There is a long-standing prohibition that prevents the federal government for either indicting or suing a sitting president. There is, however, no current prohibition on sitting presidents suing the federal government which they head.
A sitting president might be legally required to file suit while in office in order to preserve a claim. On the other hand, such a suit presents a clear conflict of interest. Even in the best case, federal officials may be reluctant to mount a vigorous defense of the government’s interests when that defense is also an attack on the president. In the worst case, a sitting president could simply order the government to settle the lawsuit in the president’s favor.
Should federal law be modified both to toll the civil statute of limitations during a president’s term and to bar a sitting president from filing a civil action against the government?
