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Mueller Has Authority to Name President Trump as an “Unindicted Coconspiratorâ€
Cyber Liberty:
Mueller Has Authority to Name President Trump as an “Unindicted Coconspiratorâ€
by Ryan Goodman
October 29, 2017
--- Quote ---Imagine if Special Counsel Robert Mueller finds sufficient evidence to charge President Donald Trump, but his hands are tied because he or the Department of Justice concludes that they cannot indict a sitting President? Could Mueller instead identify President Trump by name as an “unindicted coconspirator†when bringing charges against other individuals? The stakes are enormously high. Such action would have some of the same reverberations across the country as a criminal indictment of the President.
A facile answer would rely simply on the fact that the Special Prosecutor in Watergate did just that. The Watergate grand jury named President Richard M. Nixon as an unindicted coconspirator when it issued indictments of others.
Since Watergate, however, the Department of Justice has developed guidance for criminal prosecutions that places a presumption against naming individuals as unindicted coconspirators. The U.S. Attorney’s Office Manual states:
More at: https://www.justsecurity.org/46415/mueller-authority-president-trump-unindicted-coconspirator/
--- End quote ---
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This is an old story, but the DoJ says "No more indictments." I'd bet a dollar Mueller will name Trump as an "undicted co-conspirator to keep the trope alive. Meanwhile, this story suggests there are reasons not to do that.
RetBobbyMI:
Can’t have a coconspirator, without another conspirator, which Mueller didn’t have.
Cyber Liberty:
--- Quote from: RetBobbyMI on March 23, 2019, 02:05:38 pm ---Can’t have a coconspirator, without another conspirator, which Mueller didn’t have.
--- End quote ---
He could name two unindicted co-conspirators.
RetBobbyMI:
--- Quote from: Cyber Liberty on March 23, 2019, 02:11:14 pm ---He could name two unindicted co-conspirators.
--- End quote ---
He could, but then he’s blowing wind because he has no indictments and no prosecution of anything even remotely related to a conspiracy.
Cyber Liberty:
--- Quote from: RetBobbyMI on March 23, 2019, 02:15:12 pm ---He could, but then he’s blowing wind because he has no indictments and no prosecution of anything even remotely related to a conspiracy.
--- End quote ---
I agree with you on every point, but I don't think Mueller is a moral individual, and would throw out an accusation like that as a sop to the Rats to keep Congressional hearings alive (and justify his squandering of $40 Million).
The story I posted suggests the DoJ doesn't like to do that because the defendant never gets a day in court or an opportunity to face evidence. It's like saying, "I can't prove it, but I think you are still beating your wife."
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