Supreme Court rules ex-presidents have immunity for official acts

Re:Supreme Court rules ex-presidents have immunity for offic... by wing-_-nuts on Monday July 01, 2024 @03:51PM (#40849870)

Ok, so what happens when the president says something along the lines of 'will no one rid me of this troublesome congressman' and then turns around and pardons the secret service agent that pulls the trigger?

Technically, the murder is illegal, but the pardon is legal because it's 'part of his official duties'.

There are any number of ways this can be abused.

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Re:Supreme Court rules ex-presidents have immunity for offic... by anon291 on Monday July 01, 2024 @04:15PM (#40850156)

Presidents can already pardon people who murder their political opponents. Famously, the Reconstruction-era presidents pardonned every single confederate so as not to divide the country further and increase tensions.

You are clutching pearls over something that is already allowed. Like I said, Congress can impeach a president who does this if they don't like it.

Moreover, a president can't pardon state level offenses anyway, and I would imagine the murder would have to take place in a state. The state could simply retry the case. States have much more discretion in the sorts of things they can criminalize.

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