Blue Mass Group

Reality-based commentary on politics.

Chief Justice Roberts’ Role

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A genuinely serious question:

In the face of all of Trump’s known conflicts of interest, possible violations of the emoluments clause, etc., etc, will Chief Justice Roberts, by administering the presidential Oath of Office, be enabling violations of the Constitution inconsistent with his own oath as a justice of the Supreme Court?

My own rebuttals: 1) there’s not yet a case or controversy before the Court; 2) the Court does not impeach. But I would appreciate hearing opinions from those more knowledgeable.

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Comments

  1. Re: US Constitution, Article 1, Section 9, Clause 8: ” No person holding Office shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept any present, Emolument…of any kind whatever ,.. from any foreign State.”

    Fred Rich LaRiccia

  2. Twitler’s swearing in the way he screwed up President Obama’s.

    Any takers ?

    Fred Rich LaRiccia

  3. …it would just be a personal statement, albeit a profound one coming from someone in his position. It would not impact Trump’s ability to take the oath as anyone who is themselves sworn can do it. Washington was sworn in by the Chancellor of New York, a state officer. Calvin Coolidge was sworn in by his own father, whose only credential was that he was a Notary Public.

  4. Can the opposition party petition the court for judicial review of the president-elect’s proposal?

    • …and the party can show direct harm and not just that we don’t like it on the merits.

    • there’s been quite a lot of discussion as to who would have standing to raise the question of whether the clause has been violated. We may find out soon.

      • …such as a business competitor, but emoluments is more likely I think to be an impeachable issue rather than a civil or criminal one.

    • on these issues and he believes Twitler could be impeached the minute he’s sworn in.

      Fred Rich LaRiccia

  6. From the recount, to the faithless electors, to the boycott – you have tried your strategems one by one. They have failed and give you less credibility with each effort, at least outside your echo chamber.

    This one with the Chief Justice is the silliest yet.

    There were millions who thought Obama equally unqualified to take the oath because he had not sufficiently demonstrated his place of birth. What would the reaction have been to suggesting that he not be sworn in due to that? You are being as extreme as those dances, wrapping yourself in the same cloak of special discernment and principle.

    As somebody once said, elections have consequences.

    • …but not from me… from him whose day this is…

      Before closing I feel impelled to mention one other point in your statement that has troubled me profoundly. You warmly commended the Birmingham police force for keeping “order” and “preventing violence.” I doubt that you would have so warmly commended the police force if you had seen its dogs sinking their teeth into unarmed, nonviolent Negroes. I doubt that you would so quickly commend the policemen if you were to observe their ugly and inhumane treatment of Negroes here in the city jail; if you were to watch them push and curse old Negro women and young Negro girls; if you were to see them slap and kick old Negro men and young boys; if you were to observe them, as they did on two occasions, refuse to give us food because we wanted to sing our grace together. I cannot join you in your praise of the Birmingham police department.

      It is true that the police have exercised a degree of discipline in handling the demonstrators. In this sense they have conducted themselves rather “nonviolently” in public. But for what purpose? To preserve the evil system of segregation. Over the past few years I have consistently preached that nonviolence demands that the means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek. I have tried to make clear that it is wrong to use immoral means to attain moral ends. But now I must affirm that it is just as wrong, or perhaps even more so, to use moral means to preserve immoral ends. Perhaps Mr. Connor and his policemen have been rather nonviolent in public, as was Chief Pritchett in Albany, Georgia, but they have used the moral means of nonviolence to maintain the immoral end of racial injustice. As T. S. Eliot has said: “The last temptation is the greatest treason: To do the right deed for the wrong reason.”

    • First, Trump gets the prize for biggest loser among those who managed an electoral college victory. There were concerns that even that count was not accurate and calls for electors to bail, while I did not think would succeed, were based on the notion that the EC vote reflect the popular vote. OTOH, Obama actually got popular majorities twice.

      Second, I doubt it was millions who questioned Obama’s birthplace, but regardless of how many, there’s this little thing called facts. There was never any actual evidence he was born in Kenya and plenty that he was born in Hawai’i. By contrast 17 intelligence agencies believe there is sufficient evidence that Russia messed with our election.

      Third, no candidate or President-elect has behaved and spoken so irresponsibly, clearly demonstrating he is not up to the job, nor presented signs of being a Manchurian candidate, nor been as openly bigoted as he has. There’s a reason he has a 37% approval rating at a point when most are riding a crest of public optimism about what a new administration will bring.

      We know you didn’t vote for him, so why are you trolling like this? I know you are better than that.

  7. Any attempt by the Trumpists to normalize this election by covering up the truth will only further undermine our trust in the democratic process.

    Fred Rich LaRiccia

      • Trump is a self described businessman. His supporters want him to run the nation as a business. Republicans have said over and over that we need to run this nation as a business.

        Note to USA citizens: A business is typically not run democratically, at least not in the USA.

        It’s up to Democrats to take advantage of this as it fails.

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