Coup in the USA?

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

 

[bubblesort]

 

[bubblesort]

wait, this true?

Looks true to me.

 

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

wait, this true?

Huh, maybe not:

Is the US President Blocked from Issuing Pardons During Impeachment?

Presidential pardon power is famously broad.

www.snopes.com

“Except in cases of impeachment,” is not, as some have taken it, a Constitutional requirement that no pardons be issued during a presidential impeachment. Instead, it is widely understood to prohibit pardons that “restore the standing of a Federal officer who has been impeached and removed from his position.”

Or, as I understand this, an official removed from their post can't just be reinstalled back into that post.

Or at least it's untested. We'll might find out soon though. Or Trump will just tantrum away refusing to drop any pardons. Stay tuned! ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯

 

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

 

[Essence Lumin]

wait, this true?

Explanations of law always make my head hurt so I'll refrain from interpreting this article. It goes into depth on the question though.

The pardon power and original intent | Brookings

The framers of the Constitution made an exception to the powers of pardon for the president as they pertain to impeachment specifically.

www.brookings.edu

 

[Innula Zenovka]

 

[Fionalein]

...and he was right, Lady Justice grabbed him by his raging horns...

I love how Trumpists so often speak the truth without understanding even a shed of it... they are almost like the oracles of Ancient Greece.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

...and he was right, Lady Justice grabbed him by his raging horns...

 

[Soen Eber]

I was just thinking... I might take pot shots at establishment democrats like Biden, because I do half expect them to let a lot of people go unpunished for this terrorism, but what if they went another direction?

We all know Biden's 'aw, shucks' good guy persona is fake. The guy brags about writing the Patriot Act, which I despise, but at the same time... maybe this is the right time to have somebody like that in the white house?

Imagine if he declared the capitol terrorists to be enemy combatants, under the Patriot Act. Then, the military, the CIA, and all kinds of other government spooks could hunt right wing extremists on American soil with impunity, effectively reversing the laissez faire stance the government has had towards right wing extremism since at least the Branch Davidian disaster.

This would strip them of their rights as American citizens, but at the same time, if we are going to do that to anybody, it should be these guys. I don't like the Patriot Act at all. I don't like anybody having the power to strip civil rights from people. This situation seems like the best argument for the existence of the Patriot Act, though. If the military isn't going to fully engage with people who assault the capitol, and congress, then are they really defending the country? If the Patriot Act is going to be on the books, now seems like the right time to use it.

I feel like a total hypocrite for saying this, but I don't think I'd be opposed to using the Patriot Act against the terrorists who attacked the capitol.

If this did happen, the terrorists who have already been arrested would be the lucky ones. The ones who are still out there, and not going through the legal system before the inauguration, they would be hunted like Bin Laden.

Let's ... not ... stare into the abyss, please.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Let's ... not ... stare into the abyss, please.

 

[bubblesort]

Yesterday, I was joking about Trump representing himself at his trial in the senate, after his legal team isn't around any more. I wonder if this resolution to ban him from setting foot in the capitol is a way to stop him from doing that, LOL

Democrats Introduce Resolution to Permanently Ban Trump from Stepping Foot on U.S. Capitol Grounds

A bill goes one step further than impeachment and, if passed, would prohibit Trump from ever stepping foot on Capitol grounds once he leaves office.

lawandcrime.com

 

[GoblinCampFollower]

I bet she also got 300% more dick pics after changing that.

 

[Jolene Benoir]

I was just thinking... I might take pot shots at establishment democrats like Biden, because I do half expect them to let a lot of people go unpunished for this terrorism, but what if they went another direction?

We all know Biden's 'aw, shucks' good guy persona is fake. The guy brags about writing the Patriot Act, which I despise, but at the same time... maybe this is the right time to have somebody like that in the white house?

Imagine if he declared the capitol terrorists to be enemy combatants, under the Patriot Act. Then, the military, the CIA, and all kinds of other government spooks could hunt right wing extremists on American soil with impunity, effectively reversing the laissez faire stance the government has had towards right wing extremism since at least the Branch Davidian disaster.

This would strip them of their rights as American citizens, but at the same time, if we are going to do that to anybody, it should be these guys. I don't like the Patriot Act at all. I don't like anybody having the power to strip civil rights from people. This situation seems like the best argument for the existence of the Patriot Act, though. If the military isn't going to fully engage with people who assault the capitol, and congress, then are they really defending the country? If the Patriot Act is going to be on the books, now seems like the right time to use it.

I feel like a total hypocrite for saying this, but I don't think I'd be opposed to using the Patriot Act against the terrorists who attacked the capitol.

If this did happen, the terrorists who have already been arrested would be the lucky ones. The ones who are still out there, and not going through the legal system before the inauguration, they would be hunted like Bin Laden.

Don't you think this is a bit extreme? It sounds like what Trump would be planning to do, say he had actually won and people protested in the streets. He wouldn't have even needed them to have tried to breach the capitol. He wanted to declare BLM as a terrorist organization.

I think, that as they make arrests, they should be poring over each person's social media. Those who actively stated that their goal was to murder should be punished to the full extent of the law. I'd say that there is a difference between those who actively planned murder vs those that went to the Capitol, went in, wandered around aimlessly, and have no such history on social media; those that somehow felt they were just "protesting". Equipment brought by protesters makes a difference too, though we saw that they used whatever they had handy, including American flags and crutches as weapons. But those who came with their flex-cuffs and military gear should be held to a higher standard, imo.

Now, mind you, I'm not excusing any of it, because as we all know, had there been violence some of those same people likely would have joined in due to the mob mentality of these kinds of events.

Intent matters. Planning matters.

ETA: Corrected a their/there

 

[detrius]

I cannot wait until they identify and find those responsible for dragging that cop out and beating him with the American flag while chanting USA. Felony murder for the lot of them. I'm betting that the identification of those and others who were violent with either the police or the press are high on the agenda for those investigating.

Edit: Motherfuckers

‘Death Is the Only Remedy’: Capitol Rioter Charged for Beating D.C. Cop With American Flagpole

Peter Stager allegedly claimed he thought the Metropolitan Police officer was a member of “antifa.”

www.thedailybeast.com

 

[Jolene Benoir]

This guy should never be allowed in front of a microphone. Why they keep giving them voice after the events of last week is beyond me.

 

[Isabeau]

From last june.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Imagine if he declared the capitol terrorists to be enemy combatants, under the Patriot Act.

I'm trying to, and having difficulty with it.

From what I vaguely recall reading about enemy combatants, Guantanamo and the Patriot Act, I'm pretty sure that, whatever he might declare about the people who invaded the capitol it would be an uphill struggle, to say the least, to persuade a US criminal court that any US citizen doing anything inside the United States last week was any sort of "enemy combatant."

The people who participated in the invasion were pretty obviously breaking plenty of regular criminal laws, and they helpfully provided a vast archive of photographic evidence and written communications to assist the prosecution, so I really don't think it's helpful to speculate about doing down that particular legal black hole.

 

[Aribeth Zelin]

Also, here is the thing; a lot of even the more skilled insurrectionists were patsies; they were radicalized by the american media like Fox, Brietbart, InfoWars and by our politicians.

Those are the ones who need to pay the highest price for this crime; or they will just keep doing it, and more people will be radicalized.

 

[Archer]

The Federalist Society is a far more extreme and sinister influence on US legal and political life than I thought

The Federalist Society is almost solely responsible for the glut of unqualified, right wing judges we now have in our federal court system, including the US Supreme Court. They have been working behind the scenes for decades to get us the point we are at right now, including backing the radical right legislators currently in power.