Supreme Court rules 6-3 that Trump has immunity from prosecution for "official" acts

Now Trump’s attorneys are trying to get the NY verdict overturned by muddying the waters about what evidence was/wasn’t the product of “official acts” which seems so ridiculous, it might just actually work. Especially if those challenges make their way all the way up to the same justices.

12 Likes

26 Likes

Not going to happen. There is no federal court issue. The time for post judgment motions passed. The crimes were committed in New York.

9 Likes

the American people have to decide who they trust with unfettered power.

Hmm, depends on the meaning of “decide”? I doubt that – although Beau sees this decision as the most important election issue – most voters will vote with it in mind. I don’t think most even understand it today, let alone that they even heard about it today, and let alone that they’ll remember it on election today.

That may be cynical, but I do think a lot of us who care about the implications of these SCOTUS decisions and Tromp’s convictions can easily forget how very little attention most people pay to “politics.” The massive indifference and ignorance out there are just more things that frighten me. I’m afraid most people will cast their vote for reasons that have little to do with political realities that we who pay attention understand.

16 Likes

That has a popehat thread embedded.

8 Likes

SCOTUS intervenes on State matters all the time. If there’s a question of federal or constitutional law, they can absolutely nullify his conviction.

The ruling today gives such broad immunity that anything considered an “official act” cannot be used as evidence in a trial on unofficial acts, and this is what Trump’s lawyers are trying to exploit now. It’s absolutely maddening.

11 Likes

Been waiting all day for this one.

5 Likes

rdveluvs

9 Likes

There is no federal or constitutional issue. He violated a fairly mundane state law as a private citizen through his personal business entities. Trump’s business is not a government concern. Nothing about its operations are part of the role of any government figure.

He can save the argument for a non existent appeal with the 1st Appellate Department.

4 Likes

I can see now why fantasies of Biden using this new presidential super power in any sort of new, effectively anti-fascist way are just that – fantasies.

They’re unrealistic because of the Court’s insidious insistence that it will be up to the courts to decide whether this or that objectionable presidential act is an “official” one or not. Basically, those a Republican president does will be declared official by the SCOTUS, and thus granted immunity, and those a Democtrat does won’t.

It’s tough not to think that we’re witnessing today a major step in what amounts to a judicial coup. Nest step, perhaps: Biden winning the vote, Tromp challenging it, and the SCOTUS declaring Tromp the actual winner (which it actually did in 2000, for Bush…).

19 Likes

I wish I shared your confidence, and yesterday I would have. But it’s a different game now. If he can claim that official acts were a part of the evidence, they now cannot be used as evidence against any unofficial acts. That could force parts of the case to be invalidated and require a retrial. It’s a ridiculous legal theory but these are ridiculous times.

14 Likes

“At any rate, congratulations to the Federalist Society for an achievement beyond the reach of the British, outside the grasp of bloody civil war, impossible to Nazis and Soviets and terrorists: defeating the American idea”

:sob:

to add to the things he touched on - considering he’s a well known lawyer, and i am … not - i also read that a president ■■■■■ is now supposed to get the presumption of an official act unless provable otherwise

so add that to ken white’s list

(1) motive is irrelevant and (2) immune acts are not just excluded from prosecution, they’re excluded from evidence.

and it becomes a complete catch-22.

i hope aoc really does put forward articles of impeachment. this is seriously bad.

20 Likes

image

Of course, Varys was right and Littlefinger was wrong.

7 Likes

He wasn’t even president when Daniels was paid off!

ETA:

They can’t even do that. That’s what’s so batshit crazy about this decision. They took away the power of judicial review for official acts. Any president, regardless of affiliation, can act with total immunity as long as they can remotely point to it as official. Even for vaguely maybe sorta official acts, they can’t compel evidence gathering!

15 Likes

It would require bringing the case to federal court. It doesn’t qualify. Trump’s business operations can never be considered official acts of a president. The District Court would likely dismiss it out of hand as not meeting jurisdiction requirements. Federal Court is designed to keep most cases out except those that meet limited requirements for jurisdiction.

5 Likes

Much of the evidence presented was from events that took place while he was president. That’s the rub.

9 Likes

i keep turning back to noam chomsky’s advice . . .“the lesser of two evils is still less evil.”

obvious shill for the fascists.

8 Likes

Between now and November, exactly what do you propose to be done?

1 Like

Get out the vote? In whatever ways we can?

That’s all Biden seemed to recommend today. :person_shrugging:

13 Likes

i am starting with my nearest relatives or acquaintances who support trump and try, one-on-one, to shift them away from trump. they didn’t arrive at trump and the g.o.p. death-cult by means of logic and reason so helping them escape will require reckoning with the underlying emotional lures drawing them into the fascist mindset to find countervailing emotional puills to bring them out.

since i began this project in may i have managed to get one of my acquaintances to agree not to vote in the presidential race while voting for allred over cruz in the senate and have gotten one of my cousins to agree to vote for biden. living in texas cautions me against hoping for much success but i do what i can.

“il faut cultiver son propre jardin” . . .

21 Likes