Just Another Hobby Jogger wrote:
L L wrote:
Does he actually pack up his belongings and move them out of the White House or are we looking at an eviction?
I seriously wonder that.
He may sit in the Oval Office while Biden is being sworn in and then say "move me."
I hope this actually happens so that the Secret Service can hand him over to the Capitol Police. Trespassing a public building carries the maximum sentence of six months under the DC municipal law. He will be released on bond shortly, but his passport can be confiscated so that he cannot flee out of the country.
I also hope the DOJ will make their decisions strictly on legal basis. Avoiding the prosecution for "bad optics" is bad for the rule of law. No one should be above the law, not even former presidents.
Rather than "bad optics" the issue is how much political capital the Biden administration wants to spend on prosecution, no matter how richly it might be deserved. It would inevitably be politically divisive at a time when the administration will need some level of bipartisan cooperation to address the real issues of the day. Not the least of which is the partisan fractures in the country.
Moreover the NY cases are probably sufficient, no need for the Feds to pile on.
With regard to "rule of law", what Biden and Congress can do is legislatively strengthen the constraints on the president that were previously non-binding "norms". For example, requiring presidential candidates to release tax information and stronger laws with regard to potential conflicts of interest. I think enough Republicans would happily support those sorts of things while they don't hold the White House.