How Mueller Can Publish His Russia Connection Evidence

Legal experts debate whether special counsel Robert Mueller has the authority to indict or prosecute a sitting President.

Missing from any public discussion is a middle-ground option that is not necessarily precluded by any Justice Department legal opinion, and that was strongly endorsed by the Watergate special prosecutor’s legal team.

What’s the option? Presentment.

Grand juries have historically had the power not only to indict but also to issue presentments, which were more like reports of wrongdoing without a criminal charge.

The Fifth Amendment of the Constitution contemplates this practice in its opening words:

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury.

Watergate special prosecutor Leon Jaworski’s legal team strongly recommended that if he thought it was either unconstitutional or imprudent to indict or prosecute a sitting president, he could nevertheless seek a presentment by the grand jury.