1 00:00:09,439 --> 00:00:11,640 Speaker 1: So folks, I had to take a pause. 2 00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:18,600 Speaker 2: I could not really get my thoughts or my head 3 00:00:18,719 --> 00:00:26,120 wrapped around the Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity, because 4 00:00:26,120 --> 00:00:32,159 I think it has profoundly shaken the foundations of our country, 5 00:00:34,399 --> 00:00:41,079 probably more so than anything we've seen so far, because 6 00:00:41,079 --> 00:00:42,679 what the Supreme Court did. 7 00:00:45,039 --> 00:00:46,359 Speaker 1: Was to upend. 8 00:00:47,759 --> 00:00:52,119 Speaker 2: The very idea of America and to put in place 9 00:00:54,479 --> 00:00:58,119 an imperial presidency. So let's take a step back. In April, 10 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:09,159 the Supreme Court was asked by Donald Trump's lawyers to 11 00:01:09,319 --> 00:01:15,519 embrace a sweeping immunity argument, asserting that a president has 12 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:20,439 absolute immunity for official acts while in office, and that 13 00:01:20,560 --> 00:01:30,239 this immunity applies after leaving office. Special Counsel Jack Smith 14 00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:38,120 argued that only sitting presidents enjoy immunity from criminal prosecution, 15 00:01:40,120 --> 00:01:44,519 and that any broad scope that Donald Trump and his 16 00:01:44,680 --> 00:01:49,799 lawyers was proposing would give a free pass to a 17 00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:58,239 president to commit criminal conduct without accountability. 18 00:01:59,079 --> 00:02:00,319 Speaker 1: So what happened. 19 00:02:02,560 --> 00:02:06,000 Speaker 2: Lower courts prior to the Supreme Court getting this case 20 00:02:06,879 --> 00:02:11,319 were largely dismissive of what Donald Trump's lawyers were arguing. 21 00:02:12,479 --> 00:02:18,840 Judge Chuckin US District Court Judge Kanya Chuckin when this 22 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:26,719 matter was raised in the case before her, noted, whatever quote, 23 00:02:26,759 --> 00:02:30,719 whatever communities a sitting president may enjoy, the United States 24 00:02:30,759 --> 00:02:34,639 has only one chief executive at a time, and that 25 00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:38,439 position does not confer a lifelong get out of jail 26 00:02:38,479 --> 00:02:45,520 free pass, And that the defendants in this case, the 27 00:02:45,599 --> 00:02:49,680 defendant's four year service as commander in chief did not 28 00:02:49,840 --> 00:02:53,439 bestow on him the divine right of kings to evade 29 00:02:53,439 --> 00:03:00,159 criminal accountability that governs his fellow citizens. That's what the 30 00:03:00,199 --> 00:03:03,039 lower court said, and that was largely upheld all the 31 00:03:03,080 --> 00:03:05,479 way up through the appellate court, which basically said, get 32 00:03:05,520 --> 00:03:08,240 the hell out of here. No no man is above 33 00:03:08,280 --> 00:03:17,120 the law, especially the president. This Supreme Court, this Supreme 34 00:03:17,159 --> 00:03:22,400 Court had a different view this president. This Supreme Court 35 00:03:22,479 --> 00:03:28,479 ruled that presidents are immune from criminal prosecution for official acts, 36 00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:36,800 and that in fact, those unofficial acts are equally arguably 37 00:03:36,840 --> 00:03:46,599 protected because you cannot use any evidence, you know, text messages, emails, 38 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:55,360 tweets in which an order was given, because that is 39 00:03:55,400 --> 00:04:00,159 protected as an official act. So you can't even bring 40 00:04:00,199 --> 00:04:04,879 anything in with respect to unofficial acts that may even 41 00:04:04,919 --> 00:04:11,120 touch on what the president did while in office. 42 00:04:12,039 --> 00:04:17,639 Speaker 3: So former White House Council to Richard Nixon. John Dean 43 00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:22,519 really put this a little bit more precisely so that 44 00:04:22,560 --> 00:04:27,279 we could really appreciate the impact of what this Supreme 45 00:04:27,319 --> 00:04:37,439 Court has done. He noted, presumptively, the president has the 46 00:04:37,560 --> 00:04:43,560 power to assassinate political rival. He would go on to 47 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:45,839 note that what. 48 00:04:45,839 --> 00:04:49,800 Speaker 2: Makes matters worse in this case is that this court 49 00:04:49,839 --> 00:04:54,399 has ruled that official acts by a president can't be 50 00:04:54,560 --> 00:04:58,920 used as evidence of a criminal conduct for unofficial acts. 51 00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:03,240 That's what I was getting at before. So in the 52 00:05:03,360 --> 00:05:09,439 hypothetical of a president assassinating a political rival, his actual 53 00:05:09,560 --> 00:05:18,639 giving the order would potentially be unavailable as evidence against 54 00:05:18,759 --> 00:05:25,079 him as part of a case brought on behalf of 55 00:05:25,120 --> 00:05:32,560 his unofficial acts. This is a radical decision by this 56 00:05:32,639 --> 00:05:38,240 court and it says a lot about where we are. 57 00:05:40,439 --> 00:05:44,439 Dean would also say to us, quote when Nixon warned 58 00:05:44,480 --> 00:05:47,480 that when the president does it, that means it is 59 00:05:47,519 --> 00:05:54,600 not illegal. How can any staff operate if they didn't 60 00:05:54,600 --> 00:06:00,920 have a president who was totally immune going to give orders? 