Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said U.S. President Trump could be indicted while in office over the Russia investigation, saying the topic is open for discussion.
The incoming House Speaker sat down with Today’s Savannah Guthrie in an interview that aired Thursday, in which she talked about the possibilities of special counsel Robert Mueller indicting Trump.
The U.S. Justice Department guidelines state that a sitting president should not be indicted, as “it would unconstitutionally undermine the capacity of the executive branch to perform its constitutionally assigned functions.”
However, Pelosi said it’s possible that Mueller, who has been investigating the Trump campaign’s possible ties to Russies, could seek an indictment against the sitting president.
“It is not the law,” she said. “Everything indicates that a president can be indicted after he is no longer the president of the United States.”
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WATCH: A timeline of Robert Mueller’s Russia probe
Guthrie then asked Pelosi, “what about a sitting president?”
“I think that is an open discussion,” Pelosi replied.
WATCH: Donald Trump could be indicted over Russia investigation: Pelosi
Pelosi also brought up the possibility of impeaching Trump, something the Democrats have not been pushing for.
“We have to wait and see what happens with the Mueller report. We shouldn’t be impeaching for a political reason, and we shouldn’t avoid impeachment for a political reason. So we’ll just have to see how it comes,” she said.
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