Trump’s endless claims of presidential immunity haven’t generated any traction yet. Many are skeptical. If Nixon wasn’t immune, why would Trump be immune? It’s a fair argument.
On the other hand, the theory, if not the fact, of presidential immunity has been floating around since Trump took office. The sheer amount of verbiage doesn’t make matters any clearer.
Some of these arguments stretch the bounds of comprehensibility. A crime can’t be described as “presidential duties. It’s not exactly part of the job description. It’s also absurd. You can’t seriously expect a court to rule in favor of not prosecuting a criminal act.
According to Trump’s lawyers, Congress must vote for a president to be impeached in order to be prosecuted and convicted. In effect, a crime could be committed and then referred to Congress. Does this interesting rearrangement of the legal furniture include shoplifting, murder, treason, or what?
The most that can be said for this theory is that immunity has been applied or not applied in some cases, often with dissent. Trump is facing very serious charges with majorconstitutional ramifications. The credibility of the courts and American democracy are on the line. It’d be a horrendous legal precedent for any president to claim immunity “because he can”.
Either you have the rule of law, or you don’t.
Trump has also warned of unrest if he’s put on trial. That’s not much of a legal argument.
Many pundits have argued that it’s “paradoxical” to say that his duty as President allows him to violate the law. It obviously doesn’t. There’s no suggestion of any such situation.
Trump’s case regarding his actions on January 6 simply equates to a claim that he didn’t break the law. Either he did, or he didn’t.
How is “immunity” an issue? Is there any statute, constitutional right of Presidents, or other court document that upholds any form of “immunity”?
If not, there is no immunity, and never was. It’s that simple. A trial can’t be waived by nothing but a theory with no statutory backup.
The trial must proceed.
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Disclaimer
The opinions expressed in this Op-Ed are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Digital Journal or its members.
