Well, if nothing else I’m glad that Clinton v. Jones means he’d not be immune to a civil lawsuit in that case.
I’m pretty sure this would be wrong and couldn’t happen. Remember then-commander of the US Strategic Command Air Force General John Hyten saying that he’d refuse to follow an illegal presidential order to launch a nuclear attack? Or retired Air Force General Robert Kehler saying the same thing?
Almost certainly Seal 6 and the military chain of command above these folks would refuse to obey any such order.
And if this guy were to do it himself - well the duties of the President don’t include using weapons, let alone assassination - so a good argument would be made that this was his own personal conduct rather than something stemming from the duties of the Presidential Office.
Finally, the murder would almost certainly occur in a State - so even if federal folks have their hands tied, he could be tried and convicted by a State court in absentia. (Perhaps State Troopers wouldn’t be able to actually get their hands on him until after he left office, but unless he dies in Office this guy would eventually have to pay for that crime.)
Follow up to this - the one place where I can see this happening, that’s not in a State, would be D.C.
While the 1973 Home Rule Act is much weaker than having the Constitution reserve certain powers to the States, I’d guess that it does empower enough so that the DC Mayor and the Metropolitan Police Department can investigate and make arrests.
Well, if nothing else I’m glad that Clinton v. Jones means he’d not be immune to a civil lawsuit in that case.
I’m pretty sure this would be wrong and couldn’t happen. Remember then-commander of the US Strategic Command Air Force General John Hyten saying that he’d refuse to follow an illegal presidential order to launch a nuclear attack? Or retired Air Force General Robert Kehler saying the same thing?
Edit: references:
https://truthout.org/articles/the-duty-to-disobey-a-nuclear-launch-order/
https://apnews.com/article/14eb66de62fc49b181680ccbd7394646
Almost certainly Seal 6 and the military chain of command above these folks would refuse to obey any such order.
And if this guy were to do it himself - well the duties of the President don’t include using weapons, let alone assassination - so a good argument would be made that this was his own personal conduct rather than something stemming from the duties of the Presidential Office.
Finally, the murder would almost certainly occur in a State - so even if federal folks have their hands tied, he could be tried and convicted by a State court in absentia. (Perhaps State Troopers wouldn’t be able to actually get their hands on him until after he left office, but unless he dies in Office this guy would eventually have to pay for that crime.)
Follow up to this - the one place where I can see this happening, that’s not in a State, would be D.C.
While the 1973 Home Rule Act is much weaker than having the Constitution reserve certain powers to the States, I’d guess that it does empower enough so that the DC Mayor and the Metropolitan Police Department can investigate and make arrests.
To that end, I’m greatly encouraged by the fact that the one time a US President was arrested, it happened in DC: https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2023/03/21/president-arrested-ulysses-grant-speeding/