The Supreme Court's 6-3 presidential immunity ruling puts the president above the law. The extremist supermajority has strengthened Trump's hand and made a possible second term even more dangerous.
I’m all over wringing our hands and hoping Trump is beaten in November. I suggest bold and decisive action by our current president. A couple of executive orders aka “official actions”: padlock the SCOTUS until the Justice Dept can confirm they haven’t been criminally compromised. • Executive action, no convicted felon can run for federal office or fly on a private jet seating more than 6.
Judge Chutkan, now knowing any appeal will be bespoke for Trump, should expedite the trial, and televise it. Americans need to know
I just wrote, as much, in a reply here. There is only ONE person who will save this country and thank goodness it lies with age and wisdom and not some new shiny object not willing to piss off those who are pissing all over our freedoms and rights. They call themselves members of the Federalist Society when, in reality, they are the 7 Pillars of Tyranny Society as so feared by the Founders.
There is very much more that Biden can do to protect America from becoming a Russian clone. He and the FBI and the AG can root out and arrest the Putin spies and traitors in our government and media. They are not difficult to identify. They are spreading Putin's propaganda every day. Bought and paid for. Violators of their oaths of office. Violators of the public trust. Biden can take the "bold" action the majority envisions. To protect the Union.
I suspect the appeals will begin as soon as Judge Chutkan rules on the evidence which would put the trial on hold.
However, holding evidentiary hearings was compared to having a ‘mini-trial’ by analysts. They said it would get the evidence and arguments to the public before the election.
Yup. Since Roberts actually referred to some issues as "fact laden" I don't see how Chutkan can rule without something akin to summary judgement where the facts are presumed to be those the prosecution has alleged. Otherwise, whether facts HAPPENED is a jury issue, hard to do when the jury isn't empaneled yet. That could get a LOT of attention on what he actually did.
please someone explain why journalists and commentators describe these justices and other right wingers as conservative ...it makes them sound so upstanding and cautious. they are reactionaries . reactionaries. we learned this in high school history class in the sixties. they don't want things to stay as they are, they want things to go backwards. I think the uninformed might think differently if they were labelled for what they are-- reactionaries. are journalists somehow playing it safe? I can't imagine that they are not educated.....
They are conspirators for Donald Trump, and indeed reactionaries who want exactly what conservatism never stood for - almost absolute power in the executive and judicial branches. We're forgetting Loper Bright, a SC decision almost as catastrophic.
Yes, groups do this because as you point out it is a communication strategy that makes them seem more respectable. Another example was the label “alt right”. Far right white nationalists or white supremacists doesn’t have quite the same ring to it.
Justice Sotomayor's words are words that every American should read. No one - including the President - above the law. I am old enough to remember Watergate. It seems so quaint now.
If any Republican is ever again elected to the office of the president, this will be the end of this country as we have known it, imperfect as it may be.
How can we not be aware of how authoritarian governments rule their people? You don't see many immigrants going to those countries, they have wanted to come here. But we are so afraid of them, apparently, that we are willing to give up our democracy.
And for those who think this is a good thing, you're going to miss your own freedoms when they're gone, because authoritarians will take them as quickly as they will take them from the people they tell you to fear.
Any future president comes under this law, regardless of party. A Democrat can be corrupt and amoral, too. Americans can be very stupid in choosing their leaders.
Thank you for posting Sotomayor’s dissent. Brilliant. We need to pass that around. Biden needs to change Attorney Generals immediately because Merrick Garland has not been doing his job. Trump should have been arrested the afternoon of the 2021 inauguration. Everybody involved in it should have been arrested immediately. Those who said that he’s doing the judicious thing by starting with the small people and building up were wrong. Biden also needs to immediately increase the number of people on the court. Through some executive actions if we can’t get things through Congress, there is a need for absolute new laws/rules/regs to protect America right now. If Trump wins, Europe is done because Putin will run all over it. Even worse… Because there will be no immunity… Trump could will the United States involved in a European war and have United States forces fighting on the side of Russia. I can see him, allowing Russians to come into our government and start to take over the government and us becoming not much more than a satellite of Russia. I think there’s going to need to be a revolution if Trump wins.
