Alito complains 'special' Trump shouldn't be 'subject to criminal laws like anybody else'

[riversedge]

Source: raw story



David Edwards April 25, 2024 12:14PM ET



U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito complained Thursday about the concept that a "special" former officeholder like Donald Trump could be expected to be "subject to the criminal laws just like anybody else."

Alito made the remarks to special counsel attorney Michael Dreeben during oral arguments in Trump's presidential immunity appeal to the high court. Trump's attorneys had argued the former president could not be charged with election interference because the office gave him immunity.

Dreeben, however, asserted Trump could be charged for trying to subvert the election.

"Well, Mr. Dreeben, do you really, I mean, the presidents have to make a lot of tough decisions about enforcing the law, and they have to make decisions about questions that are unsettled, and they have to make decisions based on the information that's available," Alito said.

"Do you really, did I understand you to say, well, you know, if he makes a mistake, he makes a mistake. He's subject to the criminal laws just like anybody else?"

"You don't think he's in a special, a peculiarly precarious position?" the justice asked.

..................
Watch the video below from the U.S. Supreme Court.


Read more: https://www.rawstory.com/samual-alito-trump-special/

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Well, Alito should just put a crown of Trump if he thinks he is so special.

[enough]

1. I remember when Scalia said that Government is God's representative on earth.

I suddenly realized that these people actually believe that.

[raging moderate]

4. Only when it is run by their fellow reactionaries.

Not when anyone else is running it.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

2. Alito's an ass

That is all.

[ShazzieB]

14. Absolutely true!

[Stuart G]

42. Total and Complete... Alito's an ass. ...................The American Association of Wild Asses.......................

..... (that I subscribe to) and am a member of.....would beg to differ with you.........



Alito is not just an ass, he is an ass**le..

[et tu]

3. thank you for the link-

scotus snakes be slithering~

[speak easy]

5. Yeah. Trump is special all right.

He fully deserved to go to a special school.

[DENVERPOPS]

18. And a VERY special prison

Colorado Supermax...............

And there is no internet or cell phones for prisoners.......

[speak easy]

21. 👍

[Dave Bowman]

26. If Gitmo would be nice too.

[Think. Again.]

6. Did a U.S. supreme court justice really just say...

"...presidents have to make a lot of tough decisions about enforcing the law..."???

Does he really think law enforcement is part of a President's responsibilities?

Do we really have a supreme court justice that is THIS uninformed about the structure of the U.S. government???

[Brenda]

24. Unfuckingbelievable!

Where are the adults? President Biden needs to respond to this shit.

[riversedge]

35. no, that would not be wise IMHO.

[Marthe48]

25. I noticed that

was going to double check what I thought I knew from high school government glass. JC. The dark money donors and fascists trying to dismantle are government don't seem to care what kind of morons are representing their interests. Well, if the fascists win this, they will crush their henchmen under their boot heels and piss on their remains.

[sprinkleeninow]

47. Making crapola up as they go along.

In O T. scripture it says (paraphrased):
"They frame iniquity and call it law."

[BlueMTexpat]

55. Alito still thinks he

is in the 18th century - pre-1776!

For him, George III would be "special" too.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

59. Supreme court

Appointees are not required to know the law. They aren’t required to prove worthiness or ethical competence or compassion. They get chosen voted in that’s it. They can be totally sociopathic and a fascists pig and still be acceptable on the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has no requirements of anyone who becomes a justice and the constitution has no requirement or guidelines regarding Supreme Court justices. Tragic but true.

[Think. Again.]

62. I didn't know this...

...I just assumed they would have to at least be attorneys if not judges already.

That is tragic.

[crud]

7. A president is special in the sense that

there are crimes that ONLY a president can do. Ordinary citizens do not have the powers of a president. Doesn't mean he isn't subject to criminal law like everybody else. Alito turned the whole argument backwards.

[24601]

29. That parallels authorities that only a President can exercise. Some of today's oral argument addressed that only the

sitting President can pardon crimes against the US, issue lawful orders as Commander in Chief of our military forces, sign or veto legislation, nominate and, with Senate Advice and Consent, appoint Ambassadors, Justices, and Article III Judges.

I have heard people deride the words, " It's not illegal when the President does it." The more accurate statement is that some actions are legal only for the President. Of course, The President can also schedule a colonoscopy and have the acting President do all these things while he/she is asleep. I was surprised when Cheney, as acting President under the 25th Amendment, didn't pardon Libby since Bush had only commuted his sentence.

[NowsTheTime]

49. Who Said Dat?

https://libquotes.com/richard-nixon/quote/lbp7k6a

[24601]

58. Yep, while the original quote is attributed to Nixon, my comment was about deriding his statement. Who specifically

took issue with Nixon? There are more people than I could reasonably quantify.

That said, it remains true that some actions (see my post # 49) are exclusive to a President, and anyone else attempting the action would find zero legal support. For example, consider a hypothetical Bernie Sanders declaring that he has pardoned Julian Assange for all past crimes against the United States. I don't see that argument progressing with any Article III Court.

Conversely, not everything a President does is accepted as within Presidential authority. If President Biden wakes up Saturday and announces that he has declared war against Russia, it would not be accepted as legal since the power to declare war is delegated to Congress (Article 1, Section, 8, Clause 11).

[LiberalFighter]

8. I have some thoughts about Alito I would like implemented.

[ancianita]

9. Then Alito doesn't know the U.S. Constitution and founding documents, and should be impeached.

HE thinks that no actions a president takes are outside the purview of "official acts."
That makes him irredeemably STUPID.

