Trump Demands Total Presidential Immunity -- Even for Acts That 'Cross the Line'

MicroWave@lemmy.world to News@lemmy.world – 617 points – Trump Demands Total Presidential Immunity -- Even for Acts That 'Cross the Line'
rollingstone.com

The former president has made clear once again that he believes the office should have absolute power

The D.C. Federal Court of Appeals is expected to hand down a decision on Donald Trump’s claim to “absolute” presidential immunity any day now, and the former president is upping his public pressure campaign for a favorable decision.

Early Thursday morning, Trump took to Truth Social to rant about the exemption he believes a president — or former president — should have from prosecution over crimes committed while in office. “EVEN EVENTS THAT ‘CROSS THE LINE’ MUST FALL UNDER TOTAL IMMUNITY, OR IT WILL BE YEARS OF TRAUMA TRYING TO DETERMINE GOOD FROM BAD,” Trump wrote.

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The former president argued that without total blanket immunity, the chief executive would be stripped of the “authority and decisiveness” necessary to carry out their duties in office. “Sometimes you just have to live with ‘great but slightly imperfect,’” he wrote in the all-caps post.

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Trump demands Biden to have complete presidential immunity for any acts against him

Seriously! I just wanna see one Dem call him on this and say "yup, you're right! so here's Biden with a car battery and jumper cables, an all-in-one water boarding set from Bed Bath & Beyond, a bucket of nails, and one 56 inch magnum dildo. what happens in the white house stays in the white house, ya know what I mean *nudge nudge wink wink!"

No... Let them fight...

Flappy wrinkly Kaiju noises

I mean, Biden regularly exercises and Trump believes exercise is a waste of some limited magical internal life force. Pretty sure we'd know who would win in an actual fight.

Yes, Biden is wrinkle-swole and Trump is hamberder floppy. All Biden Kong has to do is run out Trumpzilla's magical exercise battery.

I mean, let’s not kid ourselves here… they’re both decrepit old fucks. Trump just has a ~150lbs of extra weight slowing him down further

… Trumpzilla's magical exercise battery.

Is that what he’s calling his penis these days?

No he literally believes everyone is born with a set amount of activity in them. Exercise expends that activity, so they’ll die sooner.

Cocaine and amphetamines, though: A-OK.

Well, by their logic probably, Biden isn't really the president because the election was totally rigged against Trump. Biden doesn't get immunity and Trump is still covered by it.

If they genuinely believe that, then Trump can’t run for president in this race since he was already elected twice.

They just want to have their cake and eat it too.

Trump has stated in the past that he would run for a third term. He doesn't care about the constitution beyond using it as a talking point to rile his unhinged base.

Trump's positions basically boil down to "Florida Man defends his political opponent has the absolute right to shoot him with an assault rifle live on TV".

I want stricter enforcement on anyone with power, not less. If you have the power to create and/or enforce the laws of the nation you should be held at a higher standard to uphold them.

This situation is just so crazy. We've had decades of the right wing frothing at the mouth against "big government" and "activist judges". Now that their god-king is reaching for absolute power they flip a 180 so hard they fall all over themselves to demand that we have a king instead of a country By The People, For The People.

I know that conservatives don't have morals or actually held beliefs: they have goals. Any time the world doesn't jive with their goals they'll take any position required to achieve the goal of the moment. I grew up with a right wing in the US that demanded liberty or death, but it seems that was all just a veneer over a goal to end democracy, topple the republic, and enshrine a king to rule over us all. The mask is off and a vote for Trump demonstrably makes you an enemy of the republic.

I'm wondering if Bill Barr has had a change of heart. Prior to the Trump Administration, he was openly advocating the Unity Executive Theory, which basically says the President gets to do whatever the hell they want. He even made fun of "progressives" who argued that this would make the President into a dictator (at around 13:00 in the video). A little over a year after that address, he was pulling the brakes hard on Trump's attempt to steal the election.

Hey, Barr, how about we pull back on the President's power, not give more.

I just want to add a caveat (while basically agreeing with frezik) that proponents of the unitary executive theory thought that Bill Barr was a total crackpot. So, it's more like Barr was trying to rehabilitate fascism through an already existing term that makes fascism sound respectable.

Yeah, and his choice to back is questionable, too. If you wanted to make the President a dictator, wouldn't you want to find an intelligent philosopher king for the job? He picks Donald Fucking Trump.

Barr clearly isn't an idiot. All I can think of is that he thought he could be the power behind the throne, and found out how wrong that was.

Yeah I think for fascists the opportunity for becoming a little mini-dictator over their respective area of the state is very tempting.

Make no mistake, even if he loses the popular vote, Trump is going to take getting reelected as some kind of mandate to act as a dictator and do whatever he wants with the full power of the US government and military behind him.

Democracy will not survive another 4 years of this increasingly unhinged husk of a moron.

"Presidents should have complete immunity!"

"Biden should be brought to court for what he does!"

Sooooo... Which one is it?

Trump probably came up with this on the fly. And since there's more intelligence in a 10L bucket of semen, both him and his followers thinks this is an awesome idea

So Dark Brandon can grab his Mossberg and legally start hunting #fascists?

