Mad idea: given that the US Supreme Court ruled that the President essentially has immunity from criminal prosecutions for acts during his term in office, could J. D. Vance plausibly shoot Donald Trump dead, thereby becoming President, and claim immunity?
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@cstross But he wouldn't be president when he pulled the trigger, so presidential immunity wouldn't apply.
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Mad idea: given that the US Supreme Court ruled that the President essentially has immunity from criminal prosecutions for acts during his term in office, could J. D. Vance plausibly shoot Donald Trump dead, thereby becoming President, and claim immunity?
(I know this is very silly and Won't Happen for several reasons, but is there a legal fig-leaf he could hide behind here?)
@cstross lets test it.
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Mad idea: given that the US Supreme Court ruled that the President essentially has immunity from criminal prosecutions for acts during his term in office, could J. D. Vance plausibly shoot Donald Trump dead, thereby becoming President, and claim immunity?
(I know this is very silly and Won't Happen for several reasons, but is there a legal fig-leaf he could hide behind here?)
@cstross At the time Vance shot Donnie he wasn't President and the SC ruling only covers acts the President carries out *while* he is President.
However, if President Vance travels back in time and shoots President Trump and thus becomes President ...
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Mad idea: given that the US Supreme Court ruled that the President essentially has immunity from criminal prosecutions for acts during his term in office, could J. D. Vance plausibly shoot Donald Trump dead, thereby becoming President, and claim immunity?
(I know this is very silly and Won't Happen for several reasons, but is there a legal fig-leaf he could hide behind here?)
@cstross His term in office would not start until the incumbent died, but the criminal acts of attempted murder/illegal disposal of toxic waste would have occurred in the split second before the death?
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Mad idea: given that the US Supreme Court ruled that the President essentially has immunity from criminal prosecutions for acts during his term in office, could J. D. Vance plausibly shoot Donald Trump dead, thereby becoming President, and claim immunity?
(I know this is very silly and Won't Happen for several reasons, but is there a legal fig-leaf he could hide behind here?)
@cstross I've said that since before they got elected... J.Divans could shoot the pumpkin dead, then immediately pardon himself while he's president. No need for a Supreme Chaos ahem Court decision.
The reason he hasn't done that is presumably because it's not the best time yet from his perspective. -
Mad idea: given that the US Supreme Court ruled that the President essentially has immunity from criminal prosecutions for acts during his term in office, could J. D. Vance plausibly shoot Donald Trump dead, thereby becoming President, and claim immunity?
(I know this is very silly and Won't Happen for several reasons, but is there a legal fig-leaf he could hide behind here?)
@cstross Another option: bodyguards, who are not who they used to be. Also, would go well with the good ol’ times vibes…
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Mad idea: given that the US Supreme Court ruled that the President essentially has immunity from criminal prosecutions for acts during his term in office, could J. D. Vance plausibly shoot Donald Trump dead, thereby becoming President, and claim immunity?
(I know this is very silly and Won't Happen for several reasons, but is there a legal fig-leaf he could hide behind here?)
@cstross and most likely Vance is even worse than Trump.
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@cstross Another option: bodyguards, who are not who they used to be. Also, would go well with the good ol’ times vibes…
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Mad idea: given that the US Supreme Court ruled that the President essentially has immunity from criminal prosecutions for acts during his term in office, could J. D. Vance plausibly shoot Donald Trump dead, thereby becoming President, and claim immunity?
(I know this is very silly and Won't Happen for several reasons, but is there a legal fig-leaf he could hide behind here?)
@cstross Aha, the Ideas of March?
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@joat Naah, parliament would just apply the 1649 precedent and put him on trial—as King. Life imprisonment would be problematic, though. Maybe they could ask the ECJ for a courtroom, citing the difficulty of finding an impartial jury in the UK?
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Mad idea: given that the US Supreme Court ruled that the President essentially has immunity from criminal prosecutions for acts during his term in office, could J. D. Vance plausibly shoot Donald Trump dead, thereby becoming President, and claim immunity?
(I know this is very silly and Won't Happen for several reasons, but is there a legal fig-leaf he could hide behind here?)
@cstross As others have pointed out, killing the incumbent while VP would not be an ‘official act as president’, ergo immunity would not apply.
