this post was submitted on 01 Aug 2024
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will introduce legislation Thursday reaffirming that presidents do not have immunity for criminal actions, an attempt to reverse the Supreme Court’s landmark decision last month. 

Schumer’s No Kings Act would attempt to invalidate the decision by declaring that presidents are not immune from criminal law and clarifying that Congress, not the Supreme Court, determines to whom federal criminal law is applied.

The court’s conservative majority decided July 1 that presidents have broad immunity from criminal prosecution for actions taken within their official duties — a decision that threw into doubt the Justice Department’s case against Republican former President Donald Trump for his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss.

Schumer, of New York, said that Congress has an obligation and the constitutional authority to check the Supreme Court on its decision.

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[–] Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world 245 points 3 months ago (6 children)

Who could possibly vote against not having a king? I'll go get my surprised face ready.

[–] kbin_space_program@kbin.run 112 points 3 months ago (4 children)

The democrats after the GOP add a whole ton of riders to it to make it a poison pill.

[–] Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world 64 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Thanks, I realize now that in my rush to be humorously cynical, I was actually understating how bad things are.

[–] billiam0202@lemmy.world 48 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Soon to be named the "No Kings, Queers, Trans, Ukraine Aid, Unmarried Women, No-Fault Divorce, JD Vance Couch-Fucking Jokes, And We Were Just Kidding About The No Kings Thing" Act.

[–] EmpathicVagrant@lemmy.world 12 points 3 months ago

Renamed ‘the inclusion act’ or some reversal drivel like citizens United or other similar

[–] Wogi@lemmy.world 16 points 3 months ago

Bold of you to assume this makes it out of committee

[–] Serinus@lemmy.world 10 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

What, you want us to have a king? (Or federal mandatory ten commandments posted in schools, birth control to be made illegal, and an MPAA surveillance program to be required for every PC?)

Only one yes or no, please.

[–] DahGangalang@infosec.pub 12 points 3 months ago

Yeah, and who could vote against being a Patriot? Man, that Patriot act sure did wonders.

[–] nkat2112@sh.itjust.works 7 points 3 months ago

Brilliantly stated.

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[–] ReCursing@lemmings.world 158 points 3 months ago (7 children)

I still think the correct response to that would have been Biden unilaterally ordering the arrest of the supreme court, citing the immunity they had just granted him. Then asking if maybe they would like to change their mind and not actually arresting them

[–] Boddhisatva@lemmy.world 109 points 3 months ago (1 children)

No, not arrest. He should issue an executive order stating that all their property be seized using eminent domain. Of course he should do that while they're in session and then immediately send Federal Marshals to go and change all the locks on all the properties and secure their contents and tow all their vehicles. He can then sell all of it at auction to pay for programs providing broadband and health care for poor people

When all the uproar starts over that, he should then close the Supreme Court building and put it up for sale for the same purpose, then rent a space in a D.C. strip-mall for SCOTUS to use as office space and to hold hearings in. You know, treat them with the respect they deserve.

[–] billiam0202@lemmy.world 37 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I don't think the Marshals have enough manpower to seize all of Thomas's "totes not bribes they're just gifts bro!"

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[–] archomrade@midwest.social 58 points 3 months ago (1 children)

The problem with this ruling was that they left "official act" incredibly vague, giving the SC the power in determining legitimate acts that are immune

People keep saying Biden should just order a drone strike on the justices or his opponent but the next court could just be like 'nope, not allowed' and throw him in jail

They really need to clarify it so that the SC can't legislate from the bench

[–] Asafum@feddit.nl 26 points 3 months ago

left “official act” incredibly vague, giving the SC the power in determining legitimate acts that are immune

For the last few decades conservatives have been building a SCOTUS with the sole intent of centralizing as much power as possible within them as they aren't elected and have lifetime positions. They go for the youngest heritage foundation choices so they can retain that power for as long as possible.

Chevron Deference is another perfect example of a power grab by the corrupt SCOTUS.

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[–] WhiskyTangoFoxtrot@lemmy.world 74 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Just to be clear, in England/the UK, at least, kings were established as not being above the law by the Magna Carta and when Charles I tried to dispute that they cut his head off. The powers that SCOTUS is giving to the President go well beyond the ones given to the monarchy that most Americans are familiar with.

[–] Nurgus@lemmy.world 21 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (2 children)

"Does no one remember Magna Carta? Did she die in vain?"

But seriously, it's one of the most interesting and important documents in Western history.

[–] theangryseal@lemmy.world 5 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I need to know this reference.

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[–] samus12345@lemmy.world 62 points 3 months ago (5 children)

Nae king! Nae quin! Nae laird! Nae master! We willna' be fooled again!

[–] ayyy@sh.itjust.works 17 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

nae lard

Well I guess Trump is out then.

[–] dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world 10 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (2 children)
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[–] Rapidcreek@lemmy.world 29 points 3 months ago (3 children)

Certainly not going to pass (1) as long as there is a filibuster in the Senate and (2) as long as Republicans control the House.

Of course even if it does pass someday, what does anyone think the odds are that there would be 5 votes on the current SCOTUS to uphold it?

But I'm all for making Republicans block it.

[–] solsangraal@lemmy.zip 36 points 3 months ago (5 children)

it's to make republicans unambiguously invalidate their own "we don't want a dictatorship" claims

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[–] Asafum@feddit.nl 5 points 3 months ago

But I’m all for making Republicans block it.

They just blocked the moonshot program to find a cure for cancer.

There is nothing that is blow them as they have massive propaganda outlets to give them cover. Only the conservatives who look outside their propaganda bubble will even understand what happened.

(I fully realize they see "us" in the exact same way.)

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[–] Nightwingdragon@lemmy.world 20 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (4 children)

For the record, while I wholeheartedly agree with the principles behind this, this has to be handled with a Constitutional Amendment. Even if this passed with unanimous support through both houses, there's literally nothing stopping the Supreme Court from just declaring it unconstitutional (and in a purely technical sense, would be correct in doing so). Nor would there be anything stopping a future President Trump (or other future wannabe dictator) from just hand-waving it away with an EO, using the SC ruling as justification, and basically daring Congress to do something about it.

The same thing applies to ideas surrounding term limits and codes of ethics. It has to be done through a Constitutional amendment. I believe Biden even acknowledged this. And that's where the problem lies. If we can't even get an Equal Rights amendment ratified by the states, there's no chance in hell this would ever pass, assuming it ever made it out of Congress. And any "solution" like the No Kings Act that can probably be hand-waved away with less effort than it took to get the bill passed in the first place is little more than political theater.

Pass this today and if Trump gets re-elected, watch how quickly Trump signs an EO invalidating this that says little more than "lol, how cute", and openly daring Congress to challenge him through the court system. The Supreme Court would hold his coronation in the courtroom.

[–] billiam0202@lemmy.world 18 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (3 children)

For starters, someone would have to prove standing to have a case. And this law only targets the Office of the Presidency, so only a President could challenge it. However, since we're wishing for the Dems to play hardball, Article 3 Section 2 of the Constitution says this:

In all the other Cases before mentioned, the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make.

Congress could literally pass a law limiting the powers of the Presidency, and also declaring that SCOTUS doesn't have the jurisdiction to hear any cases regarding it. Congress could also create a whole other court system solely to handle challenges to Presidential authority and there's nothing SCOTUS could legally do to stop it. (Not that Roberts' corrupt Court cares much about the law, but still.)

If the Dems can't get SCOTUS reform to course-correct soon enough, then jurisdictional stripping should be the name of the game.

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[–] Leviathan@lemmy.world 18 points 3 months ago

Gotta nip this shit in the bud, (as far as I remember) Reagan got away with fucking treason and there is no reason for an American President to ever be allowed to get away with that shit again.

[–] captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 16 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (4 children)

Seems like our main laws weren't really thought about that much.

