Note: I’m too shaken to write a long diary, so please forgive me for being brief, but for my own emotional well-being I wanted to get this information on Daily Kos as soon as possible.
I believe there is one main reason that the GOP desperately needs to get Kavanaugh confirmed as soon as they can: the upcoming SCOTUS case Gamble vs. U.S., No. 17-646. www.scotusblog.com/...
With Gamble vs. U.S., No. 17-646, the results of this case will have the power to change the lives of Donald Trump and every Republican scumbag in Congress (and beyond), as well as America as we know it. Gamble vs. U.S. deals with the “separate sovereigns” exception to the double jeopardy clause and, if overruled, will allow a sitting president to pardon both federal and state-level crimes.
Obviously you can see where this is going…
It’s a given that, with Kav seated as the fifth partisan Republican judge on the Supreme Court, he will be the deciding vote to overturn the seperation sovereignty exception, thus giving Trump and the GOP a get-out-of-jail card. This is terrifying, infuriating, sickening and will ultimately be the very death of American democracy. With this kind of power, the Republican party will forever be unstoppable.
UPDATE: I just caught this Slate article from this morning:
Why the Big Double Jeopardy Supreme Court Case Isn’t a Threat to the Mueller Probe
The upcoming Supreme Court case Gamble v. United States has fueled speculation that Republicans are pushing for a favorable outcome in order to free Trump to issue pardons of his associates without fear that they will face consequences from state prosecutors. While the case on the question of double jeopardy is an important one, there is no reason to worry that Gamble will jeopardize the Mueller probe.
Gamble v. U.S. is not actually about the presidential pardon power. It is about the Fifth Amendment protection against double jeopardy and whether a defendant is safe from state prosecution after a completed federal prosecution, and vice versa. In theory, a Trump associate could plead guilty to a federal crime, receive a pardon, and Gamble could protect him from a state prosecution. In reality, special counsel Robert Mueller seems to have already strategized around this problem.
This news is a bright spot on an otherwise dark day in which the sham FBI investigation has been completed and Republicans are back to being all-in on Brett Kavanaugh (it’s obvious the R’s were always all-in for Kav and this has all just been some poor Kabuki theatre to give the appearance that they actual give a sh*t when it’s clear they don’t).
The Slate article goes on to explain that, while Gamble vs U.S. shouldn’t have any impact on the Mueller probe, there are still reasons to be concerned. Its overturning could have far-reaching negative effects for American citizens when it comes to “prosecutorial overreach and mass incarceration,” so this case is something we should all still keep our eyes on.
Will this hinder the ability of the Justice Department to prosecute civil rights violations if the state courts fail to do so? The ACLU suggests that the answer, in most cases, is no, because there would still be ways to bring such charges. Mueller seems to have found a way to make sure justice is done even with double jeopardy laws in place. These constitutional issues are complicated and need to be addressed.
The pardon problem, meanwhile, could be addressed specifically as an exception in the structural interests of justice, but it would make even more sense for courts to address pardons directly, rather than circuitously through underenforcing the Double Jeopardy Clause. Courts should find that self-serving pardons are a violation of the president’s oath to faithfully execute his office.
Let’s just hope Robert Mueller also has a plan for that inevitable day when criminal cases against Trump and his corrupt cohorts reach the Supreme Court, and slimey Brett Kavanaugh is there to undoubtedly rule in favor of these Republican criminals.
