this post was submitted on 10 Jul 2024
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You're right that another of the checks on presidential immunity is impeachment. But you're wrong that the president is expected to abide by the laws of the land. There has always been an understanding that the office of the president is above those laws (and the checks and balances are there if anyone has a problem with the way the president exercises that privilege). This is where presidential pardons come from. The president can select anyone who is so much as suspected with any crime and grant them blanket immunity, whether or not they actually are guilty of anything. They also have the authority to alter the rules temporarily via executive orders.
I'm aware of the text. I'm also aware of how it's been interpreted by courts. Those are two very different things.
Yeah sorry I don't have a citation handy but I remember hearing interviews with constitutional law experts and scholars in the early days of the Trump presidency that are basically verbatim what I said in my first comment here: "It's never been tested, but everyone assumes that if a case comes before Scotus, they will rule that the president is immune while carrying out the duties of the office". All that's happened recently is Scotus confirmed this assumption. I'm not saying it's a good thing. Just that it is what most constitutional scholars thought would be the ruling.
It's why most of the court cases he was battling during his presidency were for things unrelated to his presidency, like his Trump university scam or the Mar A Lago stuff.
Yeah that's probably what I was thinking of. I didn't realize it was specific to sitting presidents. But then again any criminal trial would be heavily dependant on who the next president is. Like this very well could have played out in the 80s except that Ford pardoned Nixon. I appreciate you helping to refresh my memory.