On 25 April 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments (No. 23-939) in the case of Donald J. Trump v. United States on the question of whether the President of the United States can be criminally prosecuted for actions he took. The Court allowed arguments on the following question:
Whether and if so to what extent does a former President enjoy presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for conduct alleged to involve official acts during his tenure in office.
It has now been ten days since the Court heard these oral arguments, but we still don’t have a decision. This is an in-kind contribution by the Court to the Donald Trump campaign, because it denies the people a timely trial on whether he denied our rights by trying to stop the Electoral College from voting, as alleged in United States of America v. Donald J. Trump, 1:23-cr-00257-TSC (Count 4: 18 U.S.C. Section 241—Conspiracy Against Rights).
This case defies logic, and logic precedes the law. Since Marbury v. Madison, the Court has held that it can review presidential behavior. If the courts can’t hold a President accountable to the law, there goes Marbury.
The Court could have just upheld, without comment, the ruling of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which said, ‘We conclude that “[c]oncerns of public policy, especially as illuminated by our history and the structure of our government’ compel the rejection of his claim of immunity in this case.” (United States Of America, Appellee, v. Donald J. Trump, Appellant, No. 23-3228)
As I pointed out in my previous article, Bad Court, “These Justices have one job: To protect the Constitution of the United States.”
They are failing that duty.
This is not a legitimate Court. It has Justices picked by someone who didn’t win the majority of the popular vote. It can’t represent the will of the people. The Justices picked by Donald Trump should resign.
And, let’s just be clear. Those tainted by contributions from the ultra rich should go, too.
Congress, at a minimum, needs to set some mandatory standards for the Court. There should be an inspector general for the Court, with the power to direct any illegalities discovered to the House Judiciary Committee, where there should be mandatory process for investigating them and voting on appropriate impeachments. And the Court, as a whole, should be responsible for investigating any charges of misconduct, deciding on their validity, and taking appropriate actions as called for in a pre-existing code of conduct.
This is a bad court. It is delaying justice. Very, very bad Court.