# Could a sitting POTUS be arrested (Rod Blagojevich style) if charged with a crime? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 30, 2013, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-sitting-potus-be-arrested-rod-blagojevich-style-if-charged-with-a-crime/664921 "2013-07-30T17:07:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-sitting-potus-be-arrested-rod-blagojevich-style-if-charged-with-a-crime/664921/41 "2013-08-05T04:56:38Z")
True. By no means meant to imply that the OLC memo settled the question. Simply that some smart people had given it thought in a somewhat formal way (as opposed to newspaper columnists waxing wise) and produced a good recap of the questions (and, more helpfully references to similar activities from outside the executive branch) regardless of the merits of the conclusions. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-sitting-potus-be-arrested-rod-blagojevich-style-if-charged-with-a-crime/664921/42 "2013-08-05T05:19:55Z")
The Framers would, I think, be appalled at the thought of a President pardoning himself, but the Constitution does not explicitly forbid it, and the courts have historically given great deference to the President in his use of the pardon power. It could certainly be a basis for an impeachment proceeding, however. Two Staff Reports and some previous threads that may be of interest: > **[Straight Dope Staff Report: Who has the power to arrest the President?](http://web.archive.org/web/20071011142358/http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mprezarrest.htm)** > > Straight Dope Staff Report: Who has the power to arrest the President? > **[Can the President grant immunity from prosecution?](https://www.straightdope.com/21343903/can-the-president-grant-immunity-from-prosecution)** > > A STAFF REPORT FROM THE STRAIGHT DOPE SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD > **[Who can arrest the President?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=399771)** > > http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mprezarrest.htm A fine report on a knotty legal issue. I’d be interested to know what Justice Joseph Story wrote on the question (referred to in passing in the article). I recall that President Ulysses S. Grant... > **[Gfactor's presidential immunity column](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=486173)** > > Linky. Great column, as always, but there’s loads of broken non-link URLs in the middle of the text. To wit: It’s a tad difficult to read. 🙁 > **[Obama smokes a doobie during the State of the Union Address.](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=601640)** > > If the POTUS lit up a joint during the State of the Union Address: \*Who would/could charge him? I’m thinking the U.S. Capitol Police. Correct? Who else? Does the Secret Service have such power for such minute’ offenses within a federal building? ... > **[What would happen if the President went nuts?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=583975)** > > Suppose the President went batshit crazy and started throwing his poo around, shooting into crowds, on camera, etc. A problem of immediate concern where the impeachment process would be too slow. Can the president be thrown in jail, or held in any... > **[The US President, and state laws.](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=509390)** > > OK, may be a silly question, but I’m curious about it anyway. If the President in a state, and breaks one of its laws, do state or local police have the right to do anything about it? Or more specifically, if they attempt to act, will the Secret... > **[Blanket Presidential pardon question.](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=464103)** > > Okay, the SO and I are having a difference of opinion and I’m looking to the Teeming Millions to settle the question for us. Let us say, hypothetically, that during the last week of his presidency Dubya issues a blanket pardon/prosecutorial immunity... > **[What would happen if the President refused to pay income taxes?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=431659)** > > As it’s well known, the President pays income taxes every year, like all US citizens. But I was always curious about what would happen if the President decided one year, for whatever reason, to simply not pay his/her income taxes. Would the IRS... > **[What is the purpose of the Presidential Pardon?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=411127)** > > Does it work exactly how it is shown in TV/Movies? I mean other then plot twists in 24 and Prison Break why would the founding fathers want to include it? > **[Can the President of the US be criminally prosecuted?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=360636)** > > Title pretty much says it all but to illustrate take the following hypothetical\*: President Bush, during the State of the Union address, pulls out a gun and shoots Ted Kennedy. Assume, for whatever reason, Congress is slow and/or refuses to impeach... > **[Can a sitting president be indicted without being impeached?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=338902)** > > This thread on Tom DeLay’s troubles – http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=310559 – recently got hijacked into a discussion of whether a sitting president, naming no names, legally can be indicted by the Justice Department or a state... > **[What crimes could the president get away with if he wanted](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=307807)** > > I don’t mean secret crimes like secret killings or secret drug smuggling (although i’d assume he/she would have no problems doing that). Assume the president wants to start breaking the law all the time, is he able to do that w/o repercussions? Can... > **[Could the President ever be arrested?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=297016)** > > Is it possible for a sitting President to be arrested for anything? Let’s say the President did something like stab his wife to death. What could the authorities do? Couldn’t he just order the FBI not to arrest him and the Justice Department not to... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-sitting-potus-be-arrested-rod-blagojevich-style-if-charged-with-a-crime/664921.md?page=2)