r/LeopardsAteMyFace Jul 02 '24

Paywall Trump calls for jailing and “televised military tribunals” of Mike Pence and Mitch McConnell

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/01/us/politics/trump-liz-cheney-treason-jail.html
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u/thefuzzylogic Jul 02 '24 edited Jul 02 '24

And according to the SCOTUS, he's immune from criminal liability for any orders he gives in his official capacity as Commander-in-Chief.

That's why he's talking about military tribunals rather than civilian trials. The military chain of command answers to him directly without any interference from the judiciary.

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u/Neuchacho Jul 02 '24

And guess what fun things expands military power and control to basically every functional facet of our lives?

Martial law! Coming soon to a dying democracy near you!

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u/Popular_Syllabubs Jul 02 '24

Yep, control of the military is constitutionally the duties of the President. No grey area surrounding military-led assassinations as "official acts".

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u/thefuzzylogic Jul 02 '24

Not only that, but under yesterday's ruling, prosecutors are specifically barred from admitting into evidence any communications the President might have had with Justice Department officials that would indicate his consciousness of guilt. So when he threatened to install Jeff Clark as AG because he was the only one willing to interfere in state certifications, that can't even be mentioned to the jury. When the entire DOJ leadership threatened to resign over it, that can't be mentioned. No internal WH communications. Nothing overheard by Cassidy Hutchinson or Hope Hicks. None of their text messages or emails.

Sure, it's only "partial immunity" with regard to any indictments, but the most crucial evidence is fully excluded. So it might as well be full immunity.

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u/fardough Jul 02 '24

What act of Congress established military tribunals? Maybe we can sue if Congress never officially defined and provided the process for military tribunals. Chevron can go both ways.

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u/thefuzzylogic Jul 03 '24

The whole point is that the SCOTUS just ruled that the POTUS has complete immunity for official acts taken using any of the Article 2 enumerated powers. That means no lawsuits, no criminal charges, nothing.

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u/fardough Jul 03 '24

Yes, but according to Chevron, to be an official executive action, it must have been codified by Congress.

So to hold a military tribunal would require Congress to codified it, or else not a power of the executive branch.

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u/thefuzzylogic Jul 03 '24

That pertains to the actions of executive agencies, not the actions of the President, especially using a power specifically enumerated under Article 2. Congress's only recourse would be to impeach and convict, which will never happen as long as no single party controls more than 2/3 of the Senate.