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Charles Lane: Currently, there are a large number of lawsuits, both civil and criminal, against Mr. Trump. And sometimes it's hard to keep track of.
Jason Wyrick: This concerns the events of January 6, Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election. For me, that is by far the most interesting.
Ruth Marcus: This is also the case that most directly applies to the question of whether Trump is fit to take back the presidency.
Charles Lane: The specific question is whether he can be prosecuted in this case at all, since an official act was involved. His lawyers theorize that there is some kind of implied immunity the president enjoys from prosecution because of this.
Jason Wyrick: In a 5-4 decision in 1982, the Supreme Court said Richard Nixon and all presidents are immune from civil damages lawsuits that require them to pay money to those they harm through their official acts. Trump's argument essentially seeks to extend this principle to criminal law.
Ruth Marcus: The court said narrowly that civil lawsuits against the president are different because they don't want to basically be pecked at by a thousand different insane litigants in a thousand different courtrooms. The court in this case specifically stated that criminal prosecution is different.
So this case proves what we've always assumed: Presidents cannot be sued civilly for official actions, but like everyone else, they are above the law even when they actually do something that violates the law. It is important to confirm that this is not the case. Criminal law.
Jason Wyrick: I think some people are under the impression that if the Supreme Court says there is an immunity for official acts, that means Trump will step down. That's definitely not what I mean.
It is necessary to distinguish between formal and informal acts. You should take a look at President Trump's speech on January 6th. Was it an election speech? Was it a speech at the White House? It's an incredibly complex investigation. But I have little doubt that even if a ruling were made in Trump's favor on that narrow issue, the prosecution would not end. It just delays.
Ruth Marcus: You know that thing where Groucho Marx did a show and the duck came down when he said the secret word? Jason just said the secret word. The not-so-secret secret word is “delay.” That's the story about this.
This isn't about Donald Trump's bad lawyers. This is a very smart and strategic lawyer situation. Their goal was never to win this case. Their goal has always been to postpone until after the election in hopes that Trump will be elected president and all this and more will go away.
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