Above the Law?

"L'etat, c'est moi." (I am the state) -- King Louis XIV of France

"Because I am the president, and you're not." -- Donald Trump

   "You can't indict a sitting president," goes the argument by Rudy Giuliani, attorney for Donald Trump.
   How about a vice president?
   "You can't indict me, you have to impeach me first," was the argument pitched by Spiro Agnew.
   "Nice try," said the judge, "but that argument's no good. You're indicted."
   So Spiro Agnew, vice president under Richard Nixon,
pleaded no contest to a charge of tax evasion related to a kickback scheme, and immediately resigned from his White House position. That was in October, 1973.

   As for the current argument that an indictment of Donald Trump would be too distracting from his official duties as president, that might have a dime's worth of credence if he spent less time on his golf courses. Or less time at rallies with his support base. Or less time watching TV commentators who agree with everything he says and does. Or less time on his Twitter account trashing people and news reports.
   It might. Then again, it might not. How much of his time does he actually spend reading intelligence reports and tending to official business, rather than bad-mouthing his own cabinet members who are not sufficiently loyal to his every whim?

   The Constitution says that a government official can be impeached by the House of Representatives, tried by the Senate and, if convicted, removed from office. The document adds that this does not eliminate the possibility of facing subsequent trial in a court of law. It does not stipulate that impeachment must come first.
   Spiro Agnew tried that argument, and it didn't work. It's not going to work for the new guy, either. No one is above the law.

   Also, in fairness to King Louis XIV of France, it has been argued that his statement was meant to separate the church from the state. The bishops could well be in charge of spiritual matters, but when it came to civil matters, the king was in charge. That's a similar situation faced by King Henry VIII in England, and led to a split from Vatican influence.