The question has the best chance of going down in the history books. “Can a president order a SEAL team (the U.S. Navy’s elite force, author’s note) to assassinate a political rival?” Judge Florence Pan asked Trump attorney John Sauer. ‘And can he be accused of that? Answer yes or no.”
The lawyer initially pushed around for a moment and then replied that only if there had been an impeachment trial against the president and he had also been convicted. Because, the lawyer continued, the American president enjoys complete immunity. This is the only way he can perform his duties.
To understand the meaning of this outrageous statement, we must remember that conviction after the impeachment trial of an American president requires a two-thirds majority in the Senate, and that under the circumstances this amounts to a political illusion.
This in turn means that an American president is effectively above the law in the eyes of Trump lawyers. As the ex-president once said in a legendary quote, not only does he not lose the favor of his voters if he shoots someone in the street. This means he cannot be taken to court.
The argument of Trump and his lawyers is not only scandalous, it is also in stark contrast to the statements they made in the second impeachment trial of the ex-president. They argued at the time that this impeachment was unnecessary because Trump’s term in office had already expired and he could now be held responsible in court for any crimes. Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, adopted this argument and thus prevented Trump from being convicted.
It is indicative of the state of the Grand Old Party that such contradictions are now accepted without words. Politically, Trump is currently untouchable, at least within his own party, and his nomination as presidential candidate is merely a formality.
Legally, however, his fate is uncertain. Even the Republican representative of the appeals court, Karen Henderson, reacted skeptically to Trump lawyer Sauer’s arguments during the hearing. “I think it is paradoxical to say that his constitutional duty to protect the law allows him to violate criminal law,” she said.
Why Donald Trump is playing for time
According to most experts, Trump is likely to suffer a defeat before the appeals court in Washington DC. These proceedings came about because the ex-president had appealed against a judgment at first instance, which also rejected his request for ‘executive immunity’.
Trump also has little hope of emerging as the winner this time. On the contrary, he plays for time. His goal is to postpone the criminal trial, tentatively scheduled for March, for his role in the storming of the Capitol until after the election. If he succeeds and wins the elections in November, he can pardon himself and thus remove all legal concerns.
The chances that this insidious calculation will work are intact. Even if Trump loses, he can demand that all nine representatives on the appeals court hear his objection – for now there are only three – and then he can also appeal to the Supreme Court, a body that has himself and three conservative justices has. equipped.
However, the ex-president must also be prepared for the fact that the appeal judges will judge him very quickly and, above all, that they will decide that the criminal proceedings, which are currently suspended, can continue. In this case, the trial will probably not take place in March, but in early summer.
Although not required, Trump personally appeared at the hearing last Tuesday. He clearly wants to make the courts his campaign stage. That is why he will not only attend a civil trial in Manhattan on Thursday, but will – probably to the horror of his lawyers – deliver the closing argument himself. (However, the judge has now banned him from doing so.)
He doesn’t have much to lose. The judge has already found him guilty of unlawfully manipulating the Trump Organization’s financial statements. It all comes down to the size of his fine and whether the Trump Organization can continue to operate in New York State.
Trump would also not be obliged to give this appearance. So why is he doing this to himself? Sitting on the defendants’ bench in court is generally considered suboptimal campaign propaganda. So is Trump stupid, or does he know something that the political signs miss?
There is much that points to the latter. In 2016, Trump did exactly the opposite of what he was recommended to do. He attacked the Spanish-speaking population (“Mexicans are gangsters and rapists”), even though all his advisers had told him how important this part of the electorate had become.
This time too he ignores the advice of the experts. He cares only superficially about the so-called “kitchen table issues” – inflation, immigration, crime – but still complains about the allegedly rigged elections that cost him his office.
Has Trump acknowledged that the previously applicable rules of American politics no longer apply? Is it no longer “It’s the economy, dumbass,” as Bill Clinton once postulated? The question is legitimate. When Trump complains about how much injustice is being done to him, that he is the victim of a second-rate legal system and that it is not actually about him but about Johnny Sixpack, he is hitting the nerves of his supporters.
They also feel that they have lost control of their lives and their country and are at the mercy of an ‘woke’ elite. Reason has no place in this state of mind dripping with self-pity. Not only do Trump supporters accept his lies and follies (“wind turbines kill whales”), they also don’t care about the most obvious contradictions. A majority of Republicans now believe that the chaotic people of January 6, 2021 were not criminals, but rather patriots taken hostage by the government. At the same time, they are convinced that the storm on the Capitol was a “false flag” operation by the FBI.
How far Trump will succeed with independent voters, however, is another matter. The same polls that show him currently leading Biden also make it clear that that lead will shrink dramatically if Trump is found guilty by a jury.
The ex-president therefore has good reasons to buy time.
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
