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292

Right-Wing Supreme Court Rules Trump Has 'Absolute Immunity' for Official Acts (www.commondreams.org)

submitted 4 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

77 comments fedilink hide all child comments

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/17119069

"In every use of official power, the president is now a king above the law," warned Justice Sonia Sotomayor. "With fear for our democracy, I dissent."

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[–] [email protected] 111 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Cool, Biden should use those new get out of jail free cards to do a lot of shit to improve the lives of Americans and probibit Project 2025.

The party about of rule of law just got told it's rule of law to just do whatever as president, so go nuts. Pack the court. Forcibly remove the supreme Court. Ignore it.

Hell the constitution never even said the Court has the right to interpret and block laws, that was due to the Court expanding its own power. We just went with it because Jefferson had his own Xanatos Gambit played on him.

Come on Biden do something really cool with this, make them regret it.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 4 months ago (5 children)

Have the GoP and the traitors on the supreme court taste the death penalty. Then repeal all this crap they put in place (no way to override the GoP all being dead after the fact. I'd go with banishment or any other number of things if it was guaranteed to work, but the only thing that can't potentially be lifted after the fact is death)

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[–] [email protected] 110 points 4 months ago (2 children)

So, open season for Biden to get some Supreme Court justices an "early retirement" then?

[–] bradinutah 34 points 4 months ago

Be sure that everyone knows it's official and then sleep easy.

[–] [email protected] 27 points 4 months ago

Yes, but in classic dem fashion he’ll do absolutely nothing with this new power, and also do nothing to stop its use. Then will continue running a dogshit campaign to get trump re-elected come November. We are well and truly fucked.

[–] [email protected] 75 points 4 months ago (5 children)

I was genuinely not expecting this. As little reason as this Supreme Court has given to inspire confidence, I thought this was a bridge too. I feel sick to my stomach.

[–] bradinutah 46 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

It's absolutely sickening. The fact they took up the case to begin with was sickening. We need Biden to take hold of this decision and make some official acts that can restore democracy. Biden can be the first president since Washington to do what Washington did, heal our nation and then surrender power back to We the People. Dead King Geoge III is laughing at us and the blood of the American Revolution groans in disgust at these Injustices!

[–] [email protected] 34 points 4 months ago (1 children)

"We can go lower."

-SCOTUS

[–] [email protected] 16 points 4 months ago

and how

[–] [email protected] 23 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I had felt the same way, until they ruled that partisan gerrymandering is constitutionally protected, that racial gerrymandering can only be unconstitutional if it doesn't provide a partisan advantage to one side, and that the court must assume that legislators are acting in good faith because their need to not be embarrassed outweighs the constitutional rights of the people and the need for honest elections. I read that decision and said "shit, they're gonna rule that Trump's immune."

I never thought the Court would put out a decision that could rival Dred Scott for worst in history, but these asshole's have put out multiple contenders for that title in a single term.

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[–] [email protected] 44 points 4 months ago (3 children)

Is it wrong to wish that Biden would immediately drone strike the justices that are in the majority for this decision?

[–] [email protected] 21 points 4 months ago

Trump and his MAGA cult are a clear and present danger to our democracy and its citizens.

The SCOTUS is majority controlled by corrupt federalists openly colluding with lower courts and federalist donors to bypass our elected lawmakers (congress/senate/potus) to effectively unilaterally write policy. This is a clear and present danger to our democracy.

Biden has justification to clean house under official pretext.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 4 months ago

Morally, maybe? Legally, no. It's very explicitly ok.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 months ago

As long as those drone strikes are officially official, then sure, he has immunity.

[–] [email protected] 42 points 4 months ago (3 children)

This is oversimplifying it. They did not define "official acts", obviously, but goose and gander. Biden is now available to use these new powers, and should.

[–] [email protected] 49 points 4 months ago (1 children)

In her dissent, Sotomayor made it pretty clear that that doesn’t matter.

"When he uses his official powers in any way, under the majority's reasoning, he now will be insulated from criminal prosecution," Sotomayor wrote. "Orders the Navy's SEAL Team 6 to assassinate a political rival? Immune. Organizes a military coup to hold onto power? Immune. Immune, immune, immune."

"In every use of official power, the president is now a king above the law," the justice added.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 4 months ago (3 children)

The dissent is not the prevailing ruling though. The other MAGA dip shits on the court just left the door open to anything for the next 6 months. All horrific derivatives of this timeline, sure. But they can't stop the current administration apparently from doing the same shit without immunity until the next ruling. They're just banking on the fact that Biden isn't a gigantic piece of shit and will never pull the trigger on using any of these options.

I guarantee his team is sitting in a room right now coming up with ideas.

[–] [email protected] 27 points 4 months ago (2 children)

Yeah I hear you, but that door they left open is exactly why it doesn’t matter. By not defining official acts, they essentially gave themselves the authority to make that determination later, which means anything done as president can be considered official, as long as they say so. This was another power grab for them and any republicans who want to use it, but you can be sure the rules would be different for democrats.

