Congress should delay a vote on Donald Trump’s U.S. Supreme Court appointment until after special counsel Robert Mueller has submitted his report to Congress or closed the investigation of the president.

A president under federal investigation should not be able to appoint the justice who may decide his fate. The Supreme Court may be called upon to decide whether a sitting president can be compelled to testify before a federal grand jury, can obstruct justice, can pardon himself or others to protect himself, and whether a sitting president can be indicted.

Brett Kavanaugh, Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, has argued that “we should not burden a sitting president with civil suits, criminal investigations or criminal prosecutions.” The ability of the president to appoint a new justice who will be called to decide whether the president is beyond the reach of the law should be denied.

Beyond the Mueller investigation, the Supreme Court may also be called upon to decide whether the president’s acceptance of foreign funds through his businesses violates the Constitution’s emoluments clause.

While I am deeply concerned about how Trump’s candidate could be instrumental in reversing key decisions that affect all of us (Roe v. Wade, protection of coverage of pre-existing health conditions under the Affordable Care Act, etc.), the key issue right now is how Kavanaugh views a president’s accountability to the laws that all U.S. citizens are bound by.

An empty seat on the Supreme Court of the United States is the only moral and constitutional position at this time.

Marcy Leger

Christian Leger

Bath