[Picaro]

10. Nakedly partisan

[AZ8theist]

11. Go ahead Scalito, give the president TOTAL IMMUNITY.

Then have Joe Biden throw your ass in Guantanamo for subversion.

(I know, I know........won't happen. But it would GLORIOUS!!)

[aggiesal]

20. SCALITO ...

[AZ8theist]

27. They are interchangeable....

The fact one is dead makes no difference.....

[Polybius]

46. Scalia was much more of an intellectual though

Smarter too, and a far better debater and arguer.

[Polybius]

45. He's actually had that nickname before becoming a Justice

In fact, at his hearing, a Democratic Senator slipped and called him Scalito.

[barbtries]

12. it's really chilling

that this guy, who took women's rights away from them, now says "special" tsf should not be subject to the LAW, is on the highest court in the land. This land, that is supposed to be a nation of laws and not men!

i want my country back. it's never been perfect but it moved in that direction. now it's a clusterfuck, just a clusterfuck.

pack the court.

[PSPS]

44. No, not "pack the court." What needs to be done is to "unpack the court" by expanding it.

[barbtries]

57. okay.

we agree on what needs to happen

[Srkdqltr]

13. They keep saying Trump but the president is Biden and maybe going forward.

Besides Trump isn't president and the immunity isn't retroactive. Or they haven't said it was retroactive.
This whole thing is nuts.

[Warpy]

15. Undoubtedly his opnion will cite some 12th century chuch figure

blathering on about the divine right of monarchs to rule without being subject to any but the laws of the church, and not often to them.

[OhioTim]

16. Hate To Say It

But I think Trump skates in all of these trials

[Attilatheblond]

22. If immunity is granted

Biden should off the lot of them.

[aggiesal]

17. Of course our forefathers specifically defined "Special" in our Constitution. ...

Do I need to add the sarcasm thingee?

[dlk]

19. Do we have a president who's a chief executive or do we have a king?

The zealots on the courts have shown us who they really are and, sadly, they don't value our democracy.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

23. Mockalito provides even more proof that he is unfit for that seat.

[bluestarone]

28. Just with this ONE stupid comment, it proves this bastard should be

IM fucking PEACHED!!

[coprolite]

30. Alito's nose is brown from being buried deep in TFGs diaper.

I wish Joe would make them irrelevant by adding a few more Justices to the Court.

[Midnight Writer]

31. Equal protection under the law. Equal responsibility under the law. Equal justice under the law.

[Kablooie]

36. You forgot the ending. "Except for Donald Trump"

That's in the Constitution, you know.

[intheflow]

50. Four legs good, two legs better.

Rewriting the constitution like out of the Animal Farm Playbook.

[Kablooie]

56. That's exactly it!

We are living an Animal Farm reality.
Orwell warned us.

[jalan48]

32. Sounds like the legitimization of a ruling class.

[Dave Bowman]

33. Alito and other fat cats are scared.

They believe that they belong to a very exclusive club where all the members are above the law. Seeing an ex pResident having to face the music is making them very nervous, despite the fact that they well know that DumbDump is a despicable treasonous scumbag.

[soldierant]

34. Sounds like grounds for impeachment to me.

If he thinks that, he cannot possibly judge impartially. And that is dirctly related to his ability to do his job.

Joyce Vance points out that the justices respond to hypotheticals fairly well, particularly when they get personal or close to it. Someone should ask,

"So you are saying that President Biden should be able tp kill you and face no penalty?"

[Kablooie]

37. If Trump is installed as president again...

I'd avoid Time Square.

Trump might be there, shooting visitors to make himself feel better since the Supreme Court may say it's his right a president.

[cstanleytech]

41. Or he could decide to use SCOTUS Judge's as clay pigeons.

[LiberalFighter]

38. I don't see anything in the Constitution that gives the justices immunity.

[Haggis 4 Breakfast]

39. R E S I G N.

[cstanleytech]

40. Mmmm I guess it's not occured to some of the SCOTUS Judge's that they could be signing their own death warrants.

Because that's essentially what they would be doing as a President could then just send assassination squads out to bump them off.

[sinkingfeeling]

43. So, there are now lawful classes of American citizens? Some are now 'special' and

should be free to violate our laws?

[Aussie105]

48. Alito needs to explain why Trump is so 'special'.

Did Alito complain about Nixon or Clinton being given the treatment?

Something in it for Alito in considering being kind to Trump, I wonder what it is?

There is a deeply felt belief amongst the MAGAt hardliners that a second Trump presidency somehow holds benefits for them.

There aren't.

[Sancho]

51. Time for Biden to have Alito arrested and sent to Gitmo!

He could share a cell with the orange idiot. Of course, it would be an official act!!

[Rhiannon12866]

52. How reassuring, where did this idiot get his law degree?? Or his medical degree for that matter??

[doc03]

53. I can't believe the SCOTUS is seriously listening to Trump's lawyer saying

a president could kill a political opponent. It is ridiculous, he should have been laughed out of court. But they
are seriously considering such a ridiculous argument. I think the so-called liberals should have just walked out.
Then we have that fat ass toad Barr saying he will still vote for Trump, it is beyond comprehension.

[C_U_L8R]

54. Originalist Shmoriginalist.

Alito wants to go all the way back to the good ole pre-Constitution ruled-by-a-tyrant days.

[republianmushroom]

60. And that myth, "No one is above the law", is just that a myth.

[Rebl2]

61. Well I

think Alito should get some special attention, like being removed from the SC!