- cross-posted to:
- usa@lemmy.ml
- cross-posted to:
- usa@lemmy.ml
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Well, if there was any doubt there is one law for the rich & well connected, and an entirely different law for the ‘plebes’, this put that deep in the ground…
Someone should go rip that blindfold off of any ‘Blind Justice’ statues, it is just gaslighting at this point.
This is Smith seeing his hands tied because Trump ran out the clock and then enough assholes put him back in office where the Supreme Court and DOJ policy blocks him from being prosecuted for [at least] the next 4 years. It also states that come January 2029 he can refile charges on a then dementia ravaged 82 year old man.
Lmao, thinking its still going to be legal to investigate trump in 4 years
Likely not, but what other choice is there? The best bet at this time is to hope we can wrestle the presidency back from Trump in 2028, and in January 2029 if he has enough mental awareness to legally stand trial then the DOJ can recharge and try him.
. “This outcome is not based on the merits or strength of the case against the defendant.”
We know, but we also know that Trump and his sycophants will use the argument that Trump “won” and it was baseless, political persecution, etc.
The not prosecuting a sitting president is a shitty policy written to avoid baseless lawsuits and applied to help fascists rise to power.
Its a practical issue. Sure, you can can throw the president in jail. But they are still president. They can totally call the military to break them out.
The military and the secret service gave oaths the the constitution, not DOJ policy. In a functioning democracy they would force the president to surrender and to show up to court.
He can pardon himself.
Either that or JD Vance as Acting President can pardon him.
The way I see this, they are stopping the proceedings so Trump’s AG won’t be able to end them officially, so they might be able to resume in four years.
Key detail: they’re not dropping it because they’re giving up, the judge dismissed it without prejudice, which means that in 4 years they can pick the case back up. Under a Trump DoJ the case would likely have ended with prejudice, closing it permanently.
Even more motivation for Trump to abolish term limits.
He can’t himself since it’s spelled out in the constitution in the 22nd amendment.
So tl;dr it would need 3/4 of the states to repeal that. More detail than that, but that’s what it boils down to.
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Who’s gonna stop him?
- All the states who are blue and/or prefer to not have a bumbling 82 year old wannabe dictator as president for a 3rd term.
- All the congress critters not living in MAGA-stan who value getting re-elected.
Yeah, they’ve all done a bang-up job over the last four years.
Yeah, they’ve all done a bang-up job over the last four years.
That’s a bit like saying because you found a hair in your soup - which you found bland and overpriced - that you want a shit sandwich instead.
I didn’t say I wanted the shit sandwich. I’m saying I don’t trust them to keep the shit sandwich away from my plate.
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1a. How: The law. Literally Trump “can’t” just say “I’m going to run again”. The constitution forbids it. Now I’m not saying that will stop all the states from putting him on the ballot, but it will stop many, and that’s enough to get any sane Republican screaming for an alternative. 1b. Why: The law. Republicans know perfectly well Trump is a shit-show, but they lacked the courage to say no to a 2nd term. A third term puts them into not-needing-a-spine-to-say-no territory. Many desperately want to get rid of him and that is their safe opportunity. 2. Of course I do. I also remember the attempted coup failed miserably. And anyway that is quite different from running in the primary.
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I really hope that’s the case. But if there’s one thing I’ve learnt, it’s that Trump can seemingly do whatever the fuck he wants.
I really hope that’s the case
It is. It’s in the constitution and barring civil war and a military take over of the government that amendment is not going away.
But if there’s one thing I’ve learnt, it’s that Trump can seemingly do whatever the fuck he wants.
Actually he can’t. He most definitely can bloviate and spew whatever the fuck he wants, but when it comes to actually doing I think his track record is quite poor. For the most part he counts on toadies to fall in line and do his bidding, mainly so they can take the blame if it goes south. That he will be term limited is, IMO, the saving grace for those useful idiots - they know they can get rid of him and they only need to kiss his ass another 4 years.
Oh that? That meant consecutive terms. Trump can totally be president again in 2028. Just ask SCOTUS.
You are speculating that SCOTUS will let some challenge slide. But it’s the constitution and SCOTUS doesn’t get to change what it says just because they are corrupt.
“No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice”
Seems pretty crystal clear.
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Laws are not magic spells, and all the people who enforce them are his creatures.
Demonstrably not.
Just because we use the same rules for our violently enforced traditions of hierarchy and the physical constants of reality does not mean they’re actually the same thing.
You are either 14 and very profound or a newly-minted graduate student. 'Cause I have no idea what you are trying to say.
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SCOTUS has the final say on what the Constitution should mean right now. They can decide however they want. The only remedies are through the legislature (impeachment, constitutional amendments, increasing the size of the court). But if they decide something, that’s the law of the land even if it’s blatantly wrong.
SCOTUS has the final say on what the Constitution should mean right now. They can decide however they want.
Not entirely. There are actually limits and checks on SCOTUS power, including the restrictions on what cases they can hear, the ability of congress to change the make up of the court and terms of appointments as well as change it’s jurisdiction.
