Not surprising. Jack Smith is no Bob Mueller or Merrick Garland. He’s an eye on the prize guy. No deference to anything but the facts, finding them and fuck those that get in the way. To Smith Pence is just a man.
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Right. They got what they want. A job for life.
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Why would they bother with this? It will only distract them from their bigger project of dismantling the administrative state and neutering regulatory agency authority.
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Does this ruling mean he’ll have to testify about why he refused to get into the SS car in the basement of the Capitol building? Or does the carveout apply to everything on J6, including what happened outside of the chamber?
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Selfish Six to Pence: “So long, sucker – and make sure your testimony throws him an anchor!”
(Resume feverishly trying to wipe off Trump stink)
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This subpoena relates to a criminal investigation. If the judges have a respect for the criminal process they should act more quickly than if this were a civil case, e.g. a dispute between the executive and legislative branches of government. I would not automatically assume that the appeals process takes years, or even many months. I can see the SCOTUS wanting to weigh in on how much privilege is attached to the VP’s function in Congress under the Speech and Debate clause.
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I agree, though I have to wonder if we’ll like the answer and if the answer will be couched in ‘for this one instance only’. General consensus is a lack of interest in protecting the previous administration, but one can’t take anything for granted with the majority. We just can’t.
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Wow, someone hasn’t been paying attention for the last two years.
Being impatient is one thing.
Being obstinately obtuse, yet another.
This is an excellent question and like everything else it is up for “interpretation”.
I do not think an event happening on 1/6 is the issue but rather discussions and events about the legislative process of certifying, or not, the election.
That is if up to Judge Boasberg he would probably narrowly tailor his ruling to hold that Pence does not have to testify to discussions about legislative proceedings. So I think if left to his own devices this judge would order Pence to answer questions about getting in the car as that clearly has nothing to do with Pence’s duties certifying the election.
But in regard to Pence’s discussions with others about the fake elector scheme, I am not sure.
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As far as I can tell, the only legislative actions that would happen during an electoral college certification would be objecting to a state’s electoral votes, then the debate and/or voting on those objections.
And the vice president has no role in any of that. None other than pausing the counting so that those legislative actions can proceed. Then when they’re over, either counting the votes or not, depending on the outcome.
The only vote the VP ever has as president of the senate, is a tie-breaking vote in the senate, over pending legislation. And he’s not at all involved in debate. Can’t say a word.
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The question is, is this “bailing out Mike Pence or his former boss” or is this more generally bailing out the GOP?
I think the answer is BOTH and SCOTUS is very much interested in bailing out the GOP and as of now Trump controls the Republican Party more than he controls anything with his name on it.
So putting my political hat on, as you should always do when discussing the “Roberts Court”, I think it will move quickly because stalling a year would be worse than getting it over and done with now.
But because in my view we have a Republican first and only Supreme Court, the US Constitution is little help in determining how it will rule in any case that affects the power and electoral prospects of the Republican Party.
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Do have a lovely day.
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Call Gym. As a certified voyeur, he likes looking into things.
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Will his “comfort fly” be able to accompany him?
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Only if it’s a service fly.
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Bad call by Pence. Dense has no control of what is in store for him, and fooling around with POTUS ambitions clouds the picture a little bit as well
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The Supremos might not be interested in bailing out Mike Pence, but their intention of protecting the political interests of the Republican Party is quite obvious. They also have an interest in dalaying until a “calmer time” any trial of Trump and his gang–not the small fry who actually stormed the Capitol and pooped in the halls of Congress, but the big shots around Trump, as well as Himself.
So what’s to hinder the Supremos from hemming, hawing, and fiddling around with the inevitable appeals from Pence, until it’s “too late” to indict Trump & Co. with the elections looming up ahead?
Delay, delay, delay…that’s the Republican strategy. And I’m afraid that it’ll be what the Supremos give us.
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If that’s what the Supremes want they are less astute than I thought. Ask around if dictators and authoritarians deferred to judges.
And that is what happens when you cut Republicans loose to do what they want.
That’s why the terms authoritarians, totalitarians and fascists are popping up lately
Trump–elected for another term–may just concoct a SCOTUS with rubber-stamp instructions
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Give the fly a video camera
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The DC federal court of appeals has generally moved quickly on TFG cases. 98-99% of the delay belongs to the supreme court and the supreme court only, especially using their shadow docket technique of letting a case moulder on the shelf until the end of their term, then remanding it back to lower court on a technicality (that they could have done six months prior) knowing that the case will return to the supreme court, but only after their 4 month summer “recess”. This is how they punt politically awkward cases past the next election.
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