"And the notion that predicted defiance of the Commander- in-Chief ’s orders is the backstop against criminal behavior by a President is not what the Constitution provides for."
Kyle Cheney:
JUST IN: Long list of retired generals has sided with #JackSmith on the argument of presidential immunity, filing a brief with #SCOTUS #legal#Trump
re. the quote. It's an important point. Yes, officers technically have the responsibility to deny an unConstitutional order. But there are 3 major points to be made. 1) It's an individual, possibly existential, decision. Ergo, extremely difficult to make, given the risk. 2) The President has resources that make that action he contemplates replicatable thru many other channels. It'll probably get done, anyway 3) It's largely untested, in the public record. Oh, except maybe MacArthur...and I don't think that counts.
Latest SCOTUS brief supporting Jack Smith comes from former govenrment officials, including Trump's former WH lawyer Ty Cobb and former US Attorney/special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald.