The Supreme Court on Thursday heard oral arguments on Trump’s presidential immunity claim in Jack Smith’s January 6 case in DC.
The case made its way to the Supreme Court after the DC Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Trump was not immune from prosecution.
Trump’s lawyers previously argued that Trump is immune from federal prosecution for alleged ‘crimes’ committed while he served as US President.
John Sauer, a Missouri-based attorney for Trump, gave an opening statement on Thursday and argued that Jack Smith’s indictment uses vague statutes to criminalize “core authority” of the presidency.
Sauer argued that immunity protects past presidents such as George W. Bush and Barack Obama from being prosecuted for crimes they committed while in federal office.
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As expected, the liberal justices, similar to the appellate court judges, floated absurd hypotheticals.
The justices then had the opportunity to grill Jack Smith’s prosecutor Michael Dreeben. Recall that Dreeben was one of Mueller’s goons in the special counsel’s ‘Trump-Russia’ inquisition.
Conservative Justice Samuel Alito destroyed DOJ prosecutor Michael Dreeben with one question.
“If the president gets advice from the attorney general, that something is lawful, is that an absolute defense?” Alito asked Dreeben.
“Yes, I think that it is,” Dreeben said.
“But won’t that give presidents incentive to be sure to pick an Attorney General who will reliably tell the president that it is lawful to do whatever the president wants to do if there’s any possible argument in favor of it?” Alito asked Dreeben.
“I think the Constitutional structure protects against that risk. The president nominates the attorney general and the Senate provides advice and consent,” Dreeben said.
This line of questioning also dovetails other questions asked by Gorsuch related to subordinate liability.
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Justice Alito also asked about FDR’s decision to put Japanese-Americans in camps during WWII.
“What about President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s decision to intern Japanese-Americans during World War II, couldn’t that have been charged?” Alito asked Dreeben.
“Today, yes,” Michael Dreeben said.
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