the democrats simply pursue impeachment right now without any bipartisan support it could well blow up in their faces. that s a legitimate point. but on the flip side of the ledger is the fact that congress does have a constitutional responsibility to enforce the law and if the president has committed high crimes and misdemeanors, which i think is more likely than not in this case, what kind of message does that send about our regard for the rule of law if you give the president a pass because it s too politically difficult to try to hold him to account? i mean, i know that nancy pelosi s aware of these competing imperatives and she is trying to balance them in the best way possible. but you know, nothing she says should be construed as giving the president a pass to do whatever he wants because the justice department has already said that he cannot be indicted, which is questionable. but that s the justice department position. so if he can t be indicted, and if he can t be impeached,
but you know, nothing she says should be construed as giving the president a pass to do whatever he wants because the justice department has already said that he cannot be indicted, which is questionable. but that s the justice department position. so if he can t be indicted, and if he can t be impeached, is he king donald? is he above the law? what kind of accountability are we going to have for him? that s a very good point. douglas, historically, has there been a reluctance to impeach the president based on politics? am i forgetting similar comments from newt gingrich maybe for example? well, you know, i think what s happening for nancy pelosi she just saw what happened to bill clinton. that was in her own lifetime. clinton got impeached by congress. got booted to the senate. he survives and he became a folk hero rising up to, you know, high 70s in public approval after he was impeached. so i think for pelosi from a political point of view she wants to lower the expectations.
the policy on this, what the justice department position was can you indict a sitting president and 40 count felony indictment against the president simmering on the stove on the u.s. attorney s office in maryland ready to be served up at any time. was he in fact immune from such federal charges? could that indictment be filed against him? legally they needed to know. also, practically. with nixon teetering because of watergate, with the threat with the guy that would succeed nixon was a known and active criminal and the attorney general elliott richardson needed to know if he would use at least the threat of being able to indict agnew to force him out of office there by protecting the line of succession. robert dixson was a law professor before he was head of the olc and respected legal
emanuel touched on. jeff sessions was a creature of the united states senate. he was first elected in 1996. a lot of people here on capitol hill, especially those that served with him, think he got a raw deal. hi left a very safe senate seat from alabama for this job. the president gave him the business a lot of times and now he s out the door. shepard: chad pergram, thanks. there s breaking news now on fox news channel. fox news television stations across the america. the swearing in has happened. catherine herridge on the hill. catherine? we re getting more fidelity on the details here. our justice department sources are reporting that because matt whitaker had been sworn in for another justice department position, there was not the formality to do a second swearing in and now considered the acting attorney general, shep. so i think if you step back and for folks just joining us at
reporter: he called the report that trump s lawyer discussed pardons for the top aids of those in the russia investigation flabbergasting. but in the past few weeks, conway has begun deleting some retweets that have become particularly critical of the trump administration, one that said, cohen s payment to stormy daniels violated campaign finance laws. and one from george collins that said that his flip-his wife kellyanne is reportedly being considered for that job. last year, george conway was under consideration for a justice department position before withdrawing his name. in a statement he made it clear he is still in his wife s and trump s corner. kellyanne and i continue to support the president and his administration. what makes george conway most interest is that he s not only