How to arrest Donald Trump
July 17, 2018
Whatever else the president may have done over the years to attract the attention of law enforcement (and there’s a lot), we know this – he obstructed justice by attempting to subvert an FBI investigation. We can say that with confidence because he did in public, on Twitter, in a series of clumsy admission on live TV. A prosecutor team is actively building that case, along with perhaps others. The president’s goofy lawyers, in recognition of the apparent inevitability of an indictment, have already abandoned a hopeless defense on the facts. Instead, they’ve begun to attack the legitimacy of the law itself, a warning of the dangerous terrain ahead.
Lots of things may happen over the coming weeks, but one thing seems increasingly likely. For the first time in our history a president will face criminal prosecution.
Given the legal ambiguities and political sensitivities, it seems more likely that Mueller would seek to notify the president of an indictment via a summons, rather than arrest. But how would that summons be served on a recalcitrant president, determined to delegitimize the entire process?
A summons may be served by a federal marshal, but can also be served by anyone authorized to serve notice in federal civil cases. What happens when a federal marshal shows up at the White House or Trump Tower to serve an indictment on the president and the president refuses to admit them? Does the Secret Service let them in? If he engages in a move as simple as locking the door of a room he’s in, does someone break it down?
Under a formal, legal operations, Secret Service agents do not answer to the president. The Secret Service operates under rules laid out in federal statutes.
It is a crime for anyone to obstruct a federal officer in the commission of his duties. In principle, this applies to a Secret Service agent as much as to anyone else. Theoretically, a Secret Service agent should be expected to allow a federal marshal access to serve a summons on the president. But would they?
Picture this scenario. An indictment of the president is publicly issued. The White House is notified that marshals are coming to deliver a summons to the president. The president insists that the indictment is illegal, claiming immunity. He refuses to submit to service of a summons and instructs his Secret Service security detail to bar the marshals from the White House or Trump Tower (or whatever golf course he’s wasting time on). What happens next?
The Director of the Secret Service takes orders from the Secretary of Homeland Security. If the Secretary of Homeland Security decided to comply with the law, then this first obstacle would be relatively manageable. She would issue orders for the Secret Service to let the summons be served on the president.
Even if the Department of Homeland Security follows the law, one more potential complication lurks. At different times the president has relied on private security for himself and his family, even after assuming office. It is unclear what role these figures continue to play. If the president used them to block access by the Secret Service or marshals, it is unclear how that standoff might be resolved.
Like perjury and conspiracy, obstruction of justice is only as serious as the justice which was obstructed. An investigation into Trump’s effort to halt the FBI investigation will have to dig into the subject matter of that original investigation. The family has a long history of shady deals with Russian underworld figures. Those criminal financial dealings are where the collusion with Russian intelligence probably originated.
There’s a good chance that indictments start with close family members on grounds far-seedier and more damning than election meddling. These indictments would likely be issued before Mueller unveils the obstruction charges against Trump. Even with his pardon power, Trump likely couldn’t protect those close to him from the consequences of their crimes.
In other words, there’s a chance that the family might just abscond before we’re forced to solve the logistical and Constitutional puzzles around arresting the president. If they flee to safety overseas we might be spared a crisis that could erupt into a war. If they don’t leave, and Trump continues to deny the legitimacy of the legal process, then his indictment and prosecution will resolve nothing. Someone in US military and or law enforcement will, at some point, have to take decisive action to remove him from power or deploy deadly force.

There is no settled, legal route to a resolution of the crisis Trump has foisted on our republic. If Trump doesn’t flee, we will likely be forced to resolve this power struggle not in law, but in the realm of military force and or popular uprising. The predictable outcome is not good for Trump.

On Oct 20, 2011, Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi’s security force abandoned him and soon after President Gaddafi was captured by rebelling forces and beating to death by thousands cheering soldiers and civilians 18 miles for Libya Presidential Palace.

President Gaddafi’s death were broadcast live by dozens news channels in the region which shows footage of Gaddafi alive, his face and shirt bloodied, stumbling and being sodomized and dragged.