Blame the Constitution

[struggle4progress]

By Jeet Heer TODAY 11:47 AM

... Trump’s use of his pardon power can be distinguished from the other scandals of his presidency in that it is a perfectly legal, indeed constitutional, form of corruption. The fact a president can pardon his own criminal associates doesn’t make the action any better than actually impeachable offenses like obstructing justice or using foreign aid to advance his political fortune.

Rather, the very constitutionality of Trump’s actions makes them worse, because they show how the legal powers of the presidency are themselves ripe for abuse. Trump, by being bolder than his predecessors, has shown how easily a president can undermine the rule of law without even breaking any laws ...

https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/pardon-stone-trump-constitution/

We really need to get rid of the Electoral College

[maxsolomon]

1. I blame it for many many inadequacies.

The Senate is a big mistake.

The Electoral College is a big mistake.

Lifetime Federal Judiciary appointments are a big mistake.

The vague language around many issues (guns, impeachment, SCOTUS appointments) was a big mistake.

The 2/3 compromise was a big mistake.

Further, Trump has exposed it as essentially toothless. It does not anticipate that a president with have zero ethics, or that his party will be intransigent in their support of that lack.

[rzemanfl]

2. The Constitution harkens back to when people had a sense of honor.

Honor was enforced by dueling pistols.

[unblock]

3. not "perfectly legal"

just because the constitution grants a power to the president doesn't mean it can be used unconditionally.

for example, it's blatantly illegal for a president to solicit or accept a bribe in exchange for official powers, pardons included.

the pardon itself would likely stick, but by president would still be committing a crime in such a case.


whether or not he gets away with it is another matter....