Might want to think that through a bit more #GOP.

The GOP depends on the integrity of the Left to not stoop to their level even when given carte blanche to do so. They'll openly follow the rules as written, loopholes and all, while the rest of us are following the rules as intended in good faith. Obviously, they'll also bend or break the rules too, but they're usually not as open about that as Trump.

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Is he never going to suffer any kind of consequences for being so dirty and dishonest? As a non-American I'm really impressed by what is going on.

It'll just drag on until he eventually succumbs to his decades-long suicide by cheeseburger.

Then the DOJ put out a statement exclaiming "ah shucks, we were like this close to a conviction. We're just as frustrated as you are!"

Don’t forget raping

Old American guy here. We're not used to this sort of thing. All very new.

My wife is a Filipina my age. She doesn't see the big deal. She's seen some shit.

This idiot is really arguing that someone should be able to assassinate him without any consequences. That is the legal argument he's making.

No, you're missing the point. You see, this special immunity should only apply to Trump. Because he's Trump, and if he says stupid things often enough, some people will believe him.

that hasn't occurred to him yet. but he plans on being america's last president

I think he's promoting a no holes bared, fight to the death presidential BATTLE ROYAL.

My money is on #39

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Let's not forget that this bullshit actually killed at least one person.

Ashli Babbitt, an Air Force veteran, was fatally shot by a Capitol Police officer as rioters tried to breach the House chamber.

Kevin D. Greeson died of a heart attack, collapsing on the sidewalk west of the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Rosanne Boyland appeared to have been crushed in a stampede of fellow rioters as they surged against the police.

Benjamin Philips, the founder of a pro-Trump website called Trumparoo, died of a stroke.

And

In the days and weeks after the riot, five police officers who had served at the Capitol on Jan. 6 died.

Officer Brian D. Sicknick of the Capitol Police, who was attacked by the mob, died on Jan. 7.

Officer Jeffrey Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department killed himself after the attack.

Officer Howard S. Liebengood of the Capitol Police also died by suicide four days afterward.

So who is responsible for the attack on January 6th?

Biden death squads. Start with MAGA.

IT WILL BE YEARS OF TRAUMA TRYING TO DETERMINE GOOD FROM BAD

Yes this is called the judicial system

So, Biden can just throw Trump in jail right now, or assassinate him? Cool, cool. Donny isn't too bright, is he.

It's not hard to make an argument that he is a threat to national security.

Wasn't there a couple by the name of Rosenberg that also took classified documents and gave them to countries in Asia? What ever happened to them?

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So… Biden has immunity to do whatever he sees fit regarding the punishment befitting a traitor to America?

FUCK YEAH!

I doubt Biden has the will to use unbriddled power, even if he had the license to do it.

I think we all know that and just love our fantasies.

My fantasy is that no man will ever have unfettered power in this country. I know. I'm a dreamer.

But what about me tho? I could do some funky things with unlimited power: intracontinental, high-speed trains; federal broadband Gigabit internet; purge day; allocation of public school funds; Thunderdome!

I doubt Biden has the will to use unbriddled power,

Of course not, but that's not the point.

Getting the hypnotized Trump cultists to think about the implications for even a second is helpful.

Moreso, getting the apathetic non-voters off their asses would be a significant improvement.

I guess he will never be able to arrest Biden for anything, no matter what he may do.

Hear that Biden? Trump gave you permission to just shoot him dead because you have immunity and can't be arrested for it as long as you do it while.president.

I bet if Biden did shoot orange man, this type of presidential immunity would disappear.

"... YEARS OF TRAUMA TRYING TO DETERMINE GOOD FROM BAD"

Based on this, why should anybody ever be charged with crimes? We should all be granted total immunity from any crimes ever committed, since potentially years of trauma could result from investigating anything that's done. We should just let bygones be bygones. Like that homeless guy that was killed in a hit&run incident on Sept 17th, 2006 at 12:31am, by some drunk driver who was never caught. We just need to move on guys, things happen, it's over and done with. Investigating that would just lead to years of trauma trying to determine good from bad.

Like that homeless guy that was killed in a hit&run incident on Sept 17th, 2006 at 12:31am, by some drunk driver who was never caught.

That's very specific, OP. Is there anything you'd like to share?

"Aww, surely he didn't mean it exactly like he said it. We must give him the benefit of the doubt since he is a rich and respectable person who wouldn't say something like that."

"No, please. Do not give me the benefit of the doubt. I mean it - I WILL literally kill you if I get elected again."

"That could mean anything, surely he wouldn't imply that he would kill us if he got elected. He must have misspoken or meant something else."

The issue is, Trump never means what he says. Lying is like breathing for him. So no one should believe what he literally says. He can't actually follow through on a plan to do anything, even if he wants to.

You should believe that he wants to do what he says though. He may accidentally do something worse and not fix it. Like the trade war with China that accomplished nothing. Or the millions of unnecessary pandemic deaths. Trump isn't dangerous because of what he will do, but because of what other people will do while he fails to act in the interests of the country.

