The Supreme Court's widely derided ruling last week on presidential immunity opens up an extreme possibility — imagine a kiosk in the lobby of the White House where the president's "lap dogs" order get-out-of-jail free cards rather than fries and a soda.That's the country's new reality, according ...
I thought we already knew that he was selling pardons.
Yes, but now he could do it legally (well full immunity making legality mute).
Hey, just FYI, the term is actually “moot”.
Not trying to be rude, I just I know I prefer to be told about stuff like this ❤️
I thought it was “moo.”
naw. that’s when legality needs less cowbell
It’s a cow’s opinion. It’s moo.
He made sense there
Have I been living with Joey too long, or did that actually make sense?
Yes but now he can be even more explicit about it, put it right in official communications.
Now fortified with immunity! A part of a complete
breakfastautocracy.And wasn’t it basically already legal? I don’t think there’s a lot of regulation around it (at least as codified in law, I know in the last few decades presidents deferred to a vetting process through DOJ, but none of that is mandatory).
The president’s power to pardon federal crimes is not really limited in the constitution except to exclude cases of impeachment. That is generally accepted to mean that the power of the pardon is otherwise nearly unlimited except perhaps that one cannot pardon oneself. There is no specific rule or law against giving a pardon in exchange for payment, though it is clearly considered by most as unethical.
Yes there is: 18 USC § 201 (b) (2).
Granting the pardon isn’t the part that’s illegal; soliciting or receiving the payment in exchange is.