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The Gaping Hole in the U.S. Constitution
Will the courts plug it with an ironclad ruling?
Donald Trump has a knack for proposing the preposterous and for defending the indefensible. Just yesterday, Trump and his legal team presented their arguments in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia regarding Trump’s claim of presidential immunity.
The question was asked if Donald J. Trump instructed Seal Team #6 to assassinate a political opponent, could he be arrested? Most people would say yes, that ordering the murder of someone is generally illegal in most civilized countries and even in the United States.
Obviously, there have been situations when assassinations of certain individuals have been sanctioned by our government and generally considered legal. The assassination of Osama bin Laden comes to mind, as well as the killings of leaders of Hamas, al-Qaeda, and others. When Barack Obama announced that Osama bin Laden had been killed, no one pressed charges against Obama. No one even thought of it.
There are several things that make this judge’s question different from those types of assassinations. To begin with, if a person is a political opponent of the president, they are an American citizen who has the rights under the Bill of Rights. A president cannot simply declare a person guilty. This…
