No prosecution of presidential crime?

I have heard several times that a sitting president cannot be charged in a criminal indictment. That makes absolutely no sense.

Suppose a president were to shoot his wife or arrange for the assassination of a political opponent or sexually assault an intern in the White House or commit an admitted war crime.

It is preposterous to suggest that a president under these circumstances could not be charged under regular criminal procedures.

The notion that sitting sovereign is immune from criminal law which applies to all citizens is repugnant to a democratic tradition, although it was common in autocratic regimes.

Admittedly, the only way to remove a sitting president from office under the Constitution is impeachment. A president charged with a serious felony would still be president while he sat in the slammer awaiting trial, just like any other citizen might "retain" his job.

It would not make sense that the only method of dealing with such criminal activity would be through a very lengthy impeachment procedure. It becomes even more problematic if the Congress were controlled by the president's party and would be disinclined to impeach him for any misbehavior, however serious.

Chester Kulis

Mount Prospect