The fact that only the president enjoys complete immunity, and that he also has the power of pardon is part of what is so terrifying about the ruling.
It means that those beneath him are entirely at his good graces and arbitrary will. It's a power machine, not a check on his power.
The thing that i liked about this argument is that they used it to argue thats it's ok if the president commits any crimes because anybody around receiving illegal orders is bound by the law, so no problem. Insane logic
This is the thing. It’s not just “people willing to do his bidding”. It’s the people who will be coerced to do his bidding. And it’s a coercive power that could also follow you even if you resign.
“The Robert’s Court” needs to become shorthand for complete failure in legal thinking, like Plessy v. Ferguson. 100 years from now if a law student says something ridiculous in class the prof will say “sounds like we’ve got John Roberts here today” & the student will nearly die of embarrassment
There’s far too many bad decisions to just go with “Citizens United” or w/e. His tenure as chief justice must live in infamy. A fitting tribute to the supposed institutionalist who cares about the court’s reputation above all else but has presided over historically bad decisions again & again
