Ahead of the new Democratic majority taking control of the House on Thursday, the California Democratic representative was asked whether special counsel Robert Mueller should honor the Department of Justice's opinion that a sitting US president should not be indicted. Mueller is currently investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible connections between President Donald Trump's campaign and the Kremlin.
"I do not think that that is conclusive. No, I do not," Pelosi said in an interview with NBC anchor Savannah Guthrie that aired Thursday on "Today."
Asked if Mueller could legally indict a sitting president, Pelosi said: "Let's just see what Mueller does. Let's spend our time on getting results for the American people."
The Office of Legal Counsel's guidance, issued in 2000, says, "The indictment or criminal prosecution of a sitting President would unconstitutionally undermine the capacity of the executive branch to perform its constitutionally assigned functions."
"It's not the law," Pelosi told Guthrie. "Everything indicates that a president can be indicted after he is no longer president of the United States."
Guthrie asked, "What about a sitting president?"
"Well, a sitting president when he is no longer president of the United States," Pelosi answered.
Guthrie pressed again, asking, "A president who's in office? Could Robert Mueller come back and say I am seeking an indictment?"
"I think that is an open discussion," Pelosi said. "I think that's an open discussion in terms of the law."
Trump's former attorney, Michael Cohen, said in court in August that Trump directed him to make payments during the 2016 election to silence women who claimed they had had affairs with the future President. Cohen pleaded guilty to two campaign finance violations related to those payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal.
Prosecutors have said that in executing the payments, Cohen "acted in coordination with and at the direction of" Trump, who has denied having the affairs with the two women.
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