Vance could bludgeon Trump unconscious, assume office based on Trump's incapacity, and THEN kill him, reducing his potential culpability to assault rather than murder.
If the US were Nepal, it might be more clearcut. As the events of 1 June 2001 established, regicide is no barrier to assuming the kingship (although a self-administered 9mm bullet is).
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@cstross and most likely Vance is even worse than Trump.
@fazalmajid Well yes, but if he waited until Trump opened the nuclear football and demanded the phone so he could make That Call, everybody below Vance would just nod sagely and say "good job".
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@cstross The death would occur shortly before the transition, wouldn't it? Does the ruling cover the vice-president prior? At what point in the bullet's journey would power transition occur? In this essay I will...
@sixtyfootmalcolm @cstross couldn't JD Vance just pardon himself though?
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Mad idea: given that the US Supreme Court ruled that the President essentially has immunity from criminal prosecutions for acts during his term in office, could J. D. Vance plausibly shoot Donald Trump dead, thereby becoming President, and claim immunity?
(I know this is very silly and Won't Happen for several reasons, but is there a legal fig-leaf he could hide behind here?)
@cstross They'll get someone is the Secret Service to do it by claiming it's for the good of the nation, then burn the guy when he does it.
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@cstross As others have pointed out, killing the incumbent while VP would not be an ‘official act as president’, ergo immunity would not apply.
Vance could bludgeon Trump unconscious, assume office based on Trump's incapacity, and THEN kill him, reducing his potential culpability to assault rather than murder.
If the US were Nepal, it might be more clearcut. As the events of 1 June 2001 established, regicide is no barrier to assuming the kingship (although a self-administered 9mm bullet is).
Ah, but he could pardon himself for the murder of the previous president once he is president.
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@cstross As others have pointed out, killing the incumbent while VP would not be an ‘official act as president’, ergo immunity would not apply.
Vance could bludgeon Trump unconscious, assume office based on Trump's incapacity, and THEN kill him, reducing his potential culpability to assault rather than murder.
If the US were Nepal, it might be more clearcut. As the events of 1 June 2001 established, regicide is no barrier to assuming the kingship (although a self-administered 9mm bullet is).
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Mad idea: given that the US Supreme Court ruled that the President essentially has immunity from criminal prosecutions for acts during his term in office, could J. D. Vance plausibly shoot Donald Trump dead, thereby becoming President, and claim immunity?
(I know this is very silly and Won't Happen for several reasons, but is there a legal fig-leaf he could hide behind here?)
@cstross : from strategical perspective, given age and health of Trump, I would send him lot of prostitutes and try to make him do a Félix Faure.
Still wondering why nobody is doing that or why Trump is surviving those attempts.
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Mad idea: given that the US Supreme Court ruled that the President essentially has immunity from criminal prosecutions for acts during his term in office, could J. D. Vance plausibly shoot Donald Trump dead, thereby becoming President, and claim immunity?
(I know this is very silly and Won't Happen for several reasons, but is there a legal fig-leaf he could hide behind here?)
@cstross That's just "death by natural causes", as Pratchett pointed out.
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Mad idea: given that the US Supreme Court ruled that the President essentially has immunity from criminal prosecutions for acts during his term in office, could J. D. Vance plausibly shoot Donald Trump dead, thereby becoming President, and claim immunity?
(I know this is very silly and Won't Happen for several reasons, but is there a legal fig-leaf he could hide behind here?)
@cstross For real actual lawyer here, and the problem with this question is that it presumes the Supreme Court is functioning as intended. It's not and there's no way to predict how this would play out. For all intents and purposes, the United States is no longer controlled by rule of law.
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@cstross As others have pointed out, killing the incumbent while VP would not be an ‘official act as president’, ergo immunity would not apply.
Vance could bludgeon Trump unconscious, assume office based on Trump's incapacity, and THEN kill him, reducing his potential culpability to assault rather than murder.
If the US were Nepal, it might be more clearcut. As the events of 1 June 2001 established, regicide is no barrier to assuming the kingship (although a self-administered 9mm bullet is).
@angusm I’m imagining some sort of comedy of errors involving a cabinet secretary tripping due to their ill-fitting shoes while wielding a spoon.
