alt Hacker NewsI guess my question was, is this a threat to do something legal or something illegal
Replies
root_axis • yesterday at 1:01 AM
Whether or not it's illegal is typically determined a few months after the act in question.
Since 2024, SCOTUS has sided with Trump about 90% of the time, so most likely it's legal.
Still, even if it's later determined to be illegal, since the law presumes the president has legal immunity to all crimes committed in a presidential capacity, there's no legal risk, so the damage can be done long before the court makes it illegal. For example, Trump's global tarrifs were determined to be illegal a year after the fact, long after the damage had been done.
What do you mean by illegal? It's very nuanced these days.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trump_v._United_States
On July 1, 2024, the Court ruled in a 6–3 decision that presidents have absolute immunity for acts committed as president within their core constitutional purview, at least presumptive immunity for official acts within the outer perimeter of their official responsibility, and no immunity for unofficial acts.[5][6][7][8] The court declined to rule on the scope of immunity for some acts alleged of Trump in his indictment, instead vacating the appellate decision and remanding the case to the district court for further proceedings.