there is another reason, building on Nixon v. Fitzgerald, to say that the president cannot be criminally prosecuted while in office. Unlike a civil action, a criminal prosecution imposes a unique kind of stigma and threat, such that the president’s ability to undertake his constitutionally specified tasks really would be at risk. Under Nixon v. Fitzgerald, there is an argument that this conclusion is right if a president is being prosecuted on the basis of official acts: if a president cannot be subject to a civil lawsuit for such acts, it might follow that he cannot be criminally prosecuted
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