LISTEN: Justices question Trump’s lawyers on what's considered an official act

20,757
0
Published 2024-04-25
Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor pushed back against former President Donald Trump’s lawyer Thursday over the “plausibility” of official acts as president.

“What is plausible about the president insisting and creating a fraudulent slate of electoral candidates?” Sotomayor asked Trump lawyer John Sauer.

Sauer responded that it was “absolutely” plausible that creating a second slate of electors was within the president’s rights.

Earlier, Justice Samuel Alito raised the issue of SEAL Team Six being used for political purposes. A lower court had raised a similar issue, asking whether an order given by the commander in chief to the military would be an official act. Sauer responded that a president could do that under some circumstances.

“I'm sure you've thought of lots of hypotheticals where the president could say ‘I'm using an official power,’ and yet the president uses it in an absolutely outrageous manner,” Alito said.

Subscribe:
Newsletters: www.pbs.org/newshour/subscribe
PBS NewsHour podcasts: www.pbs.org/newshour/podcasts

Stream your PBS favorites with the PBS app: to.pbs.org/2Jb8twG
Find more from PBS NewsHour at www.pbs.org/newshour
Subscribe to our YouTube channel: bit.ly/2HfsCD6

Follow us:
TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@pbsnews
Twitter: www.twitter.com/newshour
Instagram: www.instagram.com/newshour
Facebook: www.pbs.org/newshour

All Comments (21)
  • @bbogz777
    It’s time to impeach half of the Supreme Court
  • @sinebar
    Trump isn't arguing he's innocent, he's arguing he has the right to be a criminal.
  • @a23ward
    Ensuring official electoral votes is not the same as delivering false electoral votes.
  • IT IS RIDICULOUS TO ME THAT THERE EVEN HAS TO BE A HEARING ON RATHER OR NOT A INDIVIDUAL CAN HAVE COMPLETE IMMUNITY FROM THE LAW! - Regardless Of What Ever Polotical Office They Held! - what an embarrassment for our " USA"!🇺🇲/ Pa.
  • @toponeroc
    How can this "lawyer " argue these lies, so disgusting
  • This is another loser for trump. Jack Smith and Georgia get your cases ready for trial. Time is of the essence.
  • It is clear SCOMAGA is just trying to find a way to support Trump.
  • @mikezappa
    Seal team should send this lawyer and all Rep SCOTUS a text saying "If POTUS has immunity, we know where you are and we are standing by"
  • @sean9545
    He couldn’t do anything illegal with checks and balances in place, therefore it’s impossible for him to do anything illegal 😂🤡
  • If Scotus gives Trump blanket immunity, then Biden should order seal team 6 to take out Trump.
  • @juni039
    anyone hungry? There's extra word salad.
  • @danam0228
    Terrible sound bite, no clear beginning or end
  • @413smr
    Does this lawyer think if he talks fast enough he'll get over? Just blurt it out at 200 w.p.m. ?
  • @jeremy454
    This isn’t about Trump, it’s about the constitutional issues that the Trump case has highlighted the fact that we haven’t defined presidential immunity. The court needs to establish the precedent which will be applied to every president going forward. So the questions are far more important than this case. The court will likely define immunity and remove the case from the DC court and send it to a circuit court which will have prosecutorial guidelines. There are a lot of commenters on here who don’t even understand the function of the court. 🤦‍♂️