Remember that time he ordered the assassination of an Iranian commander, on Iraqi (allied) soil, while that commander was there attending a peace conference with Iraq?

I'm definitely voting for the leopards again this year. I mean, last time they ate the faces of people just like me, some of whom I didn't like very much to begin with. But ultimately, I was mostly unharmed last time. Surely that will continue to be the case, and the leopards will only way the faces of other people,and not me.

“I should be able to get away with the things I swear I didn’t do”

Every assertion is a confession.

“I crossed the line, don’t hold me accountable”.

No. Everyone is equal under the law. Must be.

What line?

I don't think there has been a line for a while.

The line is that only Trump can do anything with impunity. That same power doesn’t apply to Biden or future presidents.

I wonder if anybody has tried to explain to Trump that if he wins the argument that presidents have absolute power that Biden could immediately jail him and his entire family for no reason at all…

Clinton was also immune then right? He just got his sick ducked. Man those were much simpler times...

Clinton took advantage of an imbalance in power to get sexual favors from an intern while he was president of the United States.

An imbalance of power to that degree makes consent impossible.

Yes, the impeachment trial was political bullshit, but let’s not pretend what Clinton did was okay.

Totally cool for our bro Donnie to start an insurrection then, and totally get away with it all, immunity and all.

Totally cool for our bro Donnie to start an insurrection then, and totally get away with it all, immunity and all.

False dilemmas are dangerous. Don’t fall prey to all-or-nothing, with-us-or-against-us tribalism.

Clinton did a bad thing. Trump also did a bad thing, and directly threatens the stability of our society. Both can be bad while one can still be worse.

I don't understand how this is even in play. I thought the point of immunity was to prevent active members of government being arrested or prevented from doing their duty by minor or spurious charges while in office. The example was a congressman being pulled over on his way to an important vote. Trump doesn't have any duties anymore. The nation doesn't give a shit if he's in court or prison or whatever, so why should he be immune to anything? Now seems the perfect time to find out exactly what he's done.

He doesn't have a lot of other directions to go. He can just ignore paying people money for all the cases hes lost so far, but he can't ignore getting sent to prison. He's got to play this hand to delay and try to get back in office. Self-pardons, lock up his accusers and anyone else he sees as a threat. Turn the presidency into an actual dictatorship.

He was quoted many times saying how he liked how Putin and Kim and UN had their absolute power lined up.

I don't understand how this is even in play.

Me neither. Even active presidents only have immunity in very limited circumstances. 30-40 years ago this claim would have been brushed off immediately as utterly ridiculous. That anybody would spend 1 second considering this as a real claim shows how our legal system has degenerated.

Even active presidents only have immunity in very limited circumstances.

Nope. This has never been tested in the courts. And here we are.

This is literally why Johnson pardoned Nixon.

So it wouldn't get to this point.

I'm not saying Trump should be pardoned, of course. He should be tried & spend the rest of his life on house arrest in a military barracks.

He's seeing what he can get away with by having his start point so far out.

Wait until it is granted for some reason, then he gets elected. I am sure no one on the right sees this sequence of events as a problem....

So, what’s everyone’s plan if this fucking lunatic is allowed back in the White House?

Wait for the generals to "retire" him and take control of the country, which will then spiral into civil war and continuous purges as one factor or another gains temporary control and then succumbs to their opponents or internal divisions.

Ah yes, civil war in a country that has large stockpiles of nuclear and chemical weapons, and has been honing its military to deal with small insurgent forces for decades.

One can only hope that the military actually upholds its duty to defend the constitution. Otherwise we’re in for a wild ride.

Mister "lock her up" sure has changed his tune...

Not that it's surprising. He contradicts himself daily, and has done so for years.

So, by this logic, Biden could have Trump imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay for life, Bonaparte style.

You know what, let’s roll with it, let the Supreme Court approve it, and then have dark Brandon drop him in a volcano somewhere.

IT WILL BE YEARS OF TRAUMA TRYING TO DETERMINE GOOD FROM BAD

Because it worked so well when we decided to skip over all that "good from bad" determination after the Civil War.

Look who's to say who was wrong in that situation or any situation. Morality doesn't exist. Move on.

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Unless something bad happens to me.

This isn't news, and you're only helping his cause by posting shit like this

This isn't news,

It is to some people.

And if constant reminders of how shitty a person Trump is will nudge the apathetic non-voters to get off their asses and vote, then I would argue it is a net benefit.

Hey Bozo the Rapist Clown - get in there and defecate on the Constitution again. You’ll be immune from living, you demented leaky bag of shit. We’re done fucking with this bullshit.

You Get Qualified Immunity!

And you get qualified immunity! All of us get it! We all get qualified immunity!

Kind of impressed that I didn't see any of those "centrists" calling bOtH sIdEs, but only bashing democrats in here.

I really thing that the orangeoutan must be held accountable with all the crimes he did, no one is above thr law, and specially someone who was president, in this case he should be not only punished but make an example out of him, and the republican traitors.

He's keeping awful quiet about Hilary. Probably he plans on having her killed.

Well, if you believe this, you should have faith that sleepy Joe has a chance at immunity once he leaves office.

🍿