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Michael Avenatti, senior lawyer representing Stormy Daniels, an adult movie star, in his case against President Donald Trump and his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, asserts in a new forum that the commander-in-chief could be charged, despite being a long-time Minister of Justice.
"The fact that Mr. Trump is a president in office should not derail a process that applies to all Americans, regardless of their stature or position," wrote Avenatti in an editorial released Thursday by New York. Times. "He would still have access to the impeachment procedure for all citizens, including the possibility of challenging the constitutionality of the indictment".
"Some also say that the president's indictment would seriously undermine his ability to lead the country, but it is a white house already overrun by chaos and daily distractions," he said. he continued. "And if the House started an impeachment proceeding, it's hard to see how this process would be less of a nuisance than a criminal act."
Referring to constitutional scholars of all political stripes, Avenatti asserted that the indictment of an incumbent president is possible because the Supreme Court has never dismissed it definitively.
Avenatti op-ed comes several days after Ken Star, a former independent lawyer who, during Whitewater and Monica Lewinsky's investigations into President Bill Clinton, said he thought presidents-in-office would not be safe from prosecution during their tenure .
"No one is above the law," Starr told MSNBC on Wednesday, citing the 1997 decision of the Clinton Supreme Court v. Jones, who establishes that a president-in-office is not protected by a civil lawsuit.
Avenatti quoted Starr's remark in his op-ed, writing that prosecutors "must be blind to the position of the holder".
"[I]If the facts and evidence are sufficient to be impeached, prosecutors must be blind to the position of the incumbent, especially because, unlike in the case of President Clinton, the investigations relate to Mr. Trump's victory. Ultimately, the question would almost certainly be decided by a group of judges previously confirmed under the Constitution – either before the courts of appeal or, more appropriately, before the Supreme Court. "
The lawyer, who is considering a presidential election in 2020, has expressed concern over Judge Brett Kavanaugh and his stance on presidential immunity after the Trump Supreme Court's candidate dismissed the issues before the confirmation. of the Senate. Asset.
"If Mr. Trump were to be charged and if the case would reach the Supreme Court, the challenge of Judge Kavanaugh should be mandatory," he wrote. "The American public opinion on the impartiality of the rule of law and the Supreme Court is at stake."
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