Elizabeth Warren Unveils Plan to End DOJ Policy Prohibiting Indictment of Sitting Presidents

“Our democracy only works if everyone can be held accountable.”

Jack Kurtz/ZUMA

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

If elected president, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said that she would reverse a longstanding Justice Department policy that prohibits sitting presidents from being indicted—a policy many believe is the legal rationale that prevented President Donald Trump from being charged with obstruction of justice in the special counsel’s Russia investigation.

The Massachusetts senator, one of the first 2020 candidates to call to begin impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump, unveiled her two-part plan on Friday. The proposal called on Congress to pass legislation making it clear that a president, just like anyone else, can be charged for criminal activity. In addition, Warren vowed to appoint an attorney general and Office of Legal Counsel dedicated to reversing “flawed policies so no president is shielded from criminal accountability.”

“Congress should make it clear that Presidents can be indicted for criminal activity, including obstruction of justice,” Warren wrote

Warren’s proposal comes days after special counsel Robert Mueller broke his silence on the Russia investigation, telling the American public that given the existing constraints on charging a president while in office, his office was unable to formally charge Trump criminally.

“Charging the president with a crime was therefore not an option we could consider,” Mueller said during Wednesday’s press conference. He continued, “It would be unfair to potentially accuse somebody of a crime when there can be no court resolution of the actual charge.”

“If Donald Trump were anyone other than the President of the United States right now, he would be in handcuffs and indicted,” Warren continued. “Robert Mueller said as much in his report, and he said it again on Wednesday.”

Fact:

Mother Jones was founded as a nonprofit in 1976 because we knew corporations and billionaires wouldn't fund the type of hard-hitting journalism we set out to do.

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2022 demands.

payment methods

Fact:

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2022 demands.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate