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Rep. Joseph Morelle of New York, the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee, sent a letter to colleagues informing them of his intent to file the resolution, which would kickstart what’s traditionally a cumbersome amendment process. 

“This amendment will do what SCOTUS failed to do — prioritize our democracy,” Morelle said in a statement to AP.

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[-] kn33@lemmy.world 147 points 4 months ago

This is the only way to change that. I don't have much hope that it'll pass, though.

[-] Zachariah@lemmy.world 68 points 4 months ago

But SCOTUS can choose how to interpret this amendment however they choose.

[-] APassenger@lemmy.world 29 points 4 months ago

And a President can fire them. Or more. Because they said he could.

[-] Zachariah@lemmy.world 13 points 4 months ago

What’s he waiting for then?

[-] APassenger@lemmy.world 20 points 4 months ago

He's too virtuous. He hasn't processed that anything he does is legal.

So he leads be example. Or something.

Maybe someone should explain it to him before 4 PM?

After 11, but before 4, and not between 12:30 and 14:00 because that’s naptime

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Under the new authority they’ve granted him, he can also “fire” them, if you get my meaning.

[-] Th3D3k0y@lemmy.world 2 points 4 months ago

you mean set their homes ablaze while they sleep because of an alleged terrorist Hamas cell in the basement?

As fucked up as the Gaza genocide is, it may surprise you to know that it’s not related to literally everything in the sphere of politics.

[-] fitjazz@lemmyf.uk 1 points 4 months ago

Out of a canon?

[-] jordanlund@lemmy.world 11 points 4 months ago

Pass? The Republican controlled House won't even bring it up for a vote!

It’s the only legislative way to change that.

There is a way that Biden could change that completely unilaterally, but he’s not going to do it.

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[-] Nightwingdragon@lemmy.world 68 points 4 months ago

Here's the problem with a constitutional amendment:

You will never, ever get a single politician to vote for an amendment specifically designed to weaken the power of their own party leader. No Republican will ever vote for this, especially right now when there's so much momentum going Trump's way. It. Will. Never. Happen.

I have a better chance of Taylor Swift dumping her boyfriend and declaring her undying love for me during her next concert than a single Republican voting in favor of this. This is performance and nothing more.

The only realistic path to reversing this is:

  • Electing Biden or whoever the Dem nominee is in November.
  • Hope that Thomas and Alito die, retire, get abducted by aliens, or whatever during Biden's term so Biden can replace them with two liberal judges, giving liberals a 5-4 majority.
  • Bring a case to the court (I don't know who would have standing to bring such a case, but...) to give the Supreme Court the opportunity to reverse that decision.

Rinse and repeat for every bad decision this half-baked court has made.

This is it. That is the only path. Any other attempt to fix these problems either require a constitutional amendment no GOP politician or governor would ever vote for or ratify or can simply be struck down by the very Supreme Court that caused this mess in the first place.

[-] gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works 18 points 4 months ago

There’s also the malicious compliance path (which, to be fair, would also have more than its fair share of dire complications and implications, but it would at least address the immediate and imminent threat of a fascist takeover in 4 months).

But Biden is 100% not going to do that.

[-] Switchy85@sh.itjust.works 14 points 4 months ago

About the standing thing: the beauty is the current Supreme Court has eliminated that as a real requirement, so you can just have someone sue for theoretical harm and be all good.

[-] Schadrach@lemmy.sdf.org 9 points 4 months ago

There's also having a Democrat abuse this in a way that is directly a danger to GOP politicians and using Biden as a sacrificial lamb. Something like ordering the military to execute several members of Congress and SCOTUS justices and then pardoning them.

But let's be fair, the underlying argument they're using is one meant to do things like not make the president guilty of murder for anyone killed by the military or in action under the military, not to protect Trump from conspiring to do crimes with people in his admin.

[-] dhork@lemmy.world 8 points 4 months ago

I agree but there is another path: if Democrats win both houses of Congress and the President, and Senate Democrats agree to blow up the filibuster, they can pack the court whenever they want.

I am of the opinion they should slam the Court up to 11 right away, then 13 in time for the 2026 court term. Then go to Republicans and say "You can let us put four 40-ish Liberals on the Court for lifetime appointments, and gamble on getting your own trifecta to re-pack it, or you can work with us on an amendment to reform the court, put in term limits, and limit its partisanship".

[-] chumbalumber 6 points 4 months ago

What's interesting is that this precise scenario happened in the 1910s in the UK (given that at the time the house of lords was the highest court in the country as well as the upper legislative chamber). Lloyd George called an election on the subject, and negotiated with the king that if the lords didn't vote for a reduction in their powers, he would create a massive influx of Liberal peers.

Interesting episode in history.

[-] Makeitstop@lemmy.world 3 points 4 months ago

If you have a majority on the court that takes this disastrous decision as seriously as they should and are ready to overturn it, then it's fairly easy to get the case to happen. You just need to have a sitting president tell the justice department to bring a case against him. Doesn't have to be for anything big, just literally any criminal offense that can be brought to trial and appealed. He can even appeal directly to the supreme court and ask that they expedite the appeal. They hear the appeal, issue a ruling, and the precedent is gone.

[-] BrokenGlepnir@lemmy.world 2 points 4 months ago

For number 3, if they really wanted to save us, on their last day the could "officially" order a marine to steal a lollipop from a baby. I'd give it right back, and there may be a better, less painful law, but he could break it and get charged. Maybe speeding. I wonder if there is a precident and another president has been held to the law before. I Grant you that the court in is current state would ignore it.

[-] Sanctus@lemmy.world 68 points 4 months ago

America has no king. America needs no king.

[-] FenrirIII@lemmy.world 37 points 4 months ago

"Instead of Sleepy Joe, you would have a King, not pale but orange and terrible as the inflation rate! Tempestuous as a 6 year-old, and stronger than the laws of the earth! All shall love me and covfefe!"

--Trump

[-] MelodiousFunk@slrpnk.net 19 points 4 months ago

Okay Donadriel, let's get you back to your room and change your diapie.

[-] Breezy@lemmy.world 11 points 4 months ago

Dont forget to give him his AI response phone, you know he is a lot more manageable when he think gets to complain to a bunch of people.

[-] NeptuneOrbit@lemmy.world 58 points 4 months ago

Biden should get on the floor and force a debate. Bring a nerf gun and just start shooting people who disagree or email in an end of debate.

[-] Tolookah@discuss.tchncs.de 11 points 4 months ago

Unfortunately, margarine transfats green wants to carry.

[-] timewarp@lemmy.world 4 points 4 months ago
[-] Freefall@lemmy.world 1 points 4 months ago

Ooh, now do trump! Luckily, I don't think there is a character limit!

[-] timewarp@lemmy.world 1 points 4 months ago

A majority of voters are this point are voting for Trump. Democrats need someone better. That is what you should be worried about right now.

[-] Freefall@lemmy.world 2 points 4 months ago

A majority of voters are this point are voting against trump. See, I can do it too! Productive!

[-] timewarp@lemmy.world 1 points 4 months ago

Not according to any recent polling

[-] Freefall@lemmy.world 1 points 4 months ago

The same ones that predicted Hillary winning? Who am I to question the great Oracles?

[-] jjjalljs@ttrpg.network 47 points 4 months ago

They should also abolish the supreme court while they're at it. Just have the justices be pulled at random from lower courts.

Maybe get rid of judicial review, too, since that's apparently just inferred and not an explicit power given to the courts.

[-] Thteven@lemmy.world 7 points 4 months ago

Have you seen the dumbasses that get elected as judges for lower courts? Lowering the bar doesn't seem like a good idea to me.

[-] CileTheSane@lemmy.ca 8 points 4 months ago

Have you seen the recent dumbasses that have been put on the Supreme Court? There is no bar.

