If inciting an insurrection towards their own government is an action without legal repercussions, I don’t see how the law would be less lenient about straight up firing a gun at an opponent.

I by no means want any party to resolve to violent tactics. So even though I play with the thought, I really don’t want anything like it to happen. I am just curious if it’s actually the case that a sitting president has now effectively a licence to kill.

What am I missing?

  • razorwiregoatlick@lemmy.world
    60·
    4 months ago

    They did not say that he was immune. They said that the president has immunity for certain acts. What acts? Whatever acts they, the SCOTUS, decide they should be immune from. So Biden could shoot Trump dead but the court would rule that that was illegal because some bullshit reason.

    • John Richard@lemmy.world
      26·
      4 months ago

      So… Biden could target SCOTUS as being treasonous & appoint new justices under immunity with the three remaining liberal justices quickly ruling he has executive privilege to do so?

      • SkyezOpen@lemmy.world
        2·
        4 months ago

        Yes. I joked about this scenario when I didn’t think the scotus would hand down such a fucked up ruling, but we’re halfway to some really funny shit.

    • callouscomic@lemm.eeEnglish
      19·
      4 months ago

      I think that “some bullshit reason” would be murder.

      People have gotten fucking ridiculous lately.

      • HasturInYellow@lemmy.world
        32·
        4 months ago

        They said “some bullshit reason” because the same logic would very clearly not be applied to trump if he were to do the same. Think a bit. It’s ok.

        • SanguinePar@lemmy.world
          6·
          4 months ago

          The bullshit in this example is not that they would find Biden guilty but that they could/would find Trump innocent.

          That would be bullshit. Biden killing Trump being ruled as murder would not be bullshit, it’d be accurate.

          • samus12345@lemmy.worldEnglish
            4·
            4 months ago

            Guilt or innocence is irrelevant in this case. The only thing that matters is whether the President was acting in an “official” capacity or not. If a Republican does it, it was official. If a Democrat does, it was not.

            • SanguinePar@lemmy.world
              4·
              4 months ago

              I agree, that’s how it would go. But you can’t start advocating for a Democratic president to murder his opponent with official impunity, just because of some politically motivated bullshit SCOTUS ruling. That way total anarchy and facism lies.

              If people start calling for that, then it’s no better than the shit show of a second Trump presidency may be. The rule of law matters, and it should apply to all equally. If Trump did it and got away with it, it would be bullshit, he should not get away with it. If Biden did it, he should not get away with it either, whether it’s “official” or not. Murder is murder.

              • samus12345@lemmy.worldEnglish
                3·
                4 months ago

                You’re correct, and I wasn’t saying otherwise. I’m just pointing out that the corrupt SCOTUS has set themselves up as the arbiter of consequences for the President. They can protect or not on a whim, with no way for anyone else to challenge them.

                • SanguinePar@lemmy.world
                  3·
                  4 months ago

                  Agreed. It’s properly fucked up. Genuinely worried about the state of the States in the next few years if the Dems don’t get their acts together and win in November (and even if they do, tbh)

                  • samus12345@lemmy.worldEnglish
                    2·
                    4 months ago

                    Same. Dems winning presidential elections feels like a drowning person who’s desperately thrashing around managing to get a lungful of air before sinking again.

              • Cryophilia@lemmy.world
                1·
                4 months ago

                If people start calling for that, then it’s no better than the shit show of a second Trump presidency may be.

                I cannot disagree more strongly. Biden has this chance to RESTORE rule of law, which SCOTUS has already shredded. I will take the risk of Biden becoming a dictator over the near certainty that Trump will.

    • Jimmybander@champserver.net
      18·
      4 months ago

      That court also wouldn’t be able to have the president arrested. He would need to be impeached and removed from office before any of that could happen.

    • s38b35M5@lemmy.worldEnglish
      16·
      4 months ago

      So Biden could shoot Trump dead but the court would rule that that was illegal because some bullshit reason.

      Ah! But with what evidence? They also ruled that presidential conduct (paraphrasing here) can’t be used as evidence.

      • Asafum@feddit.nl
        8·
        4 months ago

        True, but they are also the ones who decide what they can and cannot do without recourse from anyone else (because we need 2/3 of Congress to impeach which is a non-starter.) so they can rule one way and then rule another for whatever reason they want.

        Our “justices” (/vomit…) don’t have to have any qualifications, we just pay lip service to norms so we (read: the federalist society) choose vaguely “acceptable” people to be justices, but you or I could be one too which really means that they have almost nothing to do with the actual law. We’re a fucking joke.