Dec 9, 2018

Schiff: "Very real prospect" Trump could be indicted when he leaves office

Incoming House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said on CBS' "Face the Nation" Sunday that "there's a very real prospect" the Justice Department may indict President Trump the day he leaves office — calling him "the first president in quite some time to face the real prospect of jail time" — based on the sentencing memo for Michael Cohen submitted by federal prosecutors in New York.

The big picture: Prosecutors allege that Cohen paid off two women "in coordination with and at the direction of" of then-candidate Trump with the goal of preventing them from influencing the 2016 election. The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel has maintained that a sitting president cannot be indicted, but Schiff argued that if evidence supports the claim that Trump directed Cohen to commit felonies, he could face criminal exposure once he leaves office.

Go deeper