I held off posting this morning, waiting to see if the U.S. Supreme Court would release their decision about Presidential immunity, figuring they would thread that needle with great care.
Based on recent past decisions, it seemed likely the decision was going to work in Mr. Trump's favor, but narrowly. The Justices are all clever lawyers, I thought, and mindful of theire responsibilities, they'd take care to not leave a mess.
Was I ever wrong. Their decision is problematic on many level. Ignore for now the legal troubles of former President Donald J. Trump, and consider the wider angles:
If you believe President Biden committed crimes, as President or during his terms as Vice-President, well, that's tough; he's almost certainly immune from prosecution for them.
There's a moral problem with the underlying notion that a President might have to commit crimes in the course of his or her duties: if it's immoral for you or me to do something, it's immoral for a President to do the same thing. We expect our country's military to fight wars without committing atrocities, war crimes, grave injustices -- and we prosecute them when they fail to abide by these civilized norms, even in battle. We must ask no less of our Presidents.
No man should be above the law. Not Donald Trump or Joe Biden or any of their predecessors. I don't know what the conservative majority on the Court was thinking, but it wasn't very clear thought, and it certainly wasn't with any kind of an eye to Framers or their original intent.
The United States of America is in trouble now. I don't know if the damage can be repaired.
BUILDING A 1:1 BALUN
4 years ago
6 comments:
The good news and the bad news is that the limits will have to thrashed out in court cases, and therefore judges can limit it if they want to.
But the concept of ultra vires--if it's not an authorized power, any use of the power is automatically void--needs to make a big comeback, and needs to do it soon.
Jeffrey Smith
The President, the Executive Branch, is supposed to execute the duties and laws given to it by Congress, the Legislative Branch.
The Legislative branch can impeach and remove a President from power. If you have a President committing high crimes and misdemeanors, Congress is supposed to that person. It isn't just because you don't like that person.
Yes, and...? If the President goes and robs a bank, or beats a bum to death with an umbrella in a fit of pique, Congress might (or might not) impeach him, and he or she would be be immune from prosecution as long as they held the office, but that doesn't (or it didn't used to) stop 'em from being criminally liable and facing indictment once their term of office was over, by impeachment or expiration.
There are a lot of things a President might do that rise (or fall) to the level of prosecutable offenses that aren't bank robbery or murder -- send a squad of operatives to burgle the offices of an opposition candidate, seduce a subordinate and lie to Congress about it, attempt to coerce an elected official to commit election fraud, try to commit a self-coup, or incite a mob to storm Congress, trash the building and keep Senators and Representatives from performing their duties. All of these things have nothing at all to do with my or anyone's liking or not liking the President. I'm told Al Capone was very likeable to the average working Chicagoan -- but he still committed crimes, some of them appallingly terrible. And plenty of unlikeable people have lead otherwise blameless lives.
The act makes the criminal, not their personality. This isn't some silent-film melodrama.
All a successful impeachment does or can do is remove a person from office. It's not a criminal or civil trial.
“It isn't just because you don't like that person.“
Comments like this make me wonder how well a person’s been keeping up with current events.
Impeachment has become entirely political, divorced from moral or criminal judgment. Both parties moved against Nixon in Watergate, now it's done as performative antagonism. So thinking it will present any just resolution is moonbeams absent politicians of principle and morality, that being nearly non-existent on the Right.
Stewart Dean, I think you're overly cynical. Or maybe too sentimental. If we can keep these hogs fed, they may yet be good for bacon.
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