Donald Trump’s lawyer pushed an outrageous line of thinking on Thursday during oral arguments at the Supreme Court over whether the former president has immunity for trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election: that a U.S. president could order a military coup d’état with almost no chance of repercussions.
Justice Elena Kagan asked lawyer John Sauer about a hypothetical president who “ordered the military to stage a coup.”
“He’s no longer president. He wasn’t impeached, he couldn’t be impeached, but he ordered the military to stage a coup, and you’re saying that’s an official act?” she asked.
“I think it would depend on the circumstances whether it was an official act,” Sauer replied. “If it’s an official act, there needs to be impeachment and conviction before [criminal charges could be pursued].”
In response to other questions from the justices, Sauer defended a hypothetical political assassination ordered by an American president, the argument that sank Trump’s case in the D.C. circuit.
I saw a post somewhere else suggesting Biden should deploy a SEAL team to just hang out at the steps to the courthouse in NYC where Trump is on trial, and a second one to the steps of the Supreme Court. No orders beyond just being there for the time being.
The minute the SCOTUS hands down its decision issue new orders to the teams…