A Challenge to a DOJ 'convention'

[canetoad]

The convention being not indicting a sitting president.

In light of the recent news about tfg ignoring the Presidential Records Act and ripping up paperwork - it's obviously not legal, but who can stop him?

How can an unwritten 'convention' override the rule of law?

How can he get away with this?

[unblock]

1. He's not the sitting president anymore so that convention doesn't apply

And of all the potential charges, this has the least oomph.

He had aides who taped them back together. Most of the rest probably still could be.

Besides didn't shrub destroy 8 years of emails? It really millions of them? And hardly a peep from anyone.

[canetoad]

2. OK

Imagine we were having this conversation while he was POTUS.

Destroying documents in itself may not be the worst thing he did but to remedy this crime the convention of not indicting ....etc etc needs to be looked at closely. One contradicts the other.

[unblock]

3. Yes, the founders surely didn't want to create a 4-year tyrant

The idea that a president is above the law during their time in office is abhorrent and surely not what the founders wanted.

That said, the founders were also familiar with out-of-control prosecutors, and surely didn't want that, either. So if the president can't stop such a prosecution, how is that prosecutor held accountable should they abuse their power?

Surely there's a way, but it is a tricky situation.

[PJMcK]

4. It's not even a "convention"

It's a goddam memo.

That's it.

Our Constitutional democracy hangs by a thread because of a memo.

[2naSalit]

5. +1