Trump Could Get Away With Shooting Someone, His Lawyer Says

Yuri Gripas/Zuma

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

As the impeachment investigation into President Donald Trump grips the nation, his lawyers continue to pursue the argument that he is above the law—and that his immunity from punishment would apply even if he were to shoot someone in the middle of New York’s Fifth Avenue.

At a campaign event in 2016, Trump said, “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters.” On Wednesday morning, William Consovoy, an attorney for Trump, made the case that such an action could not be criminally investigated while Trump was in office at a hearing in the ongoing court battle over the president’s tax returns. 

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. subpoenaed eight years of Trump’s tax returns for his investigation of whether Trump broke any New York State laws when he reimbursed his now-imprisoned personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, for hush fund payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Trump refused to release his taxes and sued the DA under the argument that a sitting president can’t be prosecuted. His lawyers are now appealing a federal judge’s ruling that called their argument “repugnant to the nation’s governmental structure and constitutional values.”

Listen to audio of the exchange between Consovoy and Judge Denny Chin below:

DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And we need your support like never before, to fight back against the existential threats American democracy faces. Fundraising for nonprofit media is always a challenge, and we need all hands on deck right now. We have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And we need your support like never before, to fight back against the existential threats American democracy faces. Fundraising for nonprofit media is always a challenge, and we need all hands on deck right now. We have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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