May 31, 2019

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

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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.”

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

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