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 4 months ago (1 children)

If Biden were to use his powers to force the 6 conservative Supreme Court Justices out, then there wouldn't be anybody on the court who would disagree with the minority interpretation.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 4 months ago (1 children)

This here. As a European I am extremely worried about what is coming in US politics. I really really hope Biden will make use of this with foolproof consequences.

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[–] [email protected] 32 points 4 months ago (2 children)

If Biden does the exact same thing as the orange turd, the packed courts will rule that Biden's actions were not official but the angry orange's were.

The decision is entirely a power grab that will be abused by conservatives and not by anyone with morals. That is what these fascists are counting on.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Biden could unpack those courts as an official act and pack it with his own judges, who would rule on the outcome.

This is obviously what Trump would do in the same position. But it's highly doubtful that Biden will.

It would set an insanely dangerous precedent. But if he doesn't, Republicans will the next time they hold the presidency.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Depends entirely on what is done in the next 6 months...

[–] [email protected] 10 points 4 months ago (3 children)

Biden won't abuse this power because he isn't a complete trash person and SCOTUS knows it. They know that the only party that will abuse this power is the Republican party.

So until this trash opinion is undone, every single election is an imminent threat to democracy.

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[–] bradinutah 12 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Biden for King 2024! Vote blue! Brought to you by conservative Chief Justice Roberts.

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[–] [email protected] 39 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Sooo strip trump of his citizenship, and remove the Supreme court members that are in his pocket, reestablish new judges via voting. Create new ammendment that the president can and will be held accountable for breaking the law

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[–] [email protected] 37 points 4 months ago

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable."

We're setting up for an extremely dark period in American history. Buckle up fuckleheads

[–] [email protected] 34 points 4 months ago (4 children)

Well, fellow Americans. This experiment with democracy was fun while it lasted. Every significant goal of the founding fathers has been systematically thwarted by these Christofascists. We once again have a de-facto monarch.

The consequences of this decision will be dire, and unpredictable. Every law, every right, every freedom can now be undone by an official wave of the president’s hand. Rights to privacy? Gone. Due process? Gone. Bill of Rights? Gone.

No one—democrat or republican—should be happy about this. The right to bear arms is now on the chopping block right along with LGBTQ+ and abortion rights.

Hopefully I’m wrong. Hopefully I’m misreading the situation. But it sure sounds like every right that previously defined us as American people now hinges on the benevolence of our president. Americans can no longer brag about “American freedom.”

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[–] [email protected] 33 points 4 months ago

The six conservative SCOTUS members have just openly told everyone that they are fascists who want to destroy democracy. There is a detailed solution to this kind of tyranny.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 4 months ago

So Biden could just seal team 6 half the Supreme Court plus Trump, and it would be legal as long as he officially says he did it afterward?

[–] [email protected] 27 points 4 months ago (2 children)

It's important to remember that Republicans are committed to ending democracy because the majority of people do not support their brutal white supremacist vision for the country.

If they had majority support they wouldn't be illegally seizing and destroying the institutions of governance.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 4 months ago

In years past, your comment might sound like hyperbole. But not so these days: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/the-wa-gop-put-it-in-writing-that-theyre-not-into-democracy/

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[–] [email protected] 26 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (3 children)

You guys haven't seen shit yet.

Biden is going to "win" the 2024 election, Trump will sue & SCotUS will hand him the crown.

#KingBiden must act to restore our #Democracy.

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

The devolution will not be televised.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 months ago

Very true, very real.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (2 children)

So Biden could order the army to attack the USSC? He just has to declare it officially like Michael Scott?

I joke, but it's a dark, dark day for this country and the rule of law.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 4 months ago

Usually they'd have to refuse an illegal order, but as any official act of the president is explicitly legal, such things no longer exist.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 months ago

It does appear to be legal now, until the lower court hears arguments, and it goes back to the Supreme Court for a final decision. This ruling seems to be a delay, so that Trump can take office, at which point this ruling doesn’t matter.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 4 months ago

In other news, everything GOP presidents do is official and everything DEM presidents do is private.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 4 months ago

This decision so blatantly ignores the constitution, history, tradition, case law, and all available evidence, that I have to question why they even bothered writing such a long decision. They might as well have just said "Fuck it, we say Trump is immune. Eat shit America, we can do whatever we want."

[–] [email protected] 12 points 4 months ago

[–] [email protected] 10 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Even discussing this ruling is pointless, because words no longer have legal meaning. Even if he was so inclined, Biden wouldn't be allowed to take advantage of this concept of immunity. We're just making up whatever shit we want and calling it Law.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Pretty much. The reality that this is has always been the case is finally smacking everyone upside the head. If there is no consistent application of the law, laws become meaningless. Might then makes right, and bedlam follows. America has been on a dangerous path for decades, this ruling is the the turn. Conservatives are displaying that they want Trump as dictator, and will do everything in their power to make that happen.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I was thinking Pres Biden does all the stuff we seem to want him to, resigns and Pres Harris pardons him.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 months ago

The ruling actually said the president "is entitled to at least *presumptive * immunity from prosecution for all his official acts." Absolute immunity was reserved for "conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority." I'm not defending this ruling, but we don't need to misquote it.

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