Trump Attorney Tells Judges Presidential Immunity Would Even Cover Assassinating Rivals, Selling Pardons

originalucifer@moist.catsweat.com to Not The Onion@lemmy.world – 612 points – Trump Attorney Tells Judges Presidential Immunity Would Even Cover Assassinating Rivals, Selling Pardons
themessenger.com

U.S. presidents cannot be prosecuted for selling pardons or assassinating political rivals through SEAL Team Six, personal Trump lawyer John Sauer argued Tuesday.

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“Could a president order SEAL Team Six to assassinate a political rival? That’s an official act–an order to Seal Team Six,” U.S. Circuit Judge Florence Pan asked Sauer.

“He would have to be, and would speedily be, you know, impeached and convicted before the criminal prosecution,” Sauer replied, setting a pre-condition for such prosecution in Pan’s hypothetical.

I wonder if that's true. Would a congress controlled by the Republican party of today really follow through with impeachment for that? I'm sure such a president would have all kinds of excuses as to why they had to do it and how their rival was a threat to national security etc etc that their followers would take at face value.

“He would have to be, and would speedily be, you know, impeached and convicted before the criminal prosecution,” Sauer replied, setting a pre-condition for such prosecution in Pan’s hypothetical.

Meanwhile, Republicans didn't impeach him because "the courts should decide."

They're trying to create Schrodinger's Dictator.

I don’t think any party would do it. To go further, why would any of them? When the votes become public knowledge from congress to impeach, what’s to stop the president ordering anyone who said yes from assassinating them before the senate goes for conviction?

Either the president scares the senate away (in case they don’t convict and the president will know who said yes) or he goes to jail/is executed no matter how many they had killed.

Even kill anyone you know will say yes before they vote to impeach. IMMUNITY!