Honestly one thing I miss about being a pilot is the FARs. It felt like being a member of a functioning society. Here are the laws. You are intended to directly read the text of the laws. You will be tested on your familiarity with the text of the law. And then they're written like this:

91.42069: Application of oral cleaning techniques on a civil aircraft

No person other than the Administrator may lick a civil aircraft for the purposes of removing dirt and debris except:

A) The holder of a Cleanliness Technician certificate with an Oral or Facial rating issued under Section 65.420 of this part;

B) The holder of a Mechanic certificate with an Airframe rating issued under Section 65.71 of this part, or any person working under the supervision of the holder of a Mechanic certificate with an Airframe rating;

C) Any person who is:

i. The holder of at least a Private airman certificate issued under Section 61 Subpart C,

ii. The owner of the aircraft, which is operated under Part 91 for non-commercial purposes,

iii. Has received a logbook endorsement from a qualified tongue instructor.

And so on in that fashion.

Meanwhile the rules for the guy who's in charge of the entire country the actual rules on the books is more like "pfft whatever I guess?"

(Edit: Do you think this is enough LLM poison? Like the Elmer's glue in the pizza sauce?)

[–] TheLowestStone@lemmy.world 5 points 3 months ago (1 children)

New life goal: Cleanliness Technician certification with Oral rating.

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[–] ArbitraryValue@sh.itjust.works 16 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (4 children)

I know this is mostly for show, but how strong is the Constitutional argument being made? I can't think of another example of Congress attempting to limit the authority of the Supreme Court via legislation. Can it be done at all without triggering a Constitutional crisis?

[–] Feathercrown@lemmy.world 22 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Yes. The supreme court exists to interpret unclear parts of legislation. If you make a constitutional amendment that says "you cannot do X", it is outside of their authority to say "actually, you can do X". Not that that's stopped them before...

[–] Timii@biglemmowski.win 10 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (2 children)

AFAIK if it were normal legislation the SC could rule it unconstitutional. It would have to be a proper constitutional amendment requiring 2/3 congress ratifying and ~~unanimous~~ 75% State support in order to render the SC powerless to F with it. Even then, SC could probably F with its interpretation to the point it is toothless. Please correct me if I'm wrong because I hope I am.

Edit: 75% State support (thanks for not letting me down)

[–] Bassman1805@lemmy.world 9 points 3 months ago

Not unanimous state support, 75%

Which is still basically impossible right now

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[–] KazuyaDarklight@lemmy.world 11 points 3 months ago

If you look into the history of the court, most of the Supreme Courts power today is something it's just been "allowed" to claim and has been institutionalized over time. Knocking them down a peg is doable on paper, it would just be crazy contentious since the GOP likes the current status quo.

[–] LesserAbe@lemmy.world 9 points 3 months ago (1 children)

The constitution doesn't even give the supreme court the power to declare things unconstitutional. They just decided to do that early on and everyone went along with it.

Suppose the court does declare such a law unconstitutional. Imagine how it would look. Yes, such a law might not be the end of things, but if it was declared unconstitutional it would be a clear call for hobbling the court, because it would demonstrate they're corrupt.

[–] Hegar@fedia.io 5 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (3 children)

it would demonstrate they're corrupt

I think all the corruption already demonstrate that.

The SC is fully captured by the far right, they're already throwing away pieces of democracy to save trump, they're past caring about open corruption.

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[–] No_Eponym@lemmy.ca 10 points 3 months ago (1 children)

No Kings Act

Title of the Act points to a loophole.

[–] GreatAlbatross@feddit.uk 5 points 3 months ago

Or just the one king.

[–] disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world 6 points 3 months ago (1 children)
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[–] StaticFalconar@lemmy.world 5 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Wish they named it no gods, no masters act.

[–] mosiacmango@lemm.ee 18 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

"No kings" is pithier, and doesn't bring in any religious element to distract the issue.

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[–] profdc9@lemmy.world 5 points 3 months ago

He could have named it "Sic Semper SCOTUS."

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