Updated
Prosecutors have tied Donald Trump to a federal crime
for the first time, accusing him of directing illegal hush-money
payments to women during his presidential campaign in 2016.
While
the Justice Department stopped short of accusing the US President of
directly committing a crime, it said in a court filing that he told his
former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, to make the illegal payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who both claimed to have had affairs with Mr Trump (which he has denied).Although Mr Trump hasn't been charged with anything, the question of whether a president even can be prosecuted while in office is a matter of legal dispute.
Here's a look at that long-running legal ambiguity and a few of the main issues at play.
Firstly, did the President actually commit a crime?
That isn't clear, and it's important to note that federal prosecutors haven't accused Mr Trump of violating the law.However, there was no ambiguity in the court documents that prosecutors believe Cohen's actions were criminal and that Mr Trump (referred to as "Individual-1" in the documents, but clearly identifiable as the US President) was directly involved.
Prosecutors charged that Cohen arranged the secret payments at the height of the 2016 campaign "in coordination with and at the direction of" Mr Trump.
They also alleged Cohen made the payment in order to fend off potential damage to Mr Trump's presidential bid.
Federal law requires that any payments that are made "for the purpose of influencing" an election must be reported in campaign finance disclosures.
Mr Cohen has pleaded guilty to several charges, including campaign finance violations, and is awaiting sentencing.
Rick Hasen, a professor who specialises in election and campaign finance law at the University of California, says "there is a plausible case against the President".
However, he said Mr Trump's lawyers could argue the then-presidential candidate didn't have wilfulness to break the law if the payments were completely personal and not connected to the campaign, despite their timing.
Josh Blackman, a professor at South Texas College of Law Houston, similarly said in order to bring charges, prosecutors would have to prove Mr Trump had criminal intent and "wilfully violated the law".
But he said something that would be perfectly legal to do as a businessman could take on a different standard as a candidate, and that campaign finance laws are "very open-ended".
Some legal experts have argued that hush-money payments to keep people silent about their affairs are inherently personal, but Professor Hasen said he didn't agree with that argument.
Can a sitting president be indicted?
Legal experts are divided on that question. The Supreme Court has never ruled on whether a president can be indicted or whether a president can be subpoenaed for testimony.
The Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, which provides legal advice and guidance to executive branch agencies, has maintained that a sitting president cannot be indicted.
Two Justice Department reports, one in 1973 and one in 2000, came to the same conclusion.
Those reports essentially concluded that the president's responsibilities are so important that an indictment would pose too many risks for the government to function properly.
Mr Trump's lawyers have said that special counsel Robert Mueller plans to adhere to that guidance, though Mr Mueller's office has never independently confirmed that.
Mr Trump's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, has also said that a president cannot be indicted.
Could Mr Trump be indicted once he leaves office?
Legal scholars have said that based on the Justice Department's guidance, it would appear that Mr Trump could be charged for wrongdoing during the campaign or as president once he leaves office, but likely not before that.Professor Blackman said the statute of limitations for a campaign finance law violation — like the one Cohen pleaded guilty to — would be five years.
The payments to Ms Daniels and Ms McDougal were made in 2016, meaning the statute of limitations would run out in 2021 (after the next US election in 2020).
Could Mr Trump pardon himself?
Mr Trump has already shown he's not afraid to use his pardon power, particularly for those he has viewed as unfair victims of partisanship.He has pardoned Joe Arpaio, the former Arizona sheriff who was convicted of criminal contempt for disobeying a judge's order, and Lewis "Scooter" Libby, a Bush administration official convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice in a leak case.
Courts have never had to answer the question of whether presidents can pardon themselves.
In June, Mr Giuliani told NBC's Meet the Press that while Mr Trump "probably does" have the power, pardoning himself would nevertheless "be unthinkable and probably lead to immediate impeachment".
AP/ABC
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