The United States is a wonderful country with enduring traditions, powerful institutions and a strong practical constitution. Yet that system contains a dangerous contradiction. It gives one individual command of the world’s most powerful military and sole authority to authorize nuclear force, but demands almost nothing about physical, mental or moral fitness beyond age, citizenship and residency.

The president is the face of the nation and an example whom millions admire, imitate and defend. Conduct affecting only a few people when committed by an ordinary citizen can reshape national standards when excused in the White House. If dishonesty, sexual misconduct or contempt for law is tolerated in the president, followers may conclude that the same behaviour is acceptable.

Bill Clinton’s relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky demonstrated this danger. The issue was not confined to whether a relationship between adults was criminal. The president conducted it with a young subordinate inside the institution representing American dignity, then gave false and misleading testimony in the Paula Jones lawsuit. Clinton was impeached but acquitted and completed his term. He was later held in civil contempt, accepted a five-year suspension of his law licence and paid financial penalties. An ordinary citizen who lied under oath or obstructed justice could face prosecution and imprisonment; presidential power converted Clinton’s misconduct into a partisan argument over removal.

Extraordinary ideas are often introduced as jokes or trial balloons, then repeated until resistance weakens.

Extraordinary ideas are often introduced as jokes or trial balloons, then repeated until resistance weakens.

Donald Trump presents a broader test. His social relationship with Jeffrey Epstein is documented through photographs, statements and travel records. A prosecutor’s email released by the Justice Department said Trump flew on Epstein’s aircraft eight times during the 1990s. The releases also contain grave allegations that Trump denies and that remain unproven. Appearance in a file is not proof of crime, but it does not end the constitutional question.

When allegations concern the president, agencies holding the evidence are led by his appointees within an executive branch he controls. Even honest officials operate under an unavoidable........

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