4 ms·

>How does separation of powers work in the US? could Trump decide not to prosecute let say financial fraud in general? He can "do" essentially anything, per th

>How does separation of powers work in the US? could Trump decide not to prosecute let say financial fraud in general? He can "do" essentially anything, per the supreme court. For 250 years we had norms and customs and decorum and shame that kept things from escalating to a constitutional crisis. But that has all been so thoroughly broken at this point that literally no one knows what will happens next. One thing is certain, that there will be no way out of this but elections.

empath75 2y ago
> He can "do" essentially anything, per the supreme court. This is often said, but it's not true and it has nothing to do with anything that Trump is doing. What they ruled is that he can't be _prosecuted_ for most actions he takes as president. It obviously doesn't mean that the Supreme Court can't overrule executive actions, because they continued to do that after that ruling was made. And as much as Democrats complained about it at the time, it's probably the only thing keeping Biden from facing some kind of phony indictment right now. The _only_ thing that is allowing Trump to get away with this is Congress's inability to act, or passive acquiescence to what he's doing.
- ceejayoz 2y ago
  > It obviously doesn't mean that the Supreme Court can't overrule executive actions… What is their plan for enforcing said ruling?
  - empath75 2y ago
    They have only _ever_ been able to enforce their rulings through the acquiescence of the other branches. There's no enforcement mechanism in the constitution, and neither is judicial review, for that matter. If the president wants to ignore the court, and congress doesn't do anything about it, there's nothing the courts can do, and that has always been true.
    - ceejayoz 2y ago
      Always true, not always so problematic.
- intermerda 2y ago
  > This is often said, but it's not true and it has nothing to do with anything that Trump is doing This is not true. It has everything to do with what Trump is doing and has done. > What they ruled is that he can't be _prosecuted_ for most actions he takes as president. Again untrue. What they ruled is that he cannot be held criminally liable for any official actions. Unofficial actions are still up for debate. And you'd have to be extremely naive to wonder why they didn't give any guideline regarding distinction between official and unofficial actions. Or wonder why they refused to take up the exact same issue when asked by the prosecutor. > And as much as Democrats complained about it at the time, it's probably the only thing keeping Biden from facing some kind of phony indictment right now. This isn't true as well. If they wanted to, they can still go after Biden and claim that his acts were "unofficial". > The _only_ thing that is allowing Trump to get away with this is Congress's inability to act, or passive acquiescence to what he's doing. Definitely not the only thing, but one of the reasons why Congress doesn't act is because of violent backlash from the MAGA crowd. Like when credible death threats pressured the NC senator into voting for the SecDef - https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/politics/cowardice-gop-faces-backlash-after-report-suggests-death-threat-may-have-swayed-vote/ar-AA1zspUO https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/politics/cowardice-gop-faces-...
bregma 2y ago
> One thing is certain, that there will be no way out of this but elections. Those inconveniences will be next for the chop. Mark my words.
- whimsicalism 2y ago
  Wanna bet? I will give you 5-to-1 odds that there will be elections in 2026, 2028. I win, I pay you $1000 - you win you pay me $200.
  - wrs 2y ago
    Offering only 5-to-1 odds that the United States will have a presidential election just shows what an insane place we're in right now.
    - whimsicalism 2y ago
      more has to do with my time preference around money and whether i think i could get a better return on the market. that said, of course we are in a more precarious place than anytime in the 21st c - but still not very precarious democracy wise imo

empath75 2y ago

> He can "do" essentially anything, per the supreme court. This is often said, but it's not true and it has nothing to do with anything that Trump is doing. What they ruled is that he can't be _prosecuted_ for most actions he takes as president. It obviously doesn't mean that the Supreme Court can't overrule executive actions, because they continued to do that after that ruling was made. And as much as Democrats complained about it at the time, it's probably the only thing keeping Biden from facing some kind of phony indictment right now. The _only_ thing that is allowing Trump to get away with this is Congress's inability to act, or passive acquiescence to what he's doing.

ceejayoz 2y ago
> It obviously doesn't mean that the Supreme Court can't overrule executive actions… What is their plan for enforcing said ruling?
- empath75 2y ago
  They have only _ever_ been able to enforce their rulings through the acquiescence of the other branches. There's no enforcement mechanism in the constitution, and neither is judicial review, for that matter. If the president wants to ignore the court, and congress doesn't do anything about it, there's nothing the courts can do, and that has always been true.
  - ceejayoz 2y ago
    Always true, not always so problematic.
intermerda 2y ago
> This is often said, but it's not true and it has nothing to do with anything that Trump is doing This is not true. It has everything to do with what Trump is doing and has done. > What they ruled is that he can't be _prosecuted_ for most actions he takes as president. Again untrue. What they ruled is that he cannot be held criminally liable for any official actions. Unofficial actions are still up for debate. And you'd have to be extremely naive to wonder why they didn't give any guideline regarding distinction between official and unofficial actions. Or wonder why they refused to take up the exact same issue when asked by the prosecutor. > And as much as Democrats complained about it at the time, it's probably the only thing keeping Biden from facing some kind of phony indictment right now. This isn't true as well. If they wanted to, they can still go after Biden and claim that his acts were "unofficial". > The _only_ thing that is allowing Trump to get away with this is Congress's inability to act, or passive acquiescence to what he's doing. Definitely not the only thing, but one of the reasons why Congress doesn't act is because of violent backlash from the MAGA crowd. Like when credible death threats pressured the NC senator into voting for the SecDef - https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/politics/cowardice-gop-faces-backlash-after-report-suggests-death-threat-may-have-swayed-vote/ar-AA1zspUO https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/politics/cowardice-gop-faces-...

bregma 2y ago

> One thing is certain, that there will be no way out of this but elections. Those inconveniences will be next for the chop. Mark my words.

whimsicalism 2y ago
Wanna bet? I will give you 5-to-1 odds that there will be elections in 2026, 2028. I win, I pay you $1000 - you win you pay me $200.
- wrs 2y ago
  Offering only 5-to-1 odds that the United States will have a presidential election just shows what an insane place we're in right now.
  - whimsicalism 2y ago
    more has to do with my time preference around money and whether i think i could get a better return on the market. that said, of course we are in a more precarious place than anytime in the 21st c - but still not very precarious democracy wise imo