Rep. Raskin suggested the court was so biased it should share office space with the Republican National Committee.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) lashed out against conservatives on the Supreme Court after the April 25 hearing on President Donald Trumpâs immunity claim.
He said that the courtâs conservative majority seemed so sympathetic and âpartisanâ toward the former president that the court may as well be relocated to the Republican National Committee headquarters.
The left-wing lawmaker, who has long been sharply critical of President Trump and the Supreme Court, was a member of the former January 6 Select Committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, security breach at the U.S. Capitol. He was lead impeachment manager, akin to lead prosecutor, during the second Senate impeachment trial of President Trump in 2021.
âThey should move the Supreme Court over to the RNC headquarters, because theyâre acting like a bunch of partisan operatives,â the lawmaker said. He also referred to the court as the âright-wing, reactionary Supreme Court.â
Conservatives, who hold a 6â3 majority over liberals on the court, donât always vote as a bloc, but they have come together in recent years to recognize expanded gun rights, strike down Roe v. Wade and return the regulation of abortion to the states, and curb the federal governmentâs reach in environmental regulation. Three of the current justicesâNeil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrettâwere appointed by President Trump.
On April 25, after an extended discussion of the difference between a presidentâs official actions and private actions unrelated to his official duties, the justices appeared skeptical of President Trumpâs claim that he was entitled to absolute immunity from criminal prosecution. They indicated they might rule he has some kind of immunity. The Supreme Court may end up remanding the election interference case back to the federal district court in Washington with instructions on what constitutes official and private acts for further fact-finding proceedings.
Such a move would further delay President Trumpâs trial in Washington and might hamper the other proceedings in Georgia, Florida, and New York, giving him a strategic win as he seeks to put off cases until after the presidential election this November.
During the Supreme Court hearing, his attorney, D. John Sauer, acknowledged some of the things his client was charged with might constitute private acts for which he could be prosecuted after leaving office.
At the same time, the lawyer also suggested a president could not be prosecuted even if he ordered the military to eliminate his political opposition.
This reflects the traditional understanding of presidential immunity enshrined in Department of Justice policy, which holds that a president cannot be charged with a crime while in office. Instead, the proper course of action is to impeach him in the House of Representatives, and then try him in the Senate, with a view to removing him from office. President Trump was impeached twice, and acquitted twice in the Senate, though the second acquittal came weeks after he left the presidency.
Liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor asked Mr. Sauer if âfundamentally evilâ actions would be shielded from criminal prosecution.
âIf the president decides that his rival is a corrupt person and he orders the military or orders someone to assassinate him, is that within his official acts for which he can get immunity?â Justice Sotomayor said.
Mr. Sauer replied that depending on the facts of this hypothetical situation, âWe can see that could well be an official act.â
Liberal Justice Elena Kagan asked, âHow about if the president orders the military to stage a coup?â
The lawyer replied, âI think it would depend on the circumstances whether it was an official act.â
Addressing special counsel Jack Smithâs attorney, Michael Dreeben, conservative Justice Samuel Alito said, âIâm sure you would agree with me that a stable democratic society requires that a candidate who loses an election, even a close one, even a hotly contested one, leave office peacefully, if that candidate is the incumbent.â
âIf an incumbent who loses a very close, very hotly contested election knows that a real possibility after leaving office is not that the president is going to be able to go off into a peaceful retirement, but that the president may be criminally prosecuted by a bitter political opponent, will that not lead us into a cycle that destabilizes the functioning of our country as a democracy?â the justice said.
On the TV show, Mr. Raskin said Justice Alitoâs comments support President Trumpâs ânarcissistic criminal worldviewâ that holding him accountable would encourage âviolent coups.â
Justice Alitoâs question was âthe most astonishing thing for me today,â the congressman said.
âHe actually asked whether holding the president criminally accountable for actual crimes committedâwhether murder or coup or you name itâwhether holding them accountable would actually encourage them to stage more violent coups to stay in office to avoid prosecution, which buys completely into Donald Trumpâs narcissistic criminal worldview,â he said.
âI mean, for all of American history, weâve said presidents are subject to criminal prosecution if they commit crimes,â he continued.
âNow they say, well, if youâre really mean to Donald Trump, and you hold him accountable the way every other American citizen is accountable, then heâll really overthrow the government. Heâll really bring out the big guns, and we canât afford that.â
Mr. Raskin called that kind of reasoning âmasochistic capitulationism to Donald Trumpâs authoritarianism.â
âOf course youâve got to hold the president accountable to the lawâitâs the basic premise of our law that no one is above the law, including the president,â the lawmaker said.
âNow weâve got a bunch of justices who are asking questions that indicate that they are as corrupted as members of Congress who I served with,â he added.
Sam Dorman contributed to this report.
Original News Source Link – Epoch Times
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