General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Joe Biden can save America [View all]Ocelot II
(131,340 posts)for official acts and that's all. It did not give him the authority or power to do anything. He can order subordinates to do something illegal but they don't have to obey him; and if they did, they would not be immune from prosecution. So, for example, he could order the FBI to arrest Trump without a warrant and deny him legal counsel, but the so-ordered FBI agents could say, "Hell, no; that's illegal and I'm not going to do it. Do it yourself." So then if Biden showed up on Trump's doorstep with a Glock and a set of handcuffs, stuffed him in the trunk of his car, drove him back to Delaware and locked him in his basement with no help from anybody, and if the courts agree that personally arresting and imprisoning Trump was an official act (and even SCOTUS might not go that far) Biden wouldn't be prosecuted for it. But he can't make anyone else do it.