Trump could legally sell pardons under 'blueprint for totalitarianism' from Supreme Court
The Supreme Court's widely derided ruling last week on presidential immunity opens up an extreme possibility — imagine a kiosk in the lobby of the White House where the president's "lap dogs" order get-out-of-jail free cards rather than fries and a soda.
That's the country's new reality, according to former prosecutor Glenn Kirschner, who took to his YouTube channel Wednesday ahead of the Fourth of July holiday to blast the opinion as a "staggering piece of judicial abuse."
"Their pronouncement that, essentially, a president is a king above the law, beyond the reach of our nation's criminal laws," he said. "It's shocking in its transparent impropriety and in its favoritism toward Donald Trump."
Kirschner argues the nation's high court thrust America into "chaos" — the justices just "can't quit Donald Trump," he said, even as they all but abandoned his "flunkies" such as the recently disbarred Rudy Giuliani and recently incarcerated Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro.
Kirschner slammed the Supreme Court's ruling on the core presidential powers, which the court said enjoy "absolute immunity."
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"It means you can't touch it. It means you can't ask about it. It means you can't investigate it. It means you can't question it," he said.
It's here Kirschner offered a dystopian hypothetical and described it as a blueprint for Trump.
"So, if Donald Trump, set up a pardon kiosk in the lobby of the White House and sold pardons for a million bucks a pop, or a billion bucks a pop, because it's a core presidential power, the president gets to do it."
"And there's not a damn thing the Supreme Court tells us that law enforcement or prosecutors or courts can do about it."
Trump now gets a new playbook, Kirshner said. Should he win re-election, he could appoint a loyal attorney general and direct the person in a crime-fighting capacity to round up political opponents and detain them in camps.
"No charges, no complaint, no evidence, no due process. No, no, no. In my crime-fighting capacity, I am directing you to do it. Do it!"
Because it's a core presidential power, no authority can look into the order, according to the former prosecutor.
Interestingly, because the attorney general doesn't enjoy the same immunity, the prosecutor could face charges.
Hence, the kiosk.
"What does the president do? He pardons him!"
An emphatic Kirschner called it a "blueprint for totalitarianism."
"This is exactly what the Supreme Court ruling says, sets up, contemplates. And it couldn't be more dangerous to not just the health of our democracy, but to the continued viability of our Democracy."