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

Advancing a sweeping interpretation of executive immunity, Donald Trump’s attorney told a federal appeals court on Tuesday that U.S. presidents could not be prosecuted for selling pardons or assassinating political rivals through SEAL Team Six.

Trump’s lead attorney D. John Sauer argued that only a president who has been impeached and removed from office in a Senate trial potentially would be subject to prosecution for those kinds of alleged crimes.

A three-judge panel appeared extremely skeptical of Trump’s vision of absolute immunity, sharply questioning and interrupting Sauer during the opening minutes of the oral arguments with the former president himself sitting nearby.

“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.

255 points
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So this means its open Trump hunting season for Biden, right? It is totally legal and cool for him to assassinate Trump, right??


Of course we all know they intend for this argument to only apply to Trump.

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64 points

Stuff like this is what I wish would happen.

Like the german nazi party desperately wants more people to be evicted from Germany, I say great, evict the AfD politicians and their voters! Wooot! Everyone happy!

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60 points
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Right, when the right wing fuckos trot out their obviously bad-faith arguments, we should be taking to them to their logical fucking conclusions right the fuck away.

It would be beautiful to see the entire Republican wing of the house pissing themselves and losing their shit knowing that an assassin from Biden could get them at any moment. Especially after the first few drop and Biden just says “it’s me, it’s totally legal and cool, right?” Also making sure to drop the first 20-or-so at the same time so right after it happens the Dems have a majority in both the House and Senate so no Republican can actually bring a vote for impeachment.

They’d be screaming bloody murder because the only thing they actually care about is their own skins.

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17 points

Nah, let them keep a majority in the house. They vote to impeach, the Senate acquits, then he goes for round two…

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32 points

Trump is not a very good walker. Very weak steps. Maybe it will be a sort of accident? Is that the ruzzian way or what?

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12 points

Very weak steps by the very low window in the very tall building.

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1 point

Trump has the tallesest buildings. Buildings with windows so tall, the likes of which nobody has ever seen before.

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1 point

Nah, that’s polonium tea

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10 points

I know Elmer always lost, but I still want to see Trump being chased by Biden with a rifle like Elmer Fudd. Real life doesn’t have to imitate the cartoon.

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-34 points
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No. If you read the article, you’ll see that this isn’t Sauer’s argument. It’s another ragebait title, and based on the comments in this thread, it’s working.

EDIT: Okay, I see the flaw in my thinking. Carry on.

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39 points
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His argument is that there would be no possible legal recourse if a US president tried to seize absolute power the way Saddam Hussein did in Iraq, by having everyone in the legislature that might oppose him lined up and shot.

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23 points

Okay, I was wrong. I see the problem. Thank you.

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37 points

Yeah it is. Maybe you’d like to think there’s some subtlety we’re missing because Sauer stated the President would need to be impeached to lose immunity, but what happens if the President assassinates anyone who would impeach him?

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25 points
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Oh right on, hey call it off guys and gals. This dude read the article and says democracy is going to be just fine.

Edit: much respect to anyone willing to update their conclusions based on new input.

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96 points

Then they’re saying it would be legal if Biden assassinated Trump right now.

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53 points

Either his actions were treason and the sentence is death or his actions as president were untouchable in which case the president can shoot him without reprise. What a dangerous precedent to set!

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18 points

Sounds like these legal arguments are a win-win for anyone who isn’t Trump then

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2 points

Only if the House didn’t impeach him and the Senate didn’t convict.

So Biden would also have to kill as many Congressional Republicans as possible to prevent any impeachment vote from succeeding. This “legal theory” is essentially saying “one murder might be criminally liable, but mass murder of political opponents is just fine!”

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96 points
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Here’s a better question, Judge Pan.

Could a president order Seal Team Six to assassinate unsympathetic judges, either of an appeals court or the Supreme Court itself, since that’s an “official act?” Because that might be something worth considering.

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10 points
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This argument would, in fact, suggest that the president could order a judge assassinated. And I’m guessing the appeals court knows that.

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8 points

Like every other grand ol’ projection, I believe this should be interpreted as a threat of things to come, not academic speculation.

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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.

Unless it’s a Republican, he means.

This is their plan for every election, administrative, and legal matter: let Congress decide.

A body they can buy bribe and beleaguer.

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46 points

This is their plan for every election, administrative, and legal matter: let Congress decide.
A body they can buy bribe and beleaguer.

Or “legally” assassinate opposing members before the impeachment vote.

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27 points

“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.

It’s so hilarious that this is the response. Just like Republicans “speedily” impeached Trump after he mounted an insurrection?

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15 points

It’s even worse as the President could dial up air strikes on the Capitol to kill them all and it’s all very legal and very cool.

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23 points

“He would have to be, and would speedily be, you know, impeached and convicted before the criminal prosecution,”

Then he could assassinate them all, continually, until Congress is packed with people so afraid they’ll be killed if they step out of line and there’s no legal recourse. Just like the Founding Fathers intended…

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Obviously the intent of the founding fathers and the people is that insurrectionists cannot be permitted on a ballot, not by any officer of any court or state.

It’s the same as the Fourth Amendment. If the prohibition on warrantless search and seizure has any meaning at all, it is a command to every law officer, attorney, and judge, as to how they must do their part of their job in the matter, and that rule is that: if the constable blunders, the criminal must go free. The remedy is implied by the text, because if it’s not the text doesn’t mean shit.

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2 points

That’s his dream scenario.

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77 points

what the fuck

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45 points
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Deleted by creator
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0 points

Yes, and also revealing how fascist the United States has been for centuries.

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