ASK ALITO THIS
If a female president got an abortion during her term, could Idaho arrest her?
Presidential immunity is absolute, except when it isn’t.
Trump’s team will argue before the Supreme Court that he is above the law. It’s a BS claim and he knows it, but until SCOTUS rules, his federal criminal conspiracy case is on hold. He’s trying to run out the clock so he can’t be convicted before the election.
AFTER TODAY EVERYBODY SHOULD GET ONBOARD TO EXPAND THE COURT
IF PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY IS A THING THEN WHEN THE CATHOLIC ILLIGITAMATE SCOTUS RULES IN FAVOR FOR TRUMP – BIDEN CAN HAVE HIM KILLED RIGHT NOW, AND DECLARE HIMSELF PRESIDENT FOR LIFE AS AN OFFICIAL ACT.
“Official acts” is a concept that any President and his cabinet can so easily manipulate. As long as it involves the official chain of command, they can claim that. Also, proving otherwise would be nearly impossible because of Executive Privilege. Such nonsense.
Donald Trump’s lawyer is effectively arguing before the Supreme Court that there is no legal recourse if Joe Biden orders the military to kill his client.
YOU HAVE THE MOB BOSS:
TRUMP GETS TO CHANGE THE RULES ANYTIME
Trump wants to make every rule, all the rules, period, then break any of said rules, whenever he wants, period.
And of course he could pardon those who he feels so inclined to favor !
^
MOB UNDERBOSS
^
CAPTAIN
^
SOLDIER
The fact that SCOTUS is even hearing this is ridiculous.
What he did on January 6th was NOT official, and was definitely outside the scope of his position as President. So it’s an asinine claim in the first place. I’m 70% confident this bogus SCOTUS will rule in Trump’s favor.
Alito is horrified by the possibility that Presidents will appoint AGs who will rubber stamp their activities. You know. Like Bill Barr. Dreeben pretends that hasn’t happened.
Justice Jackson nailed it
CRIMINAL LIABILITY MUST BE USED TO KEEP A PRESIDENT INLINE
All of TFG’s team seem to forget that Biden is the sitting POTUS.
If Biden has absolute immunity, then Biden can throw every GQP into prison now. And abolish Congress/SCOTUS and then impose an ultra progressive agenda.
But anyone prosecuted for following the illegal act of the potus could be pardoned by the potus thereby rendering them immune as well at the discretion of the potus (aka king).
Sotomayor just demonstrated the hypocrisy by showing that if POTUS is not subject to the criminal law, then the Senate could not convict.
Trump’s argument: Presidential immunity is absolute for official acts, motive is irrelevant, prosecution requires specific statutes, evidence of official acts is inadmissible, and while former presidents can’t be prosecuted, their associates can.
These arguments are not being made in good faith for the benefit of the Office of the President and future Presidents, they are being made to insure that Donald Trump is above the law.
Given the fact that Trump and the Republican party have become a threat to US democracy, would Biden arresting all of them not be considered an official act to protect the US Constitution and rule of law?
Experts alarmed by Thomas’ participation in Trump immunity case despite ‘insurrectionist’ wife
George Conway
Sotomayor: If the president decides that his rival is a corrupt person and he orders the military to assassinate him, is that within his official acts to which he has immunity?
“That could well be an official act,” Trump lawyer John Sauer says
Sotomayor: If the president decides that his rival is a corrupt person and he orders the military to assassinate him, is that within his official acts to which he has immunity?
“That could well be an official act,” Trump lawyer John Sauer says
I can say with reasonable confidence that if you’re arguing a case in the Supreme Court of the United States and Justices Alito and Sotomayor are tag-teaming you, you are going to lose.
Elie Mystal
Alito clarifies that the ask here might be to exclude the official acts from trial, so the prosecution can’t use evidence related to official acts.
Sotomayor pipes up to show that Alito’s standard is, once again, stupid.
Every Alito, Thomas, and Gorsuch question is frankly code for “remand.”
Roberts is not for remand. This could come down to Barrett.
Ultimately, I do not think they’ll give Trump blanket immunity for all crimes. But the thing I’m listening for is “remand.” I’m listening for Thomas, Alito, and Roberts to say that Trump may have *some* immunity Judge Chutkan didn’t fully consider. And send the case back to her.
Justice Sotomayor: “I am having a hard time thinking that creating false documents, that submitting false documents, that ordering the assassination of a rival, that accepting a bribe and countless other laws that could be broken for personal gain, that anyone would say that it would be reasonable for a president or any public official to do that.”
“A president is entitled for total personal gain to use the trappings of his office — that’s what you’re trying to get us to hold — without facing criminal liability,” Sotomayor said. Sauer argued the law does not “turn on the allegedly improper motivation or purpose” of the act.
Leonard Leo “participated in the Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, & Barrett Supreme Court selection & confirmation process as well as the outside efforts in support of the Roberts & Alito …confirmations,” per the Catholic Information Center (whose board includes Leo).
https://cicdc.org/speakers/leonard-leo/
Asha Rangappa
To sum up Trump’s argument:
1. POTUS can’t be prosecuted for official acts, immunity is “absolute”
2. In determining whether something is an official act, you cannot examine the motive behind it, i.e., whether it was for personal gain
3. POTUS *can* be prosecuted for official acts if they are convicted and removed first (so not absolute??)
4. To be prosecuted the criminal statute has to specifically say it applies to the President
5. In any prosecution you can’t introduce evidence that would constitute an official act (so if prosecuting bribery you can’t show that they did anything official in return for the money, which is an element of the offense)
6. Even tho you can’t prosecute a former president for unlawful official acts (see #1-5 above), anyone who does his bidding can be
NY
Pecker says that he wanted the contract to stipulate that McDougal would perform services (i.e., write articles) for AMI bc he wanted it to look like the 150K payment had “a basis for it.” But in fact his primary purpose was to buy her life rights (i.e., her Trump story).
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