William Barr: ‘No reason’ to change guidelines that block indicting a sitting a president

Attorney General nominee William Barr said Tuesday that he sees “no reason” to change the Justice Department guidelines that block a sitting president from being indicted.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut Democrat, asked Mr. Barr if a sitting president could be indicted, even if a trial were postponed until he were out of office.

Mr. Barr responded that Justice Department guidelines and the executive branch have maintained that a sitting president cannot be indicted. He then asked if Mr. Barr would change that policy, which is based on a couple of Office of Legal Counsel positions.

“You know I haven’t read those opinions in a long time, but I see no reason to change them,” he said.