Although the pro-#Trump justices attempt to nest the breadth of their opinion in legalese, their finding that the president cannot be prosecuted for “official acts,” & that much of Trump’s efforts to seize #power fall under that rubric, means that the justices have essentially legalized a losing president refusing to step down, as Trump tried to do after the 2020 election.

#law #SCOTUS #PartisanCourt #ExtremistCourt #DarkMoney #RightWing #MAGA #Republicans #Jan6

The Court’s opinion presents an absurd paradox that defeats the purpose of a constitutional #democracy governed by the rule of #law. It has little basis in the #Constitution or in the words of the #Founders. It is the outcome that most benefits the Court’s preferred presidential candidate, while allowing the justices to live w/themselves for defacing beyond recognition the Constitution & the concept of democratic self-determination.

#SCOTUS #ExtremistCourt #immunity #Trump

In her dissent, Justice Sonia #Sotomayor puts it plainly. Regarding the question of “whether a former President enjoys immunity from federal #criminal prosecution,” Sotomayor writes, “The majority thinks he should, & so it invents an atextual, ahistorical, & unjustifiable #immunity that puts the President above the #law.” That is the long & the short of it.

#SCOTUS #ExtremistCourt #Trump

Referring to Trump’s scheme to manufacture voter-fraud prosecutions as a pretext for overturning his loss…, #SCOTUS writes that “because the President cannot be prosecuted for conduct within his exclusive constitutional authority, #Trump is absolutely immune from prosecution for the alleged conduct involving his discussions w/ #Justice Dept ofcls.” This refers to discussions in which Trump…told the #DOJ, “Just say that the election was corrupt + leave the rest to me & the R. Congressmen”….

#law

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.

#law #immunity

These are not justices; these are #Trump cronies. This is not #legal reasoning; this is vandalism.

…this [opinion] covers its #radicalism w/a pretense of moderation…that would nonetheless allow a president to escape prosecution for the most heinous abuses of power imaginable. #SCOTUS rejects…that a fmr president must be impeached & convicted before being prosecuted, while laying down a standard that makes it impossible for a president who attempts to seize #power to be prosecuted for doing so.

“Distinguishing the President’s official actions from his unofficial ones can be difficult,” #JohnRoberts writes. Then he makes it more difficult, writing that “in dividing official from unofficial conduct, courts may not inquire into the President’s motives.”

#law #SCOTUS #PartisanCourt #ExtremistCourt #CorruptCourt #DarkMoney #immunity #Trump #MAGA #Republicans #Jan6

That’s the idea: By balancing the possibility of any prosecution on this distinction, & by then making that distinction virtually impossible to discern, Roberts eliminates any chance of resolving the underlying #legal issues of #Trump’s current federal prosecution before Trump has a chance to take #power again. If Trump wins, he can then—wielding the sword of “absolute immunity” that #SCOTUS has provided—dismiss the #criminal investigations against him.

#law

A lifetime appointment means that #SupremeCourt justices can do whatever they wish when they are in the majority. When the justices wanted to force #Colorado to return #Trump to its presidential #ballot after the state concluded that his attempted seizure of #power on #Jan6 barred him from holding office under the #FourteenthAmendment, they moved as rapidly as possible. When they wanted to assist Trump’s strategy of delaying any possible federal trial, they took their time.

#SCOTUS #law

…The current composition of #SCOTUS is the result of decades of work by #RightWing activists seeking a permanent #conservative #political ascendancy, & the behavior of the majority consistently reflects that objective. Like other right-wing institutions, it has become thoroughly #corrupted by its obeisance to the #Republican Party leader, the principle to which all others are now subordinate. This is not the Republican Party Court; it is the #Trump Court.

#law

@Nonilex The current court is more the working of Mitch McConnell than of Trump. McConnell withheld the confirmation of Merrick Garland, and this began before Trump had become a candidate. McConnell rushed the confirmation of Amy Barrett--in direct contradiction of his "principle" devised to prevent Garland from being confirmed.

Unrelated, but McConnell could have checked Trump at any point but refused to do so.