Now I grant it’s easy to throw up one’s hands and say “ah but that will never happen with a congress bowing and scraping to Trump” but I’d counter with two points: we can still gain majorities in the senate and house in 2026 and, crucially, if there’s one thing you can count on it’s the avaricious and rapacious nature of politicians.
I fully expect our entire country to slide into a deep recession and for there to be complete paralyzing chaos in the federal government over the next 4 years. That threatens the status quo, meaning congress critters ability to freely grift, make money off the stock market and remain in power. They won’t like that.
SCOTUS has already started ignoring things like standing. I mentioned that the main check on SCOTUS is the legislature. I don’t think Congress can get its shit together long enough to effect any real check. Last term they could barely elect a speaker and this term they have even slimmer majorities. Unless the midterms are a historically large blue wave, it’s not going to matter. If a handful of defectors can kill the change, it’s not happening.
More than likely he’d just go the direction of Russia/Putin and run behind a candidate he endorses but then effectively take control after the puppet candidate wins.
A distinction without a difference
At least it’s a dismissal without prejudice which leaves the door open for charges to be brought back once Trump is no longer in office and as long as the statute of limitation hasn’t run out.
leaves the door open for charges to be brought back once Trump is no longer in office
Assuming his lard-ass lives that long.
I can’t say I’m feeling overly optimistic about anything worthwhile happening with this case after 9 years, when they failed to move forward in nearly 5
How is “less than 4” now “nearly 5”?
Does that really make a difference in their argument?
What “argument”? It’s just doomer moaning, using hyperbole to amplify their own defeatism. I’m just pointing out the bs.
It’s not “doomer moaning” to think that if they didn’t prosecute him in the four year period after his presidency that they won’t do it eight or twelve years after his presidency when he’s either dead from old age or well into his 80s.
That’s not defeatist it’s simply witnessing the actions of our current leadership and believing them. You can choose to believe their words instead, but there’s zero reason to when their actions (both past and current) directly contradict them.
It’s not “doomer moaning”
It is when they’re lying about the time that’s already passed. They’re clearly more interested in embellishing than being realistic.
You know how the courts love putting rich old white dudes behind bars, right?
Assuming of course we don’t end up with a Republican dictatorship after this presidency, then it’s all meaningless anyway.
A glimmer of hope, but at least, of the extremely limited options, this one leaves a shred of hope behind.
Still fucking awful and a complete condemnation of the justice system in the US, but POC in the States have known that for years, now it’s just whitey getting shown how fucking biased it is to privilege and wealth.
A lot of us whiteys already knew
Until Trump’s DOJ decides to re-dismiss with prejudice.
That can only be done if the case is presented again. You can’t dismiss something that doesn’t exist.
Get ready to find out that all laws are just made up and no one gives a shit if the other people with power let him do whatever he wants
You’re a teenager, aren’t you?
Who is going to stop Trump from pardoning himself?
He cannot pardon himself on a dismissed case.
Again, who is going to stop him? The presidential pardon is wide reaching, and no one has ever tried to pardon themselves before so there’s no legal precedent. You think this supreme court is gonna stop him?
Also, he absolutely can pardon for something that was dismissed. Nixon got pardoned for something he was never even charged with.
Fun mental excersise:
Even if the president can’t pardon themself. They could just temporarily declare themselves inable to perform the powers and duties of the presidency, then the VP becomes Acting President, and the VP as Acting President can pardon the President. Voila, its not a self-pardon.
Shenaigans… Shenanigans…
He could. The president can pardon any federal crimes that’s already committed except in cases of impeachment. Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon even tho he was never charged with crimes. Now the constitution never explicitely said they can pardom themselves, but maybe the supreme court would let him.
Jack Smith, apparently.
Lol he’s dead by then. Are we puting a dead person on trial?
Legal justice has become a pipedream. The only options with any real chance of happening are vigilante justice or no justice.
Vigilante Justice isn’t really justice tho.
He’s just gonna get famous for getting “Assassinated”.
He needs to rot in prison and die there so his name is tainted forever.
Agreed, but I don’t see that happening in the absence of a legal justice system.
Do you have realistic ideas on how to make that happen?
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I mean, we all saw this coming.
It still feels weird that you can’t jail someone in 4 years even if you prove they are guilty.
Americans should be rioting in the streets, let him serve from jail.
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Feckless.
I want this to be literally the only word on Merrick Garlands Wikipedia page.
Its not Jack Smith’s fault, that’s on the American voters. Well that and Merrick Garland
Fucking pussy
Leave my boy Jack Smith alone. He tried, the American voters failed him.
The American voters failed humanity.
I dont think you understand the situation.
The DOJ cannot try a sitting president as matter of policy. If he continued the trial against policy then there is a good chance more judge delays and stays push it out until trump is president and he makes it go away, especially if he gets it dismissed with prejudice. If he drops it now it has the chance to be re-tried again when trumppeacefully gives up powerleaves office in 4 years time.Legal eagle on youtube did a whole video explaining the situation in depth if you want a qualified explanation.
Biden should have sent Seal Tim Six to Mar-A-Lago
