The US justice department should reassess legal guidance that effectively makes Donald Trump immune from prosecution, the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee has urged.

“No one is above the law, not even the president of the United States,” said California Representative Adam Schiff.

Documents filed by New York prosecutors last week implicated Mr Trump in campaign finance violations that led to his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, being jailed for three years on Wednesday.

Mr Trump is protected from prosecution while in office by long-standing Office of Legal Counsel (OCL) guidance which states the indictment of a sitting president would be “unconstitutional”.

That would change if he lost the 2020 election, but if the president served a second term in the White House the alleged campaign finance violation would have exceeded the statute of limitations by the time he left office.

Mr Schiff, likely to chair the intelligence committee when Democrats take control of the House in January, said there “ought to be a mechanism” to ensure any president accused of criminality could face justice.

He told CNN: “I don’t think that the justice department ought to take the position – and it’s certainly not one that would be required in any way by the constitution – that a president, merely by being in office, can be above the law, can escape the enforcement of the law, by essentially waiting out the statute of limitations.

“There ought to be a mechanism to make sure that that is not the case, whether that means revisiting the OCL opinion and allowing the indictment of a sitting president and staying the prosecution, or allowing both the indictment and the prosecution [while they are in office.]”

Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Show all 23 1 /23 Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Joe Biden The former vice president - poised to be a frontrunner - has announced his run. He recently faced scrutiny for inappropriate touching of women, but was thought to deal with the criticism well AFP/Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Bernie Sanders The 2016 runner-up has announced that he will be running again in 2020 Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Hillary Clinton The 2016 Democratic presidential candidate and former Secretary of State says she is “still considering” whether she will run again. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Pete Buttigieg The Indiana mayor and war veteran will be running for president. If elected, he would be the first openly LGBT+ president in American history. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Kamala Harris The former California attorney general will be running for president in 2020. Introduced to the national stage during Jeff Sessions’ testimony, she has endorsed Medicare-for-all and proposed a major tax-credit for the middle class. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Elizabeth Warren The Massachusetts Senator has formally launched her bid for president in 2020. A progressive Democrat, she is a major supporter of regulating Wall Street. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Beto O’Rourke The former Texas congressman told Oprah Winfrey that he “has been thinking about running for presidency”, but stopped short of formally announcing his bid to run in 2020. AFP/Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Wayne Messam Mayor of the city of Miramar in the Miami metropolitan area, Wayne Messam has announced his bid. He intends to run on a progressive platform against the "broken" federal government. He favours gun regulations and was a signatory to a letter from some 400 mayors condemning President Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord. Vice News Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Kirsten Gillibrand The New York Senator formally announced her presidential bid in January, saying that “healthcare should be a right, not a privilege.” Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Cory Booker The New Jersey Senator has announced that he will be running for the presidency in 2020. If he secures the nomination he said finding a female vice president would be a priority. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? John Delaney The Maryland congressman was the first to launch his bid for presidency, making the announcement in 2017. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Julian Castro The former San Antonio mayor announced his candidacy in January and said that his running has a “special meaning” for the Latino community in the US. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Tulsi Gabbard The Hawaii congresswoman announced her candidacy in January, but is likely to face tough questions on her past comments on LGBT+ rights and her stance on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Andrew Yang The entrepreneur has announced his presidential candidacy, and has pledged that he would introduce a universal basic income of $1,000 a month to every American over the age of 18. AFP/Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Marianne Williamson The author and spiritual advisor has announced her intention to run for president. She had previously run for congress as an independent in 2014 but was unsuccessful. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? John Kerry The former secretary of state has said he is still thinking about whether to run. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Michael Bloomberg The entrepreneur and former New York mayor– with a net worth of around $50bn – has said he will decide by the end of February whether to seek the presidency. AFP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Howard Schultz Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has not yet ruled out running for president in 2020, despite criticism that his bid could help re-elect Mr Trump by dividing the Democrat vote. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Eric Holder The former attorney general has said he will decide in “the next month or so” whether to run as a 2020 presidential candidate. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Eric Swalwell The California congressman said he is “ready to do this” and will decide before April whether to run. MSNBC Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Terry McAuliffe The former Virginia governor, who worked to elect Democratic governors during 2018 midterms, said there was a “50 per cent” chance he would run. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Sherrod Brown The Ohio senator is still undecided about whether to run for president in 2020. Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Mitch Landrieu The former New Orleans mayor said he doesn’t think he will run for president, but “never say never”. AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

There have been suggestions that Robert Mueller could challenge the justice department guidelines if his investigation into alleged Russian collusion with Mr Trump’s election campaign brought up evidence of criminality.

But Mr Schiff said it was “very likely” the special counsel would adhere to the guidance.

The president’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, claimed earlier this year that Mr Mueller’s team had acknowledged Mr Trump could not be indicted.

Mr Cohen has alleged Mr Trump personally ordered him to pay hush money to two woman who claim they had affairs with the president before he was elected. The lawyer admitted the payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal were intended to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential vote.