Trump's Personal Lawyer And Campaign Manager Both Going To Prison

[Final-Fan]

NightlyPoe said:

Final-Fan said:

1.  Are you saying Congress can pass no law restricting what the policies the executive branch does and does not pursue or how it goes about doing so? 

I'm saying they can't criminalize an inherent power of the president on separation of powers grounds.

2.  It is your opinion that this was done primarily for "political" reasons (by which I assume you mean relating to party politics i.e. election-winning), but I think there is a pretty reasonable case to be made that any such benefit was a "side benefit" of what the President already wanted to do for policy reasons.  Even if the timing was entirely political in that sense that doesn't necessarily mean the thing itself was political—the Emancipation Proclamation is a good example of this concept at work.  

It was issued two months before the election.  And Obama himself said that it wasn't legal for him to do previously and had to be done through legislation.  Yes he wanted to do it anyway, but he very much issued the order for political purposes.

4.  My point is that if the president is acting contrary to his constitutional oath, then how can the very same act be constitutionally protected from being named by Congress as a criminal act? 

Again, separation of powers.

The mechanism for dealing with abuses of power that are being alleged impeachment.

I should probably go back before I give the impression otherwise, that I tend to think that Trump was just being Trump and the allegation itself is pretty flimsy and that he really was just asking Comey to let it go as a favor to Flynn.  Not as part of anything particularly corrupt.

So if he had a foreign girlfriend, and broke up with her, ordering a drone strike on her would also not be criminal as long as ordering drone strikes is within his power.