At 3/6/17 01:58 PM, Gario wrote:
At 3/6/17 01:01 PM, EdyKel wrote:
Well, that can be a double edge sword. It can be used against any future president, and I suspect it will be abused and just lead to bogging them down with more legal challenges, and making them more dysfunctional through a strict adherence to political correctness.
I'm not actually for expanding libel laws - just playing on a bit of political irony, there. I do think if there is an attempt to incriminate a civilian based on lies, and you publish this publically to get your base against them, then the perpetrator should be held accountable for this - that's plain and simple libel. That's not a breach of etiquette (or "political correctness"), that's a crime that's on the books as such (from as far as I can tell - those more versed than I could correct me on the details, if they want).
Oh, and if that specific circumstance affects future presidents, good. Why would I be against punishing a hypothetical progressive president who commit libel in the future?
I'm a bit confused. I know that presidents do have some immunity when it comes to civil lawsuits, but they can still be sued over libel. According to a NBC News article, where it pondered if Obama had grounds to sue Trump over the wiretap claim, it pointed out the following:
"Despite the possible case, it is unlikely that Obama would sue Trump for libel. Predecessors tend to give the succeeding president a fair amount of room, and the president is provided some protections from civil suits. The Supreme Court's 1982 decision Nixon v. Fitzgerald found that a president is provided absolute immunity from civil damages and liability while conducting presidential acts.
"President Trump has official immunity from liability and damages," Zipursky confirmed, but it is not clear that judges would view tweeting a defamatory conspiracy theory, without evidence, as a president carrying out his official duties."
So, I'm not sure where to go with this....
I think Trump's mounting lies are going to be his own undoing. He can't live up to even a fraction of the over the top promises he has made to the public, and these continued outburst, and outlandish claims, he makes, are going to turn more and more people off, who are going to trust him less and less.
At 3/6/17 03:41 PM, Sause wrote:
Bruh Obama tapped Angela Merkel, who wasn't even his enemy.
That's nothing new. We've been spying on Germany for decades. Bush supported the wiretapping of former German chancellor, Gerhard Schröder's in 2002, and continued it with Angela Merkel. The fact is, a lot of countries do it. Israel was caught doing it to John Kerry during the Iran negotiations. While it's often looked down upon by fellow allies, it's not illegal to spy on them by US standards. It's only illegal if it's done to a US citizen, without proper warrants.