61 00:06:06,040 --> 00:06:13,240 And now those orders very easily are cloaked by this 62 00:06:13,560 --> 00:06:20,079 patina of an official act, even when he's acting in 63 00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:25,360 an unofficial capacity. Folks, I don't know about you, but 64 00:06:25,439 --> 00:06:29,319 This is a very disturbing ruling by this court. They 65 00:06:29,319 --> 00:06:33,199 are full of shit, and what they have done is 66 00:06:33,360 --> 00:06:37,120 undermine the very fabric of the rule of law. That 67 00:06:37,319 --> 00:06:40,759 no one in this country, absolutely, no one is above 68 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:47,279 the law. But this Supreme Court, this Roberts Court, has 69 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:52,040 now said to the American people that Donald Trump or 70 00:06:52,120 --> 00:07:03,680 any president has absolute immunity to behave roguishly and to 71 00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:08,879 behave in such a way in which there is no 72 00:07:08,920 --> 00:07:11,000 accountability for their actions. 73 00:07:12,360 --> 00:07:15,959 Speaker 1: I don't I don't understand how how that happens. How 74 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:17,000 do we get. 75 00:07:18,279 --> 00:07:19,240 Speaker 2: How did we get here? 76 00:07:19,319 --> 00:07:24,120 Speaker 1: How does this happen? It just it is stunning to me. 77 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:32,000 It is absolutely stunning to me that we find. 78 00:07:31,759 --> 00:07:36,120 Speaker 2: Ourselves at this moment witnessing the creation of an imperial 79 00:07:36,199 --> 00:07:43,399 presidency by an imperial court. And that was a point 80 00:07:43,439 --> 00:07:48,600 that was made by my buddy, Professor, Professor and Melissa 81 00:07:48,639 --> 00:07:53,800 Mary Murray in his hearings to become a Justice of 82 00:07:53,839 --> 00:08:00,839 the Supreme Court. Chief Justice Roberts had a lot to say, 83 00:08:01,680 --> 00:08:05,079 but one of the things that he said, in addition 84 00:08:05,199 --> 00:08:08,839 to no one is above the law, was he made 85 00:08:08,839 --> 00:08:12,560 it very clear that the president is fully bound by 86 00:08:12,600 --> 00:08:16,439 the law. Well, we now realize that's a lie, because 87 00:08:16,480 --> 00:08:20,639 his court has given Donald Trump immunity from prosecution because 88 00:08:20,720 --> 00:08:26,240 it presumes he was acting in his official capacity. Our 89 00:08:26,319 --> 00:08:31,839 constitution does not allow, does not allow for, nor does 90 00:08:31,879 --> 00:08:38,600 it convey such immunity on the president. This is made 91 00:08:38,720 --> 00:08:46,559 up bullshit by this court because it wants to protect 92 00:08:46,639 --> 00:08:50,039 Donald Trump. And why do I say that, Well, because 93 00:08:50,080 --> 00:08:52,720 when this matter first came to the court back in 94 00:08:52,879 --> 00:08:56,879 January February of this year, they could have immediately, given 95 00:08:56,879 --> 00:08:59,519 the urgency of the moment, knowing that we were in 96 00:08:59,559 --> 00:09:03,320 the middle at that time, the beginning of a presidential cycle, 97 00:09:03,360 --> 00:09:07,639 with voters going to the polls to nominate an individual, 98 00:09:08,279 --> 00:09:14,080 Donald Trump, for the presidency. They didn't take this matter up. 99 00:09:14,159 --> 00:09:17,200 They waited until the last fucking moment. 100 00:09:18,519 --> 00:09:19,440 Speaker 1: To drop this. 101 00:09:21,600 --> 00:09:27,360 Speaker 2: And to make these bold ass claims and to say 102 00:09:27,399 --> 00:09:33,320 that this man, in his actions of undermining our constitution, 103 00:09:33,519 --> 00:09:39,960 of attempting to overthrow the rightful election of a political opponent, 104 00:09:43,159 --> 00:09:49,320 that somehow that was justified. This Roberts Court has made 105 00:09:49,320 --> 00:09:55,200 it clear Donald Trump should never be prosecuted because it 106 00:09:55,279 --> 00:09:58,399 now says he is above the law. 107 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:03,879 Speaker 1: I call these. 108 00:10:05,840 --> 00:10:11,559 Speaker 2: Little moments make mine a double But on the heels 109 00:10:11,559 --> 00:10:15,720 of what this court has done and more specifically has 110 00:10:15,759 --> 00:10:21,279 done to our country. Give me the fucking bottle I 111 00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:22,480 need to drink the whole thing.