Trump attorney tells judges presidential immunity would even cover assassinating rivals, selling pardons ( themessenger.com )

US presidents cannot be prosecuted for selling pardons or assassinating political rivals through SEAL Team Six, personal Trump lawyer John Sauer argued Tuesday

Advancing a sweeping interpretation of executive immunity, Donald Trump’s attorney told a federal appeals court on Tuesday that U.S. presidents could not be prosecuted for selling pardons or assassinating political rivals through SEAL Team Six.

Trump’s lead attorney D. John Sauer argued that only a president who has been impeached and removed from office in a Senate trial potentially would be subject to prosecution for those kinds of alleged crimes.

A three-judge panel appeared extremely skeptical of Trump’s vision of absolute immunity, sharply questioning and interrupting Sauer during the opening minutes of the oral arguments with the former president himself sitting nearby.

“Could a president order SEAL Team Six to assassinate a political rival? That’s an official act–an order to Seal Team Six,” U.S. Circuit Judge Florence Pan asked Sauer.

“He would have to be, and would speedily be, you know, impeached and convicted before the criminal prosecution,” Sauer replied, setting a pre-condition for such prosecution in Pan’s hypothetical.

Nougat ,

Pan reframed the question to include a hypothetical where a president ordered assassination and then was not impeached, and Sauer still hung on to "impeachment has to happen first."

SnotFlickerman ,
@SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

So Biden hunting down the entire GOP House for sport is up for grabs, then. It's not a coup, it's part of his official duties!

Nougat ,

This is exactly one of the scenarios that Jack Smith offered as an example of why this kind of immunity is ridiculous.

SnotFlickerman ,
@SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

I'll just say that I have more hope and faith in Jack Smith than I was ever able to muster for fucking Robert Mueller, who had his own shady history with the railroading of Bruce Ivins over the Anthrax scare in the Bush era.

To my knowledge, despite the mountains of evidence to prove that Ivins was not "their man" the FBI continues to hold that they were correct.

Smith has proven himself to be a more serious contender than Mueller.

vexikron ,
@vexikron@lemmy.zip avatar

And so after years upon years upon decades of rhetoric from Republicans warning about the growing power of the Executive and the abuses of the Executive by FDR...

... uh, nevermind all that apparently, if our guy is in charge he should be able to just unilaterally assasinate political rivals.

You know. Like anyone that would vote to impeach him. For assassinating political rivals.

This is literal baby brain mode that actual Elementary School children could probably understand is stupid.

Hooray for living in Clown World, the dumbest possible timeline.

queermunist ,
@queermunist@lemmy.ml avatar

i.e. a preview of the next administration.

_haha_oh_wow_ ,
@_haha_oh_wow_@sh.itjust.works avatar

Completely fucking insane...

charonn0 ,
@charonn0@startrek.website avatar

Which is why it's a batshit insane idea.

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