• hotspur@lemmy.ml
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    5 days ago

    Does the Supreme Court ruling last year that presidents cannot commit crime while presidenting just mean this is ultimately a non-starter?

    • barrbaric [he/him]@hexbear.net
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      5 days ago

      IIRC that was for “official duties” of the office of the president or somesuch, they could just argue that these weren’t official duties. Really the SC can just say whatever they want as an excuse.

      • hotspur@lemmy.ml
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        5 days ago

        Ostensibly yes, but I feel like the way the ruling was built—virtually anything they did, from taking a shit to ordering the hit on their grade school bully would fall under their “official duties” and you also weren’t allowed to use any communications from any of their staffers, etc. I just remember that it was basically a blanket immunity, once you factored in the burden of arguing the case.

        That said, of course they will apply a different standard/ignore whatever they want. I’m still thinking it won’t go farther than performative statements and social media, but they’re so whacky that it’s almost impossible to make proper predictions about anything.

    • Alaskaball [comrade/them, any]@hexbear.netM
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      5 days ago

      Pretty much yeah. But the question arises, if the current president decides to arrest the former president for whatever bullshit reasons, who’s gonna stop him? Democratic norms? A sternly worded impeachment? MSNDNC talking heads saying "how dare you Sir! libbing-out "

      • hotspur@lemmy.ml
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        5 days ago

        Well I mean they can arrest him. But presumably they’ll still have to have a trial and his lawyers will point to the ruling. But who knows, maybe they will denaturalize him as a national security threat and deport him to Guantanamo as an enemy combatant and avoid due process altogether.

          • hotspur@lemmy.ml
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            5 days ago

            Would be crazy funny to send bush and Obama to Guantanamo to hang with the 5 mentally ill dudes left from their GWOT years plus a bunch of Venezuelans and Haitians and such. I think they’d have a great time. Obama could teach them about playlist making and bush could start a new painting series…

        • Alaskaball [comrade/them, any]@hexbear.netM
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          5 days ago

          Certainly a spicy possibility for the future. Personally I’m mostly hoping they just do some shitflinging, legal bickering, and continue the rest of the train wreck presidency not causing ww3.

      • hotspur@lemmy.ml
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        5 days ago

        Oh for sure. Besides they can just run it back up to the Supreme Court and most likely get what they want.