"July 1st, 2024. Today the United States Supreme Court overthrew the central premise of American democracy: that no one is above the law.
It decided that the president of the United States, possibly the most powerful person on earth, has "absolute immunity" from criinal prosecution for crimes committed as part of the official acts at the core of presidential powers. The court also said it should be presumed that the president also has immunity for other official acts as well, unless that prosecution would not intrude on the authority of the executive branch.
This is a profound change to our fundamental law - an amendment to the Constitution, as historian David Blight noted. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said that a president needs such immunity to make sure the president is willing to take "bold and unhesitating action" and make unpopular decisions, although no previous president has ever asserted that he is above the law or that he needed such immunity to fulfill his role. Roberts' decision didn't focus at all on the interest of the American people in guaranteeing that presidents carry out their duties within the guardrails of the law.
But this extraordinary power grab does not mean President Joe Biden can do as he wishes. As legal commentator Asha Rangappa pointed out, the court gave itself the power to determine which actions can be prosecuted and which cannot by making itself the final arbiter of what is "official" and what is not. Thus any action a president takes is subject to review by the Supreme Court, and it is reasonable to assume that this particular court would not give a Democrat the same leeway it would give Trump.
There is no historical or legal precedent for this... " Heather Cox Richardson.
6 comments:
This ruling is in no way Constitutional. Our president's chief duty is to represent us, not "boldly" do whatever the hell he wants with zero accountability. On the 4th of July we're supposed to be celebrating our independence from the tyranny of a king, not enabling someone to become the American dictator.
Like what May said. Only because what I'd say is full of cuss words and screams of anger.
I could not agree more! We are in grave trouble.
I was so shocked. Democracy is in BIG trouble.
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocense is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity."
WB Yeats, The Second Coming. I once posted this in 2016 after the election, even more appropriate now.
Simply un-fricking-believable. It sounds as if the Supreme Court is pre-approving Project 2025.
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