Let’s be clear about what happened today. SCOTUS just put their thumb on the scales of justice in favor of Trump getting away with all of the serious crimes against our country he committed in the wake of the 2020 election. And even more infuriating, the most corrupt justice gave Judge Cannon a roadmap to dismiss the documents case, behavior that happened after he left office, with his little ditty about the special counsel appointment being unconstitutional. We’ve had 44 presidents before Trump and not one demanded absolute immunity before making bold and unhesitating decisions. This partisan decision does not serve justice or the American people in any way. It serves one person only, and was intended to advance the conservative’s theory of the unitary executive, which is the bridge to total autocracy. But I’m not giving up and I hope millions of Americans are with me. We must vote in numbers too large to rig or to steal.
What if Trump was arrested the moment he stepped off Marine One at Mar a Lago?
What if Ginny Thomas was arrested, so the most radical member of SCOTUS wouldn’t be able to rule on Jan 6 cases?
What if the 3 or 4 GOP House members involved in the rebellion conspiracy, were arrested so their votes didn’t enable the place we now find ourselves?
What if, right now, while Biden is in office we stop watching this slow motion coup and get serious about stopping this? Executive order away, officially you can’t be prosecuted.
Let no one be surprised. And let's stop giving the Supreme Court the benefit of the doubt: they will throw the election to Trump unless we win in November by overwhelming numbers. There is no other way to reclaim the values for which we stand. But we can do this is we stay united.
Dear Fellow Democrats, please stop pulling in different directions.
Dear President Biden: PLEASE schedule an immediate press conference to let us know if you are planning to continue, or to let us know if you are planning to stand down. If the former, we need to know that you have the physical stamina to do so. We, in turn, will build a groundswell of support behind you. If the latter, let us know who you choose to nominate. You will be revered for your selflessness.
And Joe, one more thing: please be sure to use a handheld mic so that you can step out from behind the podium.
I agree, Diane. But Joe Biden has to come out soon to address this unbelievable situation of the Supreme Court shredding any semblance of law and siding with a traitor.
1. Donald Trump is a clear and present danger to the United States. Joe Biden now has a green light to arrest and prosecute Donald for all of his criminal acts before and after his presidential term. Throw him in jail and deny his candidacy. Perhaps GITMO. The GOP can select someone else at their convention. He also has the green light to arrest and prosecute every one of Donald's lieutenants and supporters who have sided with our enemies, specifically Putin and Orban. And he has the green light to revoke the licenses of all platforms that spread and repeat Russian propaganda. Censor them the same way that Putin and Xi and Un censor American media and internet. His "bold" action may be the only way to retain our Union.
2. If Trump achieves the Oval again, he will use this ruling as political cover to destroy Democracy in America. Including taking control of the courts and Congress. ("The Supreme Court said I could do whatever I want!") And shutting down the legit Press. He's clearly described his plan to prosecute his enemies, including the Press, the "Enemies of the State." This is what Patrick Henry warned about in 1788. A Bad Man who becomes President could use the military and the justice system to become king. If Donald has his way America will become Russia.
SCOTUS has officially joined the race to put Trump back into the White House. There is no lack of motivation for those of us making sure that won’t happen. The ads write themselves.
I left this comment on two other Sub Stack pieces today:
Today’s “decision”/non-decision could be the final nail in the coffin of our democracy. It seeks to make the President a dictator, immune from prosecution, free to do whatever he wishes independent of any point of control over his actions. This decision is our marching order. We need to defeat Donald Trump and we certainly need to regain control of the House and increase control in the Senate. We need an expanded Supreme Court to overturn the damage from Trump’s first term in office and return a balance to our country. If we do not succeed, many of us will never, ever see the democracy we’ve grown up with and leave our children and grandchildren with a giant pile of poop in which they need to navigate their lives. This is unacceptable. We need to take action now. VOTE BLUE. Or else.
