Special Counsel Jack Smith is scheduled to respond by Dec. 30, after which a three-judge panel will hear oral arguments on Trump’s ‘immunity’ appeal of his D.C. indictment on Jan. 9
A federal appeals court should dismiss Donald Trump’s federal felony indictment on election-subversion charges on the grounds that he has “immunity” from prosecution for acts committed while president, attorneys for Trump argued in a court filing Saturday night.
The 71-page opening brief from Trump’s legal team took direct aim at Special Counsel Jack Smith’s criminal charges, calling them “unlawful and unconstitutional” because under the U.S. government system the judicial branch “cannot sit in judgment over a President’s official acts.”
Trump’s lawyers argue that the only way a current or former president can be charged for official acts is if he’s both impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate. They also lean hard into an untested legal argument that Trump can’t be prosecuted for acts where he did get impeached but the Senate acquitted him.
the judicial branch “cannot sit in judgment over a President’s official acts.”
That’s the entire premise of checks and balances.
He’s never struck me as understanding the slightest thing about the role of president.
Also, the President has no official role in the elections process. At most, the Justice Department might investigate violations of the Voting Rights Act (what little remains), but the President wouldn’t be involved in this at all.
And instructing an armed crowd to march on Congress to stop the certification of the vote of DEFINITELY not in his official duties. So even if we accept that Presidents are immune while doing official duties (which they aren’t), then he’s still not immune.
A president tries to subvert an election has immunity from being prosecuted for trying to subvert an election.
That’s authoritarianism.
No worries, if that’s the ruling Biden can just stay in office and jail his political opponents. These idiots have absolutely no self-awareness and will say whatever they need to in the moment.
If PotUS is immune to all criminal prosecution, Biden can hunt SCotUS justices for sport.
He should march down there and arrest the whole supreme court. Hold them for an hour while they think about their legal position, then send them to bed without supper.
Even better, we could get an awful lot of money if he were to sell game tickets to the highest bidders. In the name of egalitarianism, I would suggest that teams should be allowed so that the lower income people can band together and pool their money for a slot.
They are already accusing Biden (and other democrats) of trying to do that and worse…
What the fuck is the Constitution actually good for if these fucks can just magically ascribe the meaning to random sentences written by old fucks over 200 years ago when horses were the mode of transportation.
Immunity isn’t in the constitution for anyone. The supreme court just made it up at one point to try and keep themselves from being sued. I assume that’s what they’re appealing with here. No one knows how it works because, again, they just made it up.
Lots of immunities are in the Constitution. Others are part of the legal framework upon which the Constitution relies. And others were made up whole cloth from an incorrect reading of history (such as the special immunity conferred to LEO commonly referred to as “qualified immunity”).
Qualified immunity is among the worst things that has ever happened to this country. Maybe even worse than ruling that corporations are people but can’t be given the same consequences that people are given because they’re corporations with lots of money. Excuse me, I mean lots of freedom of expression.
Yeah, QI is pretty awful. The awfulness is compounded by the fact that the reasoning which created it relied upon ahistorical information and in places where it actually makes sense for some level of immunity to be available, that immunity is covered by other principles.
Any immunity that police require should be covered by Good Samaritan laws.
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It’s been over one thousand days since the Jan 6 attack, the trial has not even begun.
The GTA 6 leaker was sentenced to life 2 weeks after it happened
The GTA 6 leaks were in September 2022, so a little more than two weeks ago!
He wasn’t “sentenced to life.” And yes, criminal trials involving a lot of moving parts and complex legal theories take time to investigate and bring. Are you suggesting that due process and the rule of law should be ignored?
Yep. He committed the leak while on bail from other cyber crime. indicated he would continue engaging in criminal behavior. Was violent towards others while incarcerated. Deemed not mentally fit. And is indefinitely held in a psychiatric facility until a point in time he seems mentally fit to be released and not continue criminal activity.
Hmmmm…“due process later” - Trump
Well yeah, everyone knows you’re not allowed to leak confidential information unless you’re the president.
It’s okay if you’re a republican and named trump.
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Trump’s lawyers argue that the only way a current or former president can be charged for official acts is if he’s both impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate.
So what Trump’s lawyers are arguing is that Biden should legally be able to wait until the last week (not enough time for an impeachment) of his holding of office, perform an extrajudicial imprisonment of Trump in Federal prison for a week, then leave office without any legal consequences because of immunity for acts performed while president without being impeached for it?
Federal prison for a week? Don’t we still have Guantanamo?
Under this interpretation, extrajudicial execution of TFG and all his congressional enablers (and problematic SCOTUS justices, and followers) would also be AOK. The law couldn’t touch him. Heck, with enough violence, he could head off any impeachment as well.
I don’t see SCOTUS handing that power to a Democrat.
Although knowing Democrats, they’d do nothing with the power, turn over power to Trump, and be wiped out on January 21st.
If he somehow gets granted immunity (which, despite all of the special treatment he has received and is continuing to receive, I find extremely unlikely because that would mean every single president past, present, and future would be similarly immune from prosecution for any crimes whatsoever), we need to be rioting in the streets.
I’m not healthy enough to be rioting or spending even a couple days in jail, but I’ll fucking do it anyway. This is fascism with no exaggeration. If this goes through and my fellow Americans grumble and shrug their shoulders… I don’t even know. Maybe I would be rioting against everybody sitting in their houses letting it happen.
That’s how democracy dies. In apathetic silence.
Someone should toss that orange shitstain out a window.
A low window.
Just high enough that he’s really badly hurt. Maybe like breaking his coccyx.
At his age tripping on level ground could do it.
Follow him around throwing caltrops in front of him everywhere he goes.
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Not even even Trump supporters are stupid enough to believe he’s not guilty. They just don’t have a problem with it.
WTF is this immunity argument? America doesn’t do kings.
