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At the Supreme Court, debates over Donald Trump’s immunity highlight the prospect of a trial
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At the Supreme Court, debates over Donald Trump’s immunity highlight the prospect of a trial

The question is necessary. Elle n’avait pourtant jamais été posée en ces termes devant la Cour suprême. A president of the United States must benefit from special protection, does he meett à l’abri de future poursuites pénales pour des faits commis lors de son mandat de él? The new judges of the highest judicial body in the country examined, Thursday, April 25, Donald Trump’s arguments in favor of total immunity in the exercise of his former functions.

A bold aspiration, which seeks to neutralize the charges held against Lui in the federal investigation into the multiform coup attempt that occurred between the defeat of Joe Biden, in November 2020, and the assault launched by his partisans against the Capitole, the January 6, 2021.

«We write a decision for posterity», a prévenu le juge Neil Gorsuch, insistant sur la nature inédita du débat posé, dont la gravité n’échappe à personne, à moins de sept mois de l’élection présidentielle américaine. Deux logiques are dessinées dans les remarques et les questions des juges. D’un côté, les trois magistrats dits liberaux avaient à cœur de souligner les serious dangers that imply a de facto impunity offered to the president, quel qu’il soit. De l’otre, leurs collègues conservateurs s’interrogeaient sur le risque d’une instrumentalisation politique des poursuites pénales contra les anciens présidents, dépourvus de protection.

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skepticism

The meeting point between the two edges is a participatory skepticism, subject to the demand for total immunity. Elle marquerait une rupture, un bouleversement dans l’équilibre des pouvoirs et l’exercice du mandat présidentiel.

« All the interest (from the Constitution) n’était-il pas que le président n’est pas un monarque, et que le président n’est pas supposé se trouver au-dessus des lois? », a souligné Elena Kagan. Celle-ci has sued Donald Trump’s attorney if immunity should cover the sale of nuclear secrets to a rival country. «And what will happen if a president orders the army to organize a coup d’état? », at-elle ajoute. Her colleague, Sonia Sotomayor, abonda en ce sens. «If the president decides that his rival is a corrupt person and that he is ordered by the army or by a murderer, he will relieve his official acts so that they can benefit from immunity. ? »s’est-elle interrogated.

Most conservatives seem to want to specify the period of partial immunity. This implies more clearly distinguishing the official and private acts of a president, the essential content of this file. Furthermore, Michael Dreeben, who represents Justice Minister Jeudi, believes that the promotion of fraudulent alternative lists of grand electeurs by Donald Trump and his advisers, at the end of 2020, is not relevant for June. «official channel».

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