Heritage Foundation: Trump Can Be Arrested

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By Gordon Duff, Senior Editor

We searched for reasons to take the claims from The Hill and Politico seriously, claims that a president could violate law and not be arrested. In that the Constitution is the only law of the land in this instance, we sought solace in that document and its provision that give public office holders protection from arrest.

Oh my goodness, it seems the founding fathers made NO effort to protect a president whatsoever and that claims otherwise are total and absolute bullshit fed the public by the fake press.  Read and weep.

Privilege from Arrest

https://www.heritage.org/constitution/#!/articles/1/essays/26/privilege-from-arrest



The Senators and Representatives…shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony, and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same….

ARTICLE I, SECTION 6, CLAUSE 1

The Privilege from Arrest Clause provides a Member of Congress a privilege from civil arrest only, but not from other civil processes. Even the privilege from civil arrest would be valid only while Congress is in session.

Civil arrest is the physical detainment of a person, by lawful authority, to answer a civil demand against him. At the time the Constitution was adopted, civil arrests were common. Long v. Ansell (1934). The Framers likely feared this tool could be misused to interfere with the legislative process. Civil arrest is rarely, if ever, practiced, so this clause is virtually obsolete and has little application today.

The Supreme Court interpreted the language “in all Cases, except Treason, Felony, and Breach of the Peace” to encompass all crimes. Williamson v. United States(1908). Tracing the origins of the clause to parliamentary privilege, the Court found this identical language was used to qualify Parliament’s privilege from arrest so that the members of Parliament were not immune from criminal prosecution. The Court concluded that the Framers’ use of the identical phrase, without any explanation, indicated that Congress’s privilege was to have the same limitation regarding criminal actions as did the parliamentary privilege from which the language was borrowed. The clause, therefore, does not provide Congress with any immunity from criminal prosecution.

The Supreme Court, applying the Framers’ intent, later declared that the clause also did not provide any privilege from civil process. Long v. Ansell. Hence, civil litigants can compel Members of Congress to appear in a court of proper jurisdiction to defend against civil actions. Furthermore, the Court has so narrowly interpreted the clause that Members of Congress may even be compelled by subpoena to testify in criminal and civil actions while Congress is in session.

Profile photo of David F. Forte

David F. Forte
Professor of Law
Cleveland-Marshall College of Law

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6 COMMENTS

  1. The first and second congressmen to endorse Trump have been indicted, but not alone. Their families were as well. If the Trumps walk free now, the trust level will go through the bottom of the basement, and the incentive to comply with any government will also go beyond redeemable points. They have to arrest someone. And when they do, lots of other people have to stop doing what they were all doing. We are going to very closely re-examine all the appropriations of the public wealth, and it is not preventable.

  2. I knew a Deacon of the Church, St. Josephs, Eldersburg, Md. who told me he worked for the Heritage Foundation. Like I was supposed to be amazed. I was Grand Knight of are K of C council, I stared at him like he was a dying fish left on the dock. Told him too, Heritage Foundation, what a bunch of paid for bullocks. Luckily the Priest from South America, a Marianist, felt the same way. Of course when Reagans hit teams killed Marianists over land reform, didn’t help his cause.

  3. http://memoryholeblog.org/2018/08/22/kevin-shipp-msm-covering-up-doj-wrote-phony-trump-dossier-in-failed-coup/ This is all well and good but I would bet if it ever even came close to arresting any of the criminals Bush, Cheney, four star generals, Clinton or Trump, all the illegal unconstitutional garbage in the Patriot Act would be brought to bear on the issue, not to mention getting through the Armed Secret Service Agents to arrest them. Go to the website of former CIA officer Kevin Shipp above and read the nightmare scenario he and his family were put through after filing a lawsuit against the outlaws in the CIA. Our country is nothing by a tyrannical cesspool right now and the whores in Congress have made it so. Israel did 9/11/01:
    https://wikispooks.com/wiki/9-11/Israel_did_it
    We may have already crossed the point of no return. But wait, another sham stacked election is coming up to save us.

    • Everyone must remember this: If these criminal gangsters, aided by the full armed force and secrecy of government, and aided by totally lying lawyer corrupt federal judges, can terrorize Kevin Shipp’s family like this, they can do it to you or me or anyone else can’t they? This country is gone folks.

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