Opinion | This Is What the Courts Can Do if Trump Defies Them
www.nytimes.com
How the escalating measures available to courts would work.
  • dhork@lemmy.worldEnglish
    53·
    6 days ago

    This article isn’t exactly giving me a warm fuzzy feeling. Although tossing Elon in prison on a civil contempt of court charge that the President can’t pardon is my new fanfic.

  • just_another_person@lemmy.world
    32·
    6 days ago

    Many constitutional law experts out here saying the same things, but to simplify because this article sort of drags on:

    • Issue order directed at Trump official
    • If they defy it, require them to appear in person
    • If they don’t immediately cease activities or fail to appear, assume judgement, and issue orders to take them into custody or issue orders to take control of assets

    They can do this at any and all levels of government, and Trump’s clowns can’t be everywhere all at once. They could even freeze Musk’s money in the country via banks and property seizures. I guess we have to see how tough these people are, but if they fail, people need to be willing to take up that mantle somehow.

    • Nightwingdragon@lemmy.worldEnglish
      9·
      6 days ago

      and issue orders to take them into custody

      This is where the problem falls apart. You have to find people willing to physically go and take them into custody. They end up in a staredown with the Secret Service. Then what?

      • ryathal
        5·
        6 days ago

        The secret service protects the president, not musk. If a motorcade of Marshalls showed up at the Whitehouse, it would be in their interest to give him up.

      • BrianTheeBiscuiteer@lemmy.world
        2·
        6 days ago

        There needs to be a system of escalation for this. The Secret Service should be the ones to bring in the President and if they don’t comply in a timely manner they’re summarily charged with treason. Anyone that aids the Secret Service at that point is an accessory to treason. Eventually it could even escalate to the point of regular citizens being “deputized” to apprehend a rogue official.

        • Bizzle@lemmy.worldEnglish
          2·
          6 days ago

          I would sign up to be a rogue official bounty hunter, I actually can’t think of a job better than that.

      • just_another_person@lemmy.world
        2·
        6 days ago

        70% of the country is not Trump friendly by vote. These are federal judges that can wreak havoc on the impunity of these people.

        Musk has been planning this for awhile and moved his physical things to Texas, but that doesn’t apply to New York, California or Illinois. Also why they’re trying to erase the people watching elections at the federal level.

        Either way, if a bank in any state doesn’t abide a federal judges order, they will cease to exist very quickly. That’s how you hit these people.

    • Riskable@programming.devEnglish
      41·
      6 days ago

      “Take control of assets” will be the one and only court order I think they’d pay attention to.

      Seize Tesla, SpaceX, and X. Tell Trump that, “they’re his now” and he might suddenly start letting the courts take everything from his cavalcade of billionaires!