SCOTUS Shenanigans Watch

The Supreme Court’s Presidential Immunity decision below.

First tv responses seem to say it supports Trump.

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SCOTUS on the NetChoice cases:

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ETA: this is probably the correct decision. SCOTUS is saying that the 5th and 11th Circuits didn’t do a full analysis of the issues, and they need to do that first before SCOTUS can make a decision.

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It does. Here’s the core holding:

Under our constitutional structure of separated powers, the nature of Presidential power entitles a former President to absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions within his conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority. And he is entitled to at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts. There is no immunity for unofficial acts.

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Ohhhh the ol’ “devil is in the details” approach, eh?

Whoever gets to define what constitutes “unofficial acts” is gonna be The Decider here.

I am double-plus unloving this timeline.

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Tv Show Comedy GIF by HULU

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A round up of this year’s rulings:

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We’re officially a dictatorship in waiting now.

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Sad Matthew Mcconaughey GIF by Legendary Entertainment

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This is what will hang him. The court comes right out and says that his actions as a candidate are unofficial acts and kicks it to the District Court to determine which parts of the indictment are official, and thus under immunity, and which are unofficial, and thus subject to indictment. They were vague-ish about arguably official acts and said DoJ could try to make a case for it. But there’s certainly enough in his actions as a candidate that are insurrectionist in nature to proceed.

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Yeah, the problem is, that’s all going to take time. In his various trials, his attorneys are now going to file motions to dismiss, arguing that his acts were all official. And even if the district court says no, they’re unofficial, he will appeal. That will eventually end up in the Supreme Court again. It will be months, or maybe a year or more now before these cases finally come to trial. In the meantime, if Trump is elected in November, he will pardon himself, and this fucking Court will decide that he can do that, and it will all be moot. Biden has to win n November. It’s now mandatory.

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They gave her guidelines on how to do that… they did not give Chutkan full power to do that… :woman_shrugging:

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Justice delayed = justice denied.

Mooted.

Yes and:

Brian Tyler Cohen (host): “Did the Court basically just render itself irrelevant, neuter itself compared to the executive branch? … If the court system hands downs an order, for example, why would a president even have to comply, given this newfound freedom?”

Glenn Kirschner (former asst U.S. attorney for office of District of Columbia): “If a president sells a pardon at a million dollars a pop, and pockets that one millions dollars, this supreme court opinion… says… ‘you cannot look to the president’s motivation; if he did something that constitutes an act within the core constitutional power of the presidency, he gets to do it.’ … That’s what the Supreme Court just made up out of whole cloth.”

Kirschner: “I’m quoting from the opinion now: ‘Testimony or private records of the president or his advisors, probing the president’s conduct on this official vs non-official acts, may not be admitted as evidence at trial.’ Brian–what the hell does that mean?”

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I haven’t actually read the opinion yet. I’m going to, but I’m going to wait until I’m in a better frame of mind.

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I just can’t read it right now

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I don’t want a President under these conditions. No one.

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That’s okay. It appears that our Supreme Leader is now the Supreme Court.

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& @anon23281680 I did. Again, IANAL, but it’s worse that what I initially read, but in some ways better. They really did paint themselves into an impossible corner. We will see if their assumption of Biden’s good faith was a reach too far. But let’s put it this way - the extreme language in the dissents is fully justified. It is a batshit crazy decision.

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… as with Bush v. Gore, they’re free to just make up a new policy every time the issue comes up

Republicans get one kind of ruling, Democrats get the other, it doesn’t have to make sense

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