Trump is not our king

To the editor:

President Trump claims that he is above the law — that he cannot be subpoenaed, that he cannot be indicted, and that — because of his asserted ability to pardon himself, he cannot commit a crime. He claims, in other words, the prerogatives of a king.

The distinction between the president and a king has been clear since the beginning of the republic. 

The great chief justice John Marshall examined the issue in United States v. Burr, during which President Jefferson (Marshall’s cousin) argued he was not obligated to obey a subpoena issued by former vice president Aaron Burr.

Marshall contrasted a king, who by “principle of the English constitution … can do no wrong,” with the president, who “as well as any other officer of the government, may be impeached, and may be removed from office on high crimes and misdemeanors.”

He likened the president to the first magistrate of a state, whose susceptibility to subpoena “it is not known ever to have been doubted.” 

Jefferson had to obey the subpoena.

The president is not a king. A president who claims the prerogatives of a king is violating his constitutional oath of office.

Philip Schatz