While walking out of a news conference earlier this week, former President Donald Trump(R) told reporters that if presidents don’t have immunity then all future presidents will be subject to prosecution by their successors once they leave office.
Continuing our series about how to follow up with questions to such a claim we would offer these questions:
- Of the 44 presidents who preceded you in office, which ones operated with immunity from criminal prosecution?
- Name the former presidents who were subject to prosecutions led by their immediate successors.
- Which laws did you break as president that you need immunity from?
- Under what circumstances does a president need to be allowed to break criminal law in order to do his or her job?
- Of all the special investigations launched against previous presidents, how many have resulted in criminal charges?
- Please explain your understanding of the president’s role in bringing an indictment.
Outrageous claims can be shown to be false when the premise of the claim is attacked directly.
