In Dump v Vance case, lawyers arguing Dump immunity extends to his businesses

[fleur-de-lisa]

Andrea Bernstein ✔ @AndreaWNYC

I was in the Trump v. Vance hearings today. It's the case over whether the President can even be investigated by a local prosecutor while in office.

There were a lot of startling claims from Trump's lawyers, including that the President could not be investigated for anything so long as he's President, even if he took a pistol and shot someone on Fifth Ave.

But there was a more subtle case being made too: that the D.A. can't even look into the President's business-- which, remember the President has said he wasn't going to run while President. Because the lawyers argued, the President's business and the man are inseparable.

That is, Trump's lawyers are arguing, because Trump hasn't divested, the immunity that he claims, also extends to his business. So long as he's President, they're saying, neither he nor his business can be investigated for anything they've ever done.

Second circuit will rule, but everyone agrees the case is likely to go to the Supreme Court.

Link to tweet

[rurallib]

1. That is just incredible

[NoMoreRepugs]

2. The Orange Douche is really counting on the Supreme's

to save his sorry ass .... popcorn makers everywhere are going to be set to max output.

[jaysunb]

3. Jimmy and Billy Carter had a peanut farm

Remember how that worked out ?

[madinmaryland]

6. I remember all those times he entertained world leaders at the Peanut Farm.

He charged everyone to eat his peanuts.

Not.

[smirkymonkey]

4. I can't even deal with this shit anymore.

[zaj]

5. Hahahaha... They are insane

[abqtommy]

7. See lawyers go into court to defend trUMP. See those lawyers lose. Rinse and repeat.

[struggle4progress]

8. US v Nixon, 418 U.S. 683 (1974)

... neither the doctrine of separation of powers nor the need for confidentiality of high-level communications, without more, can sustain an absolute, unqualified Presidential privilege of immunity from judicial process under all circumstances ...

The impediment that an absolute, unqualified privilege would place in the way of the primary constitutional duty of the Judicial Branch to do justice in criminal prosecutions would plainly conflict with the function of the courts under Art. III ...

The need to develop all relevant facts in the adversary system is both fundamental and comprehensive. The ends of criminal justice would be defeated if judgments were to be founded on a partial or speculative presentation of the facts. The very integrity of the judicial system and public confidence in the system depend on full disclosure of all the facts, within the framework of the rules of evidence ...

https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/418/683/#tab-opinion-1950929