US Erection 12 *AND* 16 *AND* 20 *AND* 22 *AND* 24 *AND* Beyond

[Strangelove]

So tell me, UW- how long have you been a lawyer?

Lawyer? I just play one on the internet.

FFS!!! Another Doc Sock!!!!

Okay, I'm gonna take credit for this one.



(your sock was Micky107)



EDIT: Wait, yeahno, the Great Strangelove would never employ a triple negative:

I am not sure it wasn't correct to not prosecute Nixon.

[5thhorseman]

“DOGE’s mission is to cut waste, and at the end of the day, no one was a bigger waste than Vivek.” - Elon Musk

[Per]

Flashback to media comments on the idea of Trump pardoning his family and Rudy four years ago.

https://x.com/EndWokeness/status/1881386043414614298

Joe, back in 2020 on preemptive pardons

https://x.com/brianlilley/status/1881341052982018455

Yeah, the whole presidential pardoning thing is a horrible idea that goes against the concept of separation of powers.
The president should not be allowed to override the justice system.

Both parties in the USA do it, and it is a disgusting display of corruption and contempt for the law.

[UWSaint]

Yeah, the whole presidential pardoning thing is a horrible idea that goes against the concept of separation of powers.
The president should not be allowed to override the justice system.

I dunno, Per. Separation of powers is one structural concept in American government; checks and balances is another. The pardon power (and its lesser power, commutation) can be an exercise in magnanimity, leniency, as well as a check against overzealousness of a prior administration or the courts. Rules-based systems should have pressure release valves. I think the exercise of the pardon should generally be rare (especially during periods of incarceration -- there are other reasons for post-incarceration pardons involving the full restoration of certain civil liberties), but its availability and exercise are important checks in the system and its potential can influence post-conviction good behavior.

And sometimes, prior administrations go nuts. Sometimes, unscrupulous administrations deploy government to go after dissenters for offenses it would never prosecute (or prosecute to that extent) but for the fact they are a dissenter. Sometimes that becomes a political issue -- that old administrations are thrown out in part because they exercised government power in an overbroad and politically charged manner. In that circumstance, the pardon power is a way to translate electoral will into something tangible.

I do, however, think there's a problem with preemptive pardons the more I think about it. Pardons are an after-the-fact release valve; the pre-prosecution exercise of leniency is prosecutorial discretion. I think its sounder political theory to have that power (whether or not to prosecute) exercised by the government that exists (elected and still accountable), not the one who will not have any duty to faithfully execute the laws. I get the fear of political prosecutions -- we've been witnessing that in the USA these past few years -- but being in the political opposition doesn't make for immunity, either. Or shouldn't. It takes good men and women in prosecutorial positions and law enforcement to investigate crimes, not people, and have their discretion applied dispassionately and even-handedly, not politically.

[rats19]

Level logical… UW

[Cousin Strawberry]

It certainly accentuates who are the corrupt and devious assholes.

You know if they're going to exercise this authority it's because somebody is breaking the law

[Topper]

There is a place for pardons and reduction of sentences. Do we need anyone incarcerated for 1960's drug possession or civil rights activism?

When societies morals have changed there should be a mechanism for those caught up in the lag of the legal system to respond to those changes..

[donlever]

“DOGE’s mission is to cut waste, and at the end of the day, no one was a bigger waste than Vivek.” - Elon Musk

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DFKeqfJo ... k3aG50MQ==

[5thhorseman]

When societies morals have changed there should be a mechanism for those caught up in the lag of the legal system to respond to those changes..

Yes, but is having that mechanism be at the discretion of a single person a good idea? There's currently nothing to check that power, so perhaps approval by the House or Senate should be required to moderate the more extreme uses of that power.

[5thhorseman]

It seems Trump hasn't learned the lessons of his first term and is still trying to rule by decree. Likely the first of many Executive Orders to fail.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/23/politics ... index.html

Judge blocks Trump’s ‘blatantly unconstitutional’ executive order that aims to end birthright citizenship

“I have been on the bench for over four decades. I can’t remember another case where the question presented was as clear,” Coughenour said.

“Where were the lawyers” when the decision to sign the executive order was made, the judge asked. He said that it “boggled” his mind that a member of the bar would claim the order was constitutional.

[Topper]

Executive orders are great for theatre and ego but not sustainable or democratic.

Would a time limit for the House and Senate to pass them into law be appropriate.

[5thhorseman]

Well the one above was unconstitutional, so would've required more than the House and Senate.

Most of the time, however, Trump is trying to change federal policy by Executive Order. However under the APA, Congress has prohibited changing federal policy without a formal assessment of the pros and cons and a period of notice and comment. A lot of Trump's first term actions ended up getting overturned on APA grounds because he didn't want to bother with this step.

As you say, theatre and ego.

[Strangelove]

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2025 ... slide-win/

House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-MD) enlisted psychologists to help Democrats cope with President Donald Trump’s first week in office.

The recruitment of psychologists suggests that many Democrats have “Trump derangement syndrome.”

“This is only President Trump’s first week in office, and he’s already broken the House Democrats’ brains again. They’re already calling their shrinks,” Mike Davis, founder and president of the pro-Trump Article III Project, told Breitbart News.

That's a shame...

[Chef Boi RD]

And so it begins, all you Trumpee Shits, happy?

https://financialpost.com/commodities/m ... -us-orders

[Topper]

Canadian Journalist Warren Kinsella still can't let go of the Elon Nazi salute silliness.

He worked for Cretian is a Liberal lifer that hates Trudeau, volunteered on Biden's 2020 campaign and the Harris 2024 campaign so we know where his sympathies lie.

I suspect he posts something about the "from the heart" wave as X clip bate and has monetized his account.