Tag: The Supreme Court

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Impeachment Supreme Court

Former Prosecutor Says Samuel Alito May Have Already Committed ‘An Impeachable Offense’

 

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito may have already opened himself up to the possibility of being impeached and removed from the court if he lied in a letter he sent to members of Congress, according to a former federal prosecutor.

Discussing the matter of Alito flying an American flag upside down at his home, Harry Litman noted that the justice needs to recuse himself from hearing any case which involves indicted former president Donald Trump or January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection.

Asked by a CNN host what can be done about a member of the court who has a conflict of interest yet refuses to step aside on cases in which they have an obvious personal interest, Litman explained, “There are really few.”

Litman added that Alito “has written to the congress, saying nobody could reasonably question my impartiality that the flag was flying.”

“Think about it for a moment. And say you were involved in a gay rights case. You were on the other side and you pass a judge’s house and the gay pride flag is flying. In my mind, you can think reasonably that person won’t be impartial.”

“There is the discrepancy and I really think it is essential to get to the bottom of it,” Litman continued.

That’s when the specter of impeachment came up, with Litman saying, “If it’s the case, I am not saying it’s the case, but if it is that Justice Alito sent a letter to the Congress and didn’t tell the truth in it. That is exceptionally grave. I think that would be an impeachable offense.”

Unfortunately, even if articles of impeachment were filed against Alito, there’s no way Senate Republicans would ever vote to convict him, even if the evidence against him was overwhelming.

So instead of having an independent Supreme Court, we currently have six conservative members who think the law applies to everyone but them, Donald Trump, and any other Republican whose legal filings come before them. That does not bode well for the future of the American republic.

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Congress Donald Trump Supreme Court

Jamie Raskin Slams ‘Partisan’ Right-Wing SCOTUS Justices And Recommends A New Workplace For Them

Like millions of Americans who listened to oral arguments in the Supreme Court yesterday on the issue of presidential immunity, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) said he was stunned that most of the right-wing justices seemed to believe that a president may have total immunity from criminal acts and therefore can act like a dictator and face no consequences.

Appearing on MSNBC’s “The Reid Out,” Raskin was asked by host Joy Reid about how blatantly partisan the six conservative justices sounded as they questioned attorneys for Special Counsel Jack Smith and former president Donald Trump, HuffPost reports.

“Well, they’re politicians who are not even subject to popular election unlike me,” Raskin replied. “They should move the Supreme Court over to the RNC headquarters because they’re acting like a bunch of partisan operatives.”

Focusing on a question from Justice Samuel Alito suggesting that democracy itself could be endangered if a president isn’t allowed to do anything he wants, no matter whether it’s legal or illegal, Raskin noted, “I mean, for all of American history, we’ve said presidents are subject to criminal prosecution if they commit crimes.”

“Now they say, ‘Well, if you’re really mean to Donald Trump and you hold him accountable the way every other American citizen is accountable, then he’ll really overthrow the government, he’ll really bring out the big guns and we can’t afford that.’ And that’s a kind of masochistic, capitulationism to Donald Trump’s authoritarianism.”

The Founding Fathers rebelled against England and King George III in large part because they were disgusted by the idea that one man could be above the law and rule by fiat and whim. It’s why they declared their independence and formed the United States of America.

Now, however, it appears that some on the Supreme Court are ready to give that same dictatorial power to a American head of state. Jefferson, Madison, and Washington must be spinning in their graves.

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Capitol Insurrection Donald Trump GOP Supreme Court

Ted Cruz And Jim Jordan Could Be Toast If SCOTUS Rules Trump Is An Insurrectionist

As failed one-term former president Donald Trump waits to see what happens with the U.S. District Court of Appeals for Washington, D.C. regarding whether or not he can legally be removed from the ballot in the upcoming election, there are two other key Republicans who are also wondering what could happen to them if the Supreme Court winds up taking the case and rules that Trump is indeed an insurrectionist.

Those two members of the GOP are Rep. Jim Jordan (OH) and Sen. Ted Cruz (TX), according to an illuminating article from MSNBC opinion writer and editor Hayes Brown.

Brown notes that over 200 members of Congress signed on to an amicus brief that supports Trump.

While the GOP lawmakers’ amicus brief is better drafted than most of Trump’s filings, it can’t be ignored that there’s a deeply self-serving element to their arguments. That’s especially true for those members who, under the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling, could also credibly be described as having ‘engaged in insurrection’ — and thus theoretically be disqualified from holding office.

The deepest fears of federal elected officials such as Cruz and Jordan can be found in one specific section of the brief, which pulls the curtain back on what everyone who played a role in January 6 fears most, Brown adds.

