Donald Trump’s lawyer pushed an outrageous line of thinking on Thursday during oral arguments at the Supreme Court over whether the former president has immunity for trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election: that a U.S. president could order a military coup d’état with almost no chance of repercussions.
Justice Elena Kagan asked lawyer John Sauer about a hypothetical president who “ordered the military to stage a coup.”
“He’s no longer president. He wasn’t impeached, he couldn’t be impeached, but he ordered the military to stage a coup, and you’re saying that’s an official act?” she asked.
“I think it would depend on the circumstances whether it was an official act,” Sauer replied. “If it’s an official act, there needs to be impeachment and conviction before [criminal charges could be pursued].”
In response to other questions from the justices, Sauer defended a hypothetical political assassination ordered by an American president, the argument that sank Trump’s case in the D.C. circuit.
Biden should just have Trump arrested and sent to gitmo. If the president really does have all this unilateral power only able to be stopped by impeachment there’s no real way to prevent a dictator. Just arrest anyone in Congress who’d vote to impeach you.
It’d absolutely be the end of this country but we’re already staring that in the face as Trump tells the SCOTUS what he plans to do.
What you’re suggesting is actually fucking hilarious because if Trump wanted out of gitmo he’d have to argue that there should be limits on the president’s powers in which case he’d lose the case… or he could win the case and remain in gitmo.
This is how fucking ridiculous this is.
It’s not like many conservative justices could disagree with this… in gitmo.