An attorney for former President Donald Trump in the presidential immunity hearing Clashes with Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan On the hypothetical question of whether a President who “ordered” a “coup” could be prosecuted.
“If this is an official act, it already requires impeachment and conviction,” Trump lawyer John Sawyer argued before the Supreme Court on Thursday, which is being broadcast publicly only via audio.
Sawyer’s statement was in response to Justice Elena Kagan’s hypothetical question asking whether a president who is no longer in office directing the military to carry out a coup would be an “official act.”
Kagan asked, “He’s no longer president. He wasn’t impeached. He couldn’t be impeached. But he ordered the military to carry out a coup. And you’re saying that’s an official act?”
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US Supreme Court justices pose for their official portrait at the Supreme Court in Washington, DC on October 7, 2022. – (seated from left) Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John Roberts, Associate Justice Samuel Alito and Associate Justice Elena Kagan, (standing back from left) Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch, Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. (Olivier Doulieri/AFP via Getty Images)
Sawyer responded, “I think it would depend on the circumstances, whether it was an official act. If it were an official act, again he would have to be impeached.”
“What does that mean? Depends on the circumstances? He was the president. He’s the commander in chief. He talks to his generals all the time. And he said to the generals, ‘I don’t feel like stepping down. I want a coup. to do.’ Is he immune (from prosecution)?” Kagan applied pressure.
Supreme Court will hear arguments in Trump presidential immunity case
Former President Donald Trump exits Trump Tower on Monday, April 15, 2024 in New York City. Jury selection began this morning in the so-called secret money trial in Manhattan Criminal Court. (Investigative Media for Fox News Digital)
Sawyer responded that it would “depend on the circumstances whether there was an official act” if the hypothetical president would be exempt from prosecution.
“This answer sounds to me like, ‘Yes, this is an official function under my investigation.’ But it sure feels bad, doesn’t it?” Kagan said.
“That’s why manufacturers have a whole series of structural checks that, for the last 234 years, have successfully prevented that kind of extreme fantasy. And it’s the wisdom of manufacturers to avoid what they saw as a risk.” The requirement was not to have the notion that the President could escape, you know, criminal prosecution for something that, you know, is very, very unlikely in these unlikely scenarios,” Sawyer responded.
“The Framers did not put the immunity clause in the Constitution. They knew how some state constitutions had immunity clauses. They knew how to grant legislative immunity. They did not grant immunity to the President. And, you know, It is not surprising that they were reacting against a king who Claimed to be above the law. Isn’t the whole point that the president was not a king and the president should not be above the law,” Kagan said.
Justice Elena Kagan joined the Supreme Court in 2010 after being nominated by former President Barack Obama. (Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)
Came back and forth as the Supreme Court Considering whether Trump is immune From Special Counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution in the election interference case. Smith’s case is currently on hold until the Supreme Court issues a decision. The case charged Trump with conspiracy to defraud the United States; Conspiracy to obstruct any official proceeding; Obstructing or attempting to obstruct any official proceeding; And conspiracy against rights. The matter is of January 6, 2021, when Trump’s supporters vandalized the US Capitol.
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WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 01: Special Counsel Jack Smith arrives to deliver remarks on the recently unsealed indictment against former U.S. President Donald Trump, including four felonies, on August 1, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges in August, and asked the Supreme Court to consider whether the former president could be prosecuted for “official acts,” as Trump’s legal team argues. .
The Supreme Court is expected to reach a decision by mid-June on whether Trump has immunity from prosecution.
Trump is also part of an ongoing trial in New York City where he has been charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. He pleaded not guilty to each charge. The lawsuit barred Trump from attending a Supreme Court hearing on Thursday.
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The NY v. Trump case focuses on Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen, who in 2006 paid former porn actor Stormy Daniels $130,000 to quiet her claims of an alleged extramarital affair with the then-real estate tycoon. Trump has denied any affair. Daniel.
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Prosecutors allege that the Trump Organization reimbursed Cohen, and fraudulently recorded the payments as legal expenses. Prosecutors are working to prove that Trump falsified records with the intent to commit or conceal another crime, which is a felony. Prosecutors said this week that the second crime was a violation of New York’s “conspiracy” law. promote or prevent election,
Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