The Supreme Court Six just took a giant fecal dump on the rule of law and paved the way for the dissolution of our democratic republic. The Supreme Court Six is not a gaggle of conservatives. It is an evil cabal of pretentious ideologues paid for under the table by right-wing Republicans. The United States as we have known it will be dead within a generation or sooner. The innocents will be marched to the gallows by order of the president king.
I can think of four or five Justices who can be charged with perjury or bribery (unfortunately being bonedeep ignorant or ideologically fascist isn’t illegal). “Official immunity” cuts both ways.
What a Terrifying Time! From NY Times playing Chicken Little or showing their true colors, trying to sink President Biden's reelection, to the malevalent 6 killing all the regulating agencies. Now Immunity! It seems as though we have criminals sitting on the (small letters intentional) supreme court... no one, NO ONE, could read the Constitution and honestly rule as they have. Coupers are hiding everywhere, crapping on our country... but the Supreme Court???
President Biden has nothing to lose. I hope he takes decisive action to stop this coup, and it has to be now... there is no later any longer.
Perhaps we should look at this from a different viewpoint. If President Biden, in an official capacity, ordered Seal Team 6, or the Secret Service to “take out” his orange political opponent, he couldn’t be prosecuted for it. Just sayin’…
CFDT is certainly a threat to the security of the United States, it would within his official duties. UnAmerician, but now court defined as an official duty.
I’m all over wringing our hands and hoping Trump is beaten in November. I suggest bold and decisive action by our current president. A couple of executive orders aka “official actions”: padlock the SCOTUS until the Justice Dept can confirm they haven’t been criminally compromised. • Executive action, no convicted felon can run for federal office or fly on a private jet seating more than 6.
Judge Chutkan, now knowing any appeal will be bespoke for Trump, should expedite the trial, and televise it. Americans need to know
I just wrote, as much, in a reply here. There is only ONE person who will save this country and thank goodness it lies with age and wisdom and not some new shiny object not willing to piss off those who are pissing all over our freedoms and rights. They call themselves members of the Federalist Society when, in reality, they are the 7 Pillars of Tyranny Society as so feared by the Founders.
I like your thinking 👍.
There is very much more that Biden can do to protect America from becoming a Russian clone. He and the FBI and the AG can root out and arrest the Putin spies and traitors in our government and media. They are not difficult to identify. They are spreading Putin's propaganda every day. Bought and paid for. Violators of their oaths of office. Violators of the public trust. Biden can take the "bold" action the majority envisions. To protect the Union.
When do you expect this will get done? By November? Seriously?
If the FBI, CIA, NSA and the other security agencies don't have files on these spies already they aren't doing their job.
I suspect the appeals will begin as soon as Judge Chutkan rules on the evidence which would put the trial on hold.
However, holding evidentiary hearings was compared to having a ‘mini-trial’ by analysts. They said it would get the evidence and arguments to the public before the election.
Yup. Since Roberts actually referred to some issues as "fact laden" I don't see how Chutkan can rule without something akin to summary judgement where the facts are presumed to be those the prosecution has alleged. Otherwise, whether facts HAPPENED is a jury issue, hard to do when the jury isn't empaneled yet. That could get a LOT of attention on what he actually did.
please someone explain why journalists and commentators describe these justices and other right wingers as conservative ...it makes them sound so upstanding and cautious. they are reactionaries . reactionaries. we learned this in high school history class in the sixties. they don't want things to stay as they are, they want things to go backwards. I think the uninformed might think differently if they were labelled for what they are-- reactionaries. are journalists somehow playing it safe? I can't imagine that they are not educated.....
Agree. The old categories no longer fit. Changed it to “hard-right supermajority.”
“Fascists” has a nice ring to it, also fewer syllables.
They are conspirators for Donald Trump, and indeed reactionaries who want exactly what conservatism never stood for - almost absolute power in the executive and judicial branches. We're forgetting Loper Bright, a SC decision almost as catastrophic.
