Maybe a dumb Question on if the president IS above the law.

[bluestarone]

Would it be smart or dumb for Joe to ask the SC to decide this while he's president? I'm thinking it needs to be settled law.

[marylandblue]

1. I've thought about this, and I think the best thing is an ethics reform law

which brings back the independent counsel who is given explicit rights to prosecute the President. I would make the investigations limited in scope to avoid a Ken Starr style fishing expedition.

This still could be misused, but an unchecked future Trump is a bigger danger.

[euphorb]

2. Courts don't answer questions in the abstract.

Courts will issue opinions only when there is an actual conflict between two parties on a particular issue. Besides, the Supreme Court has already stated in the Trump tax subpoena cases that the president is not above the law.

[MineralMan]

3. That's not how it works.

The SCOTUS does not answer questions on speculative matters. It hears cases that involve the Constitution. Without a case that has been brought to the court, SCOTUS remains silent.

A President cannot ask the court to decide anything on his own. SCOTUS is the court of last resort, mostly. No case; no ruling.

[bluestarone]

4. This makes sense. TY

So i'm guessing THIS question will never truly get answered, UNLESS God forbid we get another tRUMP. Congress COULD pass a law, BUT that won't happen either. So i guess we will just live with what we have today?

[MineralMan]

5. Well, it has been answered, but not thoroughly.

The Constitution doesn't really address the issue directly, with regard to the President. I suppose the authors of the Constitution didn't think it needed to be addressed, since a President can be removed from office through the impeachment process. That is the final check and balance when it comes to that office.

The assumption is that someone elected as President would be an honorable person. However, the impeachment provision is how the founders dealt with the possibility that there might be a dishonorable person elected.

The problem, as usual, is politics. As we have seen, a dishonorable President can stay in office if enough Senators will refuse to remove him after impeachment in the House.

The Supreme Court is bound by the Constitution, or is supposed to be. It cannot remove a President from office.

So, the US President is, in many ways, above the law, to the extent that he cannot be arrested, charged, and tried for a crime in a court of law. Only the Congress can punish a sitting President. The SCOTUS cannot do anything about that. Impeachment and removal are the only tools for removing a dishonorable President in our system of government.

So, we have Donald J. Trump in the White House. The people of the United States have now voted and elected a new President. Donald J. Trump will no longer be President at Noon on January 20, 2021. We have the final say under our Constitution. The SCOTUS cannot override that, either. And it won't attempt to, I'm quite certain.

[bluestarone]

6. And i say

THANK GOD for your last paragraph!!