A decade later, after Kavanaugh had worked closely with President George W. Bush, he wrote in a law review that he had new appreciation for the demands of the presidency and the toll any legal proceeding could take on the White House. He recommended presidents be shielded from civil and criminal litigation until they leave office."Having seen first-hand how complex and difficult that job is," he wrote,
"I believe it vital that the President be able to focus on his never-ending tasks with as few distractions as possible." He acknowledged that blocking litigation would suggest the President was "above the law," but he added that "the point is not to put the President above the law or to eliminate checks on the President, but simply to defer litigation and investigations until the President is out of office."Kavanaugh noted in the 2009 Minnesota Law Review piece that a check against a "bad-behaving or law-breaking President" would still exist. "If the President does something dastardly, the impeachment process is available."