Yes, groups do this because as you point out it is a communication strategy that makes them seem more respectable. Another example was the label “alt right”. Far right white nationalists or white supremacists doesn’t have quite the same ring to it.
Justice Sotomayor's words are words that every American should read. No one - including the President - above the law. I am old enough to remember Watergate. It seems so quaint now.
Watergate? Just the beginning.
Got to wonder what he thinks about this dumpster fire.
Nixon? He and DJT were simpatico.
https://www.nixonfoundation.org/2020/09/unseen-correspondence-between-nixon-and-trump-on-display-in-special-exhibit-at-the-nixon-library/
If any Republican is ever again elected to the office of the president, this will be the end of this country as we have known it, imperfect as it may be.
How can we not be aware of how authoritarian governments rule their people? You don't see many immigrants going to those countries, they have wanted to come here. But we are so afraid of them, apparently, that we are willing to give up our democracy.
And for those who think this is a good thing, you're going to miss your own freedoms when they're gone, because authoritarians will take them as quickly as they will take them from the people they tell you to fear.
You are afraid of the wrong people.
Any future president comes under this law, regardless of party. A Democrat can be corrupt and amoral, too. Americans can be very stupid in choosing their leaders.
True, but right now, Republicans are excelling at corruption and the intent to destroy our democracy.
Thank you for posting Sotomayor’s dissent. Brilliant. We need to pass that around. Biden needs to change Attorney Generals immediately because Merrick Garland has not been doing his job. Trump should have been arrested the afternoon of the 2021 inauguration. Everybody involved in it should have been arrested immediately. Those who said that he’s doing the judicious thing by starting with the small people and building up were wrong. Biden also needs to immediately increase the number of people on the court. Through some executive actions if we can’t get things through Congress, there is a need for absolute new laws/rules/regs to protect America right now. If Trump wins, Europe is done because Putin will run all over it. Even worse… Because there will be no immunity… Trump could will the United States involved in a European war and have United States forces fighting on the side of Russia. I can see him, allowing Russians to come into our government and start to take over the government and us becoming not much more than a satellite of Russia. I think there’s going to need to be a revolution if Trump wins.
Let’s be clear about what happened today. SCOTUS just put their thumb on the scales of justice in favor of Trump getting away with all of the serious crimes against our country he committed in the wake of the 2020 election. And even more infuriating, the most corrupt justice gave Judge Cannon a roadmap to dismiss the documents case, behavior that happened after he left office, with his little ditty about the special counsel appointment being unconstitutional. We’ve had 44 presidents before Trump and not one demanded absolute immunity before making bold and unhesitating decisions. This partisan decision does not serve justice or the American people in any way. It serves one person only, and was intended to advance the conservative’s theory of the unitary executive, which is the bridge to total autocracy. But I’m not giving up and I hope millions of Americans are with me. We must vote in numbers too large to rig or to steal.
Yes it did.
She’d already held a hearing on it. Thomas was totally off topic. (Par for him I guess. Sending out invitations for future SCOTUS cases.)
Some “what ifs”
What if Trump was arrested the moment he stepped off Marine One at Mar a Lago?
What if Ginny Thomas was arrested, so the most radical member of SCOTUS wouldn’t be able to rule on Jan 6 cases?
What if the 3 or 4 GOP House members involved in the rebellion conspiracy, were arrested so their votes didn’t enable the place we now find ourselves?
What if, right now, while Biden is in office we stop watching this slow motion coup and get serious about stopping this? Executive order away, officially you can’t be prosecuted.
Add one more "What If" to your list: what if Merrick Garland decided to stop pretending to be the AG and started acting like one?
Let no one be surprised. And let's stop giving the Supreme Court the benefit of the doubt: they will throw the election to Trump unless we win in November by overwhelming numbers. There is no other way to reclaim the values for which we stand. But we can do this is we stay united.
Dear Fellow Democrats, please stop pulling in different directions.
Dear President Biden: PLEASE schedule an immediate press conference to let us know if you are planning to continue, or to let us know if you are planning to stand down. If the former, we need to know that you have the physical stamina to do so. We, in turn, will build a groundswell of support behind you. If the latter, let us know who you choose to nominate. You will be revered for your selflessness.
