Former presidential adviser Van Jones on Monday slammed the Supreme Court’s decision on presidential immunity, arguing that it gives President Trump free rein to break the law – a “license to commit violent crimes.”
The Supreme Court ruled Monday in Trump v. United States that former presidents have effective immunity from prosecution for official acts they performed while in office, but not for unofficial acts.
“The president is not above the law, but Congress cannot criminalize the president’s conduct in carrying out executive responsibilities under the Constitution,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion.
Jones told CNN the Supreme Court’s decision showed that rather than acting as an umpire upholding the rule of law, the justices were “like wearing a red jersey or a MAGA hat” giving Trump free rein to commit crimes.
Van Jones, a counsel to former President Obama, advised the Supreme Court on its recent decisions.
Justice Alito questions whether president should fear being jailed by ‘very fierce political opponents’
“It would be politically bad for the Supreme Court. And I’m also scared of what Trump might do. There’s this idea that if Trump is elected, he’ll be able to get away with even more, which is really frightening for the public, because he’s already trampled on all the norms. So if you look at this not legally but politically, this is almost like a license to thugs, in that they can do whatever they want, and the Supreme Court will probably allow it.”
Jones then suggested that, putting aside the debate about presidential power, the US currently faces a unique situation.
“Right now you’re worried about a treasonous president,” Jones argued. “Are you worried about a treasonous president wrongfully prosecuting someone after the fact, or are you worried about him behaving like a rogue or a scoundrel while in office? It’s not clear which is the greater threat to the republic, and the majority doesn’t seem to take very seriously the concerns of half the nation about a treasonous president while in office.”
Conservative CNN political commentator Scott Jennings argued that some reactions to the ruling were an overreaction and that the Constitution already has tools to restrain an unscrupulous president.
“The United States Constitution gives Congress a tool to control the president whenever they want to, and that tool is called impeachment, and Trump has been impeached twice and acquitted twice,” he said. “But ultimately, this is the wisdom of the Founding Fathers, and they gave us the ultimate political tool to control the president whenever they want to.”
Van Jones spoke about the ruling on CNN, arguing that it sets a dangerous precedent.
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Jones argued that the virtues of the republican ideal that existed in the time of the Founding Fathers don’t seem to be as present in today’s society after all.
“They never imagined that people who behave like Donald Trump and many of the people who hold public office today would be promoted,” Jones said.
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