#Senate Maj Whip #Durbin, Sen #Judiciary Cmte Chair, response to #SCOTUS’ ruling in #Trump v US, which held “the nature of Presidential #power entitles a fmr President to absolute #immunity from #criminal prosecution for actions within his conclusive & preclusive constitutional authority. And he is entitled to at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his ofcl acts. There is no immunity for unofficial acts.”
“No one should be above the #law, not even a sitting #UnitedStates President. And yet today’s ultra-conservative #SupremeCourt majority ruled that not just Donald #Trump, but future presidents, may be immune from abusing the levers of government to overturn an #election or engage in other misconduct.
#POTUS#Biden warned on Mon that #SCOTUS’ decision on presidential #immunity meant that there were “virtually no limits on what the president can do” & urged voters to prevent #Trump from returning to the WH freed from the constraints of the #law.
“The American people must decide if they want to entrust the presidency once again — to Donald Trump,” Biden said, “knowing he’ll be more emboldened to do whatever he pleases whenever he wants to do it.”
#Biden called #SCOTUS’ decision a “dangerous precedent” that fundamentally alters the longstanding belief in the #UnitedStates that no one should be #AboveTheLaw.
“I know I will respect the limits of the presidential powers, as I have for 3½ years, but any president, including Donald #Trump, will now be free to ignore the #law.”
Biden said he agreed w/Justice Sonia #Sotomayor, who wrote that “with fear for our #democracy, I dissent.”
And gives him permission for a despotic second term.
By Adam Serwer
Near the top of their sweeping, #lawless opinion in Trump v. #UnitedStates, Donald Trump’s defenders on the #SupremeCourt repeat one of the most basic principles of American constitutional government: “The president is not above the law.” They then proceed to obliterate it.
We can debate the nuances of history, the Framers’ intentions, or the text of the #Constitution. What the Founders of the #UnitedStates did not intend to do when they designed a constitutional system of checks & balances, was establish a govt that would allow someone to declare themselves president for life….
#SCOTUS writes that presidents cannot be prosecuted for “use” of their ofcl powers, but what it actually means is they cannot be prosecuted for the flagrant abuse of them.
#SCOTUS is supposed to rule this morning on #Trump’s claim that he is immune from prosecution on charges of trying to overturn the 2020 election.
The decision will determine whether & how special counsel #JackSmith’s case against Trump can proceed — although it’s unlikely a trial would happen before #Election Day. But the ruling could also set an important #precedent for how to prosecute presidents for their actions in office.
“The Court has now declared for the first time in history that the most powerful ofcl in the #UnitedStates can … become a #law unto himself. As we enter this uncharted territory, the People, in their wisdom, will need to remain ever attentive, consistently fulfilling their established role in our constitutional #democracy, & thus collectively serving as the ultimate safeguard against any chaos spawned by this Court's decision.”
Two points on NYT Ed Board calling for Biden to withdraw after his debate.
Is a bad debate worse than Trump’s 34 felony convictions & 3 more criminal trials? Where’s the call for his withdrawal?
Is a bad debate worse than funding a regime that’s killed 39K Palestinians?? Why no call for him to withdraw then?
I’ve been as critical as anyone about Biden’s debate performance, but Media needs to hold the powerful accountable for actual violations of justice, not this performative nonsense.
Based on optics alone (emotion, appearance, clarity, humor), #DonaldTrump won this debate. Yes, #Trump spewed mostly lies, but most voters in #America 🇺🇸 do not actively fact check their politicians.
But based on substance & fact, #JoeBiden won the debate. #Biden however mumbled & stumbled many of his statements & appeared weak.
I can only hope that citizens of the #UnitedStates 🇺🇸 will vote based on truth instead of emotion.
“Where do national myths originate? They do not emerge by happenstance. Rather their creation and spread are an exercise of power. Influential historical actors, from antebellum slaveholders to the moguls of Hollywood and those Slotkin calls the ‘political classes’, have attempted to develop and disseminate broadly acceptable myths to serve their own interests.”
from #AlJazeera - #FaultLines
New full-length documentary from Fault Lines,
‘The Night Won’t End’: Biden’s War on Gaza
Fault Lines worked with journalists in #Gaza to profile three families as they try to survive the war.
From air strikes to field executions, Fault Lines investigates the killings of civilians by the #Israeli military in Gaza and the role of the #UnitedStates in the war.
The understanding, referred to as the Kennedy-Khrushchev understanding, is a verbal agreement, not a formal treaty. But its essence — that #Russia would not deploy #NuclearWeapons or systems capable of delivering #nuclear weapons in #Cuba — has held for 62 yrs. The Russians have honored their commitment on at least 2 past occasions, & the #UnitedStates must insist that they continue to do so.
#SCOTUS is expected to hand down more rulings Wednesday. There are 10 more cases to be decided this term, including some of the court’s most politically salient ones. Those cases address topics such as whether #Trump is immune from prosecution for all acts during his presidency, whether the #Biden admin violated the #FirstAmendment in asking #SocialMedia companies to take down posts, & whether a federal #law means ER doctors can perform #abortions in states where they are restricted or banned.
There are still 9 cases left this term that #SCOTUS has yet to decide:
#Trump v. #UnitedStates — Whether Trump is immune from prosecution for his efforts to stay in #power by overturning Joe #Biden’s election victory.
2.#Fischer v. United States — Whether prosecutors properly charged hundreds of #Jan6 defendants & Trump using a #law that makes it a #crime to #obstruct or impede an official proceeding —in this case, the disruption of Congress’s certification of Biden’s #2020election victory.
I love Puerto Rico. I have friends there. I used to visit as much as I could before this neuro disease got stronger but I'll be back soon.
Puerto Rico is awesome and the people are AMAZING. They should already be a state and they want to be. But the fact that they are not doesn't mean that we should forget them.
Please make this issue more known by boosting. Also, if you do not know much about Puerto Rico I urge you to look it up or better yet, travel there. If my health was better my wife and I would have already moved there but because our country refuses to let them in but abuses them in many ways we cannot due to my health.