca277bf5a5d02\"},\"description\":\"How so? It's all about that obscure, 1973 memorandum drafted by the Office of Legal Counsel in the U.S. Department of Justice that occurred in response to\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kermitzarleyblog\/2023\/04\/the-sitting-u-s-president-is-above-the-law\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kermitzarleyblog\/2023\/04\/the-sitting-u-s-president-is-above-the-law\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kermitzarleyblog\/2023\/04\/the-sitting-u-s-president-is-above-the-law\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kermitzarleyblog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Sitting U.S. President Is “Above the Law”\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kermitzarleyblog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kermitzarleyblog\/\",\"name\":\"Kermit Zarley Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kermitzarleyblog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kermitzarleyblog\/#\/schema\/person\/8393f2e63455a2915f7ca277bf5a5d02\",\"name\":\"Kermit Zarley\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kermitzarleyblog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bf8e1a5dcb179e76f0c39d3d75e849bf?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bf8e1a5dcb179e76f0c39d3d75e849bf?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kermit Zarley\"},\"description\":\"Born & reared in Seattle, WA., Kermit lived 38 years in metro Houston, now in Scottsdale, AZ. He graduated from University of Houston w\/ BBA in 1963 and played on the PGA Tour full time from 1964-1982 and Senior\/Champions Tour in 1991-2001. Kermit co-founded the PGA Tour Bible Study in 1965 and was senior leader most of next 17 years. Kermit has three adult children and six grandchildren.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/kermitzarley.com\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/kermit.zarley\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kermitzarleyblog\/author\/kermitzarleyblog\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Sitting U.S. President Is \"Above the Law\"","description":"How so? It's all about that obscure, 1973 memorandum drafted by the Office of Legal Counsel in the U.S. Department of Justice that occurred in response to","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kermitzarleyblog\/2023\/04\/the-sitting-u-s-president-is-above-the-law\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Sitting U.S. President Is \"Above the Law\"","og_description":"How so? It's all about that obscure, 1973 memorandum drafted by the Office of Legal Counsel in the U.S. Department of Justice that occurred in response to","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kermitzarleyblog\/2023\/04\/the-sitting-u-s-president-is-above-the-law\/","og_site_name":"Kermit Zarley Blog","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/kermit.zarley","article_published_time":"2023-04-15T18:43:19+00:00","og_image":[{"width":275,"height":183,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/347\/2023\/04\/TrumpIndictedInManhattanCourtroom.-4-4-23.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Kermit Zarley","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kermit Zarley","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kermitzarleyblog\/2023\/04\/the-sitting-u-s-president-is-above-the-law\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kermitzarleyblog\/2023\/04\/the-sitting-u-s-president-is-above-the-law\/","name":"The Sitting U.S. President Is \"Above the Law\"","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kermitzarleyblog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-04-15T18:43:19+00:00","dateModified":"2023-04-15T18:43:19+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kermitzarleyblog\/#\/schema\/person\/8393f2e63455a2915f7ca277bf5a5d02"},"description":"How so? It's all about that obscure, 1973 memorandum drafted by the Office of Legal Counsel in the U.S. Department of Justice that occurred in response to","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kermitzarleyblog\/2023\/04\/the-sitting-u-s-president-is-above-the-law\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kermitzarleyblog\/2023\/04\/the-sitting-u-s-president-is-above-the-law\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kermitzarleyblog\/2023\/04\/the-sitting-u-s-president-is-above-the-law\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kermitzarleyblog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Sitting U.S. President Is “Above the Law”"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kermitzarleyblog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kermitzarleyblog\/","name":"Kermit Zarley Blog","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kermitzarleyblog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kermitzarleyblog\/#\/schema\/person\/8393f2e63455a2915f7ca277bf5a5d02","name":"Kermit Zarley","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kermitzarleyblog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bf8e1a5dcb179e76f0c39d3d75e849bf?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bf8e1a5dcb179e76f0c39d3d75e849bf?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Kermit Zarley"},"description":"Born & reared in Seattle, WA., Kermit lived 38 years in metro Houston, now in Scottsdale, AZ. He graduated from University of Houston w\/ BBA in 1963 and played on the PGA Tour full time from 1964-1982 and Senior\/Champions Tour in 1991-2001. Kermit co-founded the PGA Tour Bible Study in 1965 and was senior leader most of next 17 years. Kermit has three adult children and six grandchildren.","sameAs":["http:\/\/kermitzarley.com","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/kermit.zarley"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kermitzarleyblog\/author\/kermitzarleyblog\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kermitzarleyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17910","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kermitzarleyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kermitzarleyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kermitzarleyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1477"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kermitzarleyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17910"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kermitzarleyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17910\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kermitzarleyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kermitzarleyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kermitzarleyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kermitzarleyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/347\/2023\/04\/TrumpIndictedInManhattanCourtroom.-4-4-23.jpg\")
<\/a>