[-] match@pawb.social 3 points 4 months ago

Lot harder to bribe a random pool. Good suggestion. I'd guess you want something like 17 justices though to reduce variability

[-] zbyte64@awful.systems 33 points 4 months ago

What's to stop the ~~monkey paw~~ SCOTUS from simply interpreting a large hole in the amendment?

[-] blady_blah@lemmy.world 30 points 4 months ago

The only way this ever gains traction is if Biden starts abusing the Supreme Court ruling. As long as Republicans see this as something that doesn't hurt them, they will never support it.

[-] Glytch@lemmy.world 11 points 4 months ago

So you're saying Biden should start abusing his new powers, maybe by eliminating certain lifetime appointees?

[-] KairuByte@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Not really how that works.

It’s like saying “you’re immune from gun shots” and then you go out and try to fly. The immunity doesn’t grant him extra power within his position, it just grants him immunity if he misuses those powers “officially”.

So he could sell pardons, or order the justice department to release his son, or openly accept bribes in a quid pro quo agreement. As long as it’s “official duties” it’s fair game.

And yes, he could likely shoot someone on fifth avenue and state it was official business, and he would have an argument for immunity. Not that it would likely fly at that point.

[-] Glytch@lemmy.world 4 points 4 months ago

He also has the power to order special forces to kidnap people and send them to blacksite prisons for being threats to national security. Just sayin'

[-] PersnickityPenguin@lemm.ee 3 points 4 months ago

I disagree. Remember how many of Trump's cabinet and campaign members were convicted of felonies?

Also, Gitmo. Just saying. Bush and Condoleeza Rice weren't the ones hooking up people to car batteries.

If you are a corrupt sack of shit, it's easy to get a bunch of criminals to do dirty work for you!

[-] Fedizen@lemmy.world 7 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

the problem is that the ruling hands all the power to the courts so if Joe Biden and Donald Trump committed the same crime for the same reasons the courts could say one has immunity and the other doesn't. The only fix is to take power from the court and just bar the courts from creating immunity at all for any reason.

[-] CileTheSane@lemmy.ca 1 points 4 months ago

So force them to openly not support it then.

[-] Fades@lemmy.world 13 points 4 months ago

They have to try, get it on the record… Sad reality is all of these efforts are DOA

[-] autotldr@lemmings.world 11 points 4 months ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:


WASHINGTON (AP) — A leading House Democrat is preparing a constitutional amendment in response to the Supreme Court’s landmark immunity ruling, seeking to reverse the decision “and ensure that no president is above the law.”

Rep. Joseph Morelle of New York, the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee, sent a letter to colleagues informing them of his intent to file the resolution, which would kickstart what’s traditionally a cumbersome amendment process.

The outcome all but ensures the federal cases against Trump will not be resolved before the November election when he faces a likely rematch with President Joe Biden.

While the constitutional amendment process would likely take years, and in fact may never come to fruition, supporters believe it is the most surefire way, even beyond a new law, to enshrine the norm that presidents can face consequences for their actions.

“This amendment will guarantee that no public officer of the United States — including the president — is able to evade the accountability that any other American would face for violating our laws,” Morelle wrote in a letter to colleagues this week.

Another Democrat, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, said Monday she planned to file articles of impeachment against the justices over the ruling, which she said represents “an assault on American democracy.”


The original article contains 565 words, the summary contains 213 words. Saved 62%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

[-] rimu@piefed.social 8 points 4 months ago

Ah yes, a strongly worded letter. That's the Dem way. Works every time.

[-] unitymatters@lemmy.world 3 points 4 months ago

The Supreme Court ruling grants Trump immunity for his official actions as president, but not for private actions. This amendment by Morelle is in line with President Biden's view on the ruling, who argued that it places no limits on presidential power and effectively makes the president a king above the law.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C9K33wNvZs9/?img_index=1

[-] BigMacHole@lemm.ee 1 points 4 months ago

That's a GOOD idea because Robert's Supreme Court OBVIOUSLY cares about what the Constitution says!

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this post was submitted on 07 Jul 2024
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