Fox News senior judicial analyst Andrew Napolitano seems to believe President Donald Trump is in danger of being indicted by federal prosecutors in New York City.
Appearing on America’s Newsroom with host Bill Hemmer, Napolitano was asked what he thought about last week’s bombshell filings in ongoing Trump-Michael Cohen drama. The former judge offered an eyebrow-raising proposition.
“The most dangerous–to the president–filing last week was the filing by federal prosecutors here in New York, professional prosecutors, not Bob Mueller‘s team,” Napolitano noted. “Saying that the president paid Michael Cohen to commit a crime. Now, under the law that would make the president as criminally liable as Michael Cohen. So, if you pay me to shoot somebody and I shoot them, you’re as liable as if you had pulled the trigger. That’s the basic principle of law.”
Napolitano then made clear that the prosecutors involved in the matter are not playing around.
“This is the Southern District of New York,” he noted. “This is the oldest and most prestigious prosecutors’ office in the country. They would not make an allegation like that if they did not have corroborated evidence to support it. And they cannot make an allegation like that unless they’re going to do something with it.”
The former judge also noted that the U.S. Department of Justice has various rules and regulations–in the form of legal opinions–that implicate the potential indictment of a sitting president. And while he noted that it was a mixed bag for President Trump, Napolitano offered the prospect of charges being filed without anyone ever even knowing.
Two say no and one says yes. But all three agree that if the statute of limitations is about to expire, then the government needs to do something to stop the running of the statute of limitations which would mean a secret indictment about which the public doesn’t know.
“[The statute of limitations here is five years,” Napolitano clarified. “And the Cohen crimes to which he pleaded guilty were committed in 2013, ’15 and ’16–so you can do the math.”
[image via screengrab/Fox News]
Follow Colin Kalmbacher on Twitter: @colinkalmbacher
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