[Powerline via Hot Air] Note that Sotomayor dishonestly fails to characterize the majority’s holding correctly. She claims that immunity attaches when the president "uses his official powers in any way," such as by ordering a political assassination. But obviously, ordering assassinations, pulling off military coups, and taking bribes are not "actions within his conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority." The president has no constitutional authority to order murders, carry out military coups or take bribes. On the contrary, murders and coups would be high crimes and misdemeanors, and the Constitution specifically calls out taking bribes as a ground for impeachment.
Do these justices seriously think that if a future president were to carry out a political assassination, and the case were to come before this Court’s majority, they would say, "Yes, that is what we had in mind. Political assassination is A-OK!" Of course not. These three are not intellectual giants, but they can’t possibly be that stupid.
The Democrats’ dissent is so dishonest, and so obviously a political rather than a judicial document, that it must sadden anyone who believes in the rule of law, and who has any respect for the Supreme Court as an institution. It was obviously intended to provide fodder to rile up Democratic voters so as to help Joe Biden (or whoever) win the 2024 election. Justices Sotomayor, Kagan and Jackson should be ashamed of themselves, but it seems that on the Left, shame is an obsolete concept.
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