And Joe, one more thing: please be sure to use a handheld mic so that you can step out from behind the podium.
For now we need to move forward as if Biden is the nominee. There’s a lot people can be doing right now at the local, state, and federal levels.
I agree, Diane. But Joe Biden has to come out soon to address this unbelievable situation of the Supreme Court shredding any semblance of law and siding with a traitor.
And where for that matter is AG Garland?
I keep telling myself:
“No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.” - Buddha
Vote blue. Bigly.
Two fairly obvious quick observations.
1. Donald Trump is a clear and present danger to the United States. Joe Biden now has a green light to arrest and prosecute Donald for all of his criminal acts before and after his presidential term. Throw him in jail and deny his candidacy. Perhaps GITMO. The GOP can select someone else at their convention. He also has the green light to arrest and prosecute every one of Donald's lieutenants and supporters who have sided with our enemies, specifically Putin and Orban. And he has the green light to revoke the licenses of all platforms that spread and repeat Russian propaganda. Censor them the same way that Putin and Xi and Un censor American media and internet. His "bold" action may be the only way to retain our Union.
2. If Trump achieves the Oval again, he will use this ruling as political cover to destroy Democracy in America. Including taking control of the courts and Congress. ("The Supreme Court said I could do whatever I want!") And shutting down the legit Press. He's clearly described his plan to prosecute his enemies, including the Press, the "Enemies of the State." This is what Patrick Henry warned about in 1788. A Bad Man who becomes President could use the military and the justice system to become king. If Donald has his way America will become Russia.
This is truth. November may be too late. 2025 is the new 1984.
Or Berlin 1933.
SCOTUS has officially joined the race to put Trump back into the White House. There is no lack of motivation for those of us making sure that won’t happen. The ads write themselves.
I left this comment on two other Sub Stack pieces today:
Today’s “decision”/non-decision could be the final nail in the coffin of our democracy. It seeks to make the President a dictator, immune from prosecution, free to do whatever he wishes independent of any point of control over his actions. This decision is our marching order. We need to defeat Donald Trump and we certainly need to regain control of the House and increase control in the Senate. We need an expanded Supreme Court to overturn the damage from Trump’s first term in office and return a balance to our country. If we do not succeed, many of us will never, ever see the democracy we’ve grown up with and leave our children and grandchildren with a giant pile of poop in which they need to navigate their lives. This is unacceptable. We need to take action now. VOTE BLUE. Or else.
The Supreme Court Six just took a giant fecal dump on the rule of law and paved the way for the dissolution of our democratic republic. The Supreme Court Six is not a gaggle of conservatives. It is an evil cabal of pretentious ideologues paid for under the table by right-wing Republicans. The United States as we have known it will be dead within a generation or sooner. The innocents will be marched to the gallows by order of the president king.
I can think of four or five Justices who can be charged with perjury or bribery (unfortunately being bonedeep ignorant or ideologically fascist isn’t illegal). “Official immunity” cuts both ways.
What a Terrifying Time! From NY Times playing Chicken Little or showing their true colors, trying to sink President Biden's reelection, to the malevalent 6 killing all the regulating agencies. Now Immunity! It seems as though we have criminals sitting on the (small letters intentional) supreme court... no one, NO ONE, could read the Constitution and honestly rule as they have. Coupers are hiding everywhere, crapping on our country... but the Supreme Court???
President Biden has nothing to lose. I hope he takes decisive action to stop this coup, and it has to be now... there is no later any longer.
Perhaps we should look at this from a different viewpoint. If President Biden, in an official capacity, ordered Seal Team 6, or the Secret Service to “take out” his orange political opponent, he couldn’t be prosecuted for it. Just sayin’…
…or in an official capacity create 3 to 6 vacancies on the compromised, criminally complicit court.
CFDT is certainly a threat to the security of the United States, it would within his official duties. UnAmerician, but now court defined as an official duty.