The self-interested lawmakers give up the game with this line from the brief: ‘Although not directly relevant to President Trump, the Colorado Supreme Court would give itself the power to judge the qualifications of those who would be elected to the House or Senate.’ That would be especially troubling for Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Paul Gosar and Andy Biggs of Arizona. The three of them were knee-deep in plotting to overturn the election, and, in a more just world, they would have faced expulsion for violating Section 3. It’s their inclusion as signatories on the amicus brief that makes this filing particularly odious.

Cruz was one of the prime figures who urged others in the GOP to join the brief.

The members who directly aided Trump’s efforts are especially interested in this case, but the effort to file the brief was led in the House by Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., and in the Senate by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Cruz’s participation is worth a side-eye given that he led the charge among Senate Republicans in challenging electoral votes in states where Trump called President-elect Joe Biden’s victory fraudulent. He also pitched a 10-day electoral commission to investigate the nonexistent fraud and potentially give state legislatures time to change their electoral slates as Trump would prefer. He never endorsed Trump’s wildest conspiracy theories, but he was caught on audio hoping Biden’s win would be reversed.

So if the Supreme Court decides that Trump can be removed from ballots, Cruz, Jordan, and others who took part in the plot to overturn the 2020 election could soon find they’ve been excluded from running or serving in any federal post, too. And that would be devastating to the GOP, which is quickly becoming known as the party of insurrection.

Categories
Crime Donald Trump Elections Supreme Court

Trump Attorney Appears To Threaten Supreme Court Justices On Appeal Of 2024 Ballot Case

Alina Habba is an attorney for failed one-term, twice-impeached former president Donald Trump, and remarks she made Thursday during an appearance on Fox have many suggesting that she was trying to threaten Supreme Court justices who will eventually have to decide whether or not the ex-president can be kept off primary ballots in states this year.

Speaking with Fox host Sean Hannity, according to HuffPost, Habba said, “I think it should be a slam dunk in the Supreme Court. I have faith in them.”

She added:

“You know people like (Supreme Court Justice Brett) Kavanaugh ― who the president fought for, who the president went through hell to get into place ― he’ll step up. Those people will step up. Not because they’re pro-Trump but because they’re pro-law. Because they’re pro-fairness, and the law on this is very clear.”

Habba’s comments raised eyebrows on Twitter/X, with some noting that she was either suggesting a quid pro quo or using threats to get her way with the high court.

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Categories
Crime GOP Sex Scandals

Court Says Ohio State Sex Abuse Suits Will Proceed – That’s Bad News For Jim Jordan

Ohio Congressmnan Jim Jordan (R) may be even angrier and more on edge than usual in the days ahead as the result of a Supreme Court ruling handed down that leaves in place a prior decision allowing over 230 men to sue Ohio State University for sexual abuse committed by Richard Strauss, a deceased former doctor who was employed by the university.

 

According to the Associated Press:

Two cases involving the abuse were on a list of many cases the court said it would not hear. And, as is typical, the court did not comment in saying it would not hear the cases.

Ohio State University had urged the court to review a ruling by the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that revived lawsuits that had been dismissed. The men who sued are among hundreds of former student-athletes and other alumni who say they were abused by Strauss, who worked at the school from 1978 to 1998.

They say university officials failed to stop him despite complaints raised as early as the late 1970s. Many of them allege Strauss abused them during required physicals and other medical exams at campus athletic facilities, a student health center, his home and an off-campus clinic.

Jordan’s connection to the scandal involves his role as an assistant coach for the OSU men’s wrestling team during the time of the alleged sexual assaults.

Six former wrestlers say Jordan knew they were being abused by Dr. Strauss but did nothing to stop or even report what was taking place.

As CNN noted in 2020, the wrestlers allege that “Jordan heard or responded to sexual misconduct complaints about team doctor Richard Strauss. Eight others say Strauss’ inappropriate behavior was an open secret in the athletic department and that Jordan, among others, must have known about it.”

Jordan has repeatedly denied he knew anything about the abuse, but one of the former wrestlers, Tito Vasquez, says the congressman is lying:

“When these complaints come and he pretends now that he had no knowledge of it, that’s betrayal in the highest level.”

The Supreme Court decision could also have repercussions for Jordan, if only by placing the matter back in the public eye with the congressman seeking reelection 2024 and drawing strong criticism for his hearings on what he calls the “weaponization” of the FBI and Justice Department by the Biden administration.

Additionally, Jordan is facing the prospect of being further damaged by an upcoming HBO documentary being compiled by actor George Clooney’s Smokehouse Pictures, with Clooney remarking, “It’s a devastating story about people in power abusing and then covering up their criminal actions against students. The fact that it hasn’t been resolved as of yet is deeply disturbing.”

Be afraid, Gym. Be very afraid.