Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel October 16, 2000 (A Sitting President's Amenability to Indictment and Criminal Prosecution)

A Sntttimig P r e sid en ts Amemalbility to Imdidtmeimt and Crimimal

PiroseOTttiom

The in dictm ent o r cn m in al prosecution o f a sitting P resident would unconstitutionally underm ine the

cap acity o f the executive branch to p erform its constitutionally assigned functions

October 16, 2000

M em orandum O p in io n for t h e A tto rn ey G eneral

In 1973, the Department concluded that the