"If an incumbent who loses a very close, hotly contested election knows that a real possibility after leaving office is not that the president is going to be able to go off into a peaceful retirement but that the president may be criminally prosecuted by a bitter political opponent - will that not lead us into a cycle that destabilizes the functioning of our country as a democracy?" Alito asked Michael Dreeben, the lawyer representing the special counsel.
"And we can look around the world and find countries where we have seen this process where the loser gets thrown in jail," Alito added.
Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts signaled concern about relying merely on the "good faith" of the prosecutors to prevent abusive prosecutions against presidents if the Supreme Court rejects presidential immunity.
"Now you know," Roberts told Dreeben, "how easy it is in many cases for a prosecutor to get a grand jury to bring an indictment. And reliance on the good faith of the prosecutor may not be enough in some cases - I'm not suggesting here" in Smith's indictment of Trump.
SCOTUS Hearing That Could Wipe Out Jack Smith’s Case ‘Not Going Well’ For DOJ, Experts Say
suggested the Court may reject Smith’s broad interpretation of the obstruction law, potentially blocking a key part of his case against Trump and others over the Capitol riot.
这是上个星期高法院有关对j6的人起诉的听证会。
The US supreme court expressed concern on Tuesday with prosecutors using an obstruction statute to charge hundreds of January 6 Capitol riot defendants, with the justices leaning towards a position that could jeopardize those prosecutions and the criminal case against Donald Trump.
远方的湖 发表评论于 2024-04-26 13:27:20
Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts signaled concern about relying merely on the "good faith" of the prosecutors to prevent abusive prosecutions against presidents if the Supreme Court rejects presidential immunity.
"Now you know," Roberts told Dreeben, "how easy it is in many cases for a prosecutor to get a grand jury to bring an indictment. And reliance on the good faith of the prosecutor may not be enough in some cases - I'm not suggesting here" in Smith's indictment of Trump.
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首席大法官的这段话很有份量，Good Faith在民主党已经不再存在了，民主党现在是使尽一切卑鄙下流的手段来斗败政治对手。
美国联邦最高法院廿五日听取针对前总统川普在他被控密谋推翻二○二○年总统大选结果案，可否豁免起诉的言词辩论。多数大法官似乎并不接受“总统享绝对豁免权”的主张，美国有线电视新闻网（ＣＮＮ）报导甚至直指联邦最高法院似准备驳回川普主张。但大法官对于司法部特别检察官指控川普推翻大选结果，也持保留态度。
保守派大法官主张，总统需某种程度的免责权，否则卸任总统可能面临不当刑事起诉；自由派大法官则担心将产生“无法无天的国王”。尚不清楚本案何时裁决，但审判若拖至十一月大选后才举行，川普将从中获益。
这是最高法院首度审议川普刑事控案，在逾两个半小时言词辩论中，包括首席大法官罗伯兹在内的五位大法官，似不接受总统享有绝对豁免权主张。但他们也建议，在特检史密斯指控川普密谋推翻二○二○年大选结果诉讼案开审前，川普豁免权案必须先发回下级法院裁决，才能开审。
罗伯兹说，他对联邦上诉法院做出不利川普的推理感到不满。
美联社报导说，联邦最高法院做出裁决的时机，可能与其结果一样重要。几乎笃定是今年共和党籍总统候选人的川普，力图将该审判延至选后。大法官愈晚做出决定，他拖延成功的可能性就愈大。由于九位大法官对本案积极提问，许多人士目前认为，该院不会速审速结。
川普在总统任内任命三位保守派大法官，其中两位：戈苏奇和卡瓦诺廿五日均表示，前总统在本案可能享有一定豁免权，下级法院须厘清这是否适用川普。而此举可能进一步推迟审判。
但川普任命的另一位保守派法官巴瑞特，似不太接受川普律师索尔提出的论点。川普律师辩称，前总统有权对其官方行为享有绝对豁免权；否则出于政治动机对前总统的起诉将沦为常态；总统若担心刑事指控，将无法发挥其三军统帅职能。
立场同为保守派的大法官阿利托更认为，如果禁止卸任总统享有豁免权，则和平转移政权恐将生变。因败选而即将下台的总统若担忧日后将遭其政敌起诉，“当然不甘心和平交出政权”。
特检史密斯团队则说，美国宪法起草者从未打算让总统凌驾在法律上；更何况川普被控的行为，包括参与招募“摇摆州”假选举人的阴谋计划等，绝非总统的官方职责。该团队要求迅速解决此案，而联邦最高法院通常在六月底发布最后裁决。
自由派大法官杰克森则警告，若不必担心被刑事起诉，还有什么能阻止总统为所欲为？
川普是美国首位被控犯下刑事罪行的前总统。他目前面临四宗刑事控案。ＣＮＮ廿五日公布委托独立机构ＳＳＲＳ所做民调，显示仅一成三受访者觉得川普身为刑事被告，有获得跟其他刑事被告相同的对待，没有差别待遇；三成四认为其待遇更好；另外三成四认为更严苛，反映出美国选民对此看法分歧。