So, is this the potential ruling that will determine Trump’s ultimate fate?
Donald Trump says the Supreme Court already gave him the power to purge the federal government.
newrepublic.com
Of course, it was a giant fig leaf and terrible decision, which Trump proceeded to prove at first opportunity, pissing all over their intentions. I’m going out on a limb and say maybe at least Roberts and Barrett will try to make that distinction clear in one decision or another, but they deliberately let the fucking Fox into the henhouse.
There’s one subtle wrinkle that not enough people talk about, and which is probably the most important aspect of the decision. Not only did the justices not clarify the distinction between what is and is not an official Presidential duty, they explicitly said they WOULDN'T explain the difference, and would reserve for themselves the authority to decide, on a literal case by case basis, which actions constitute legitimate duties and which do not.
The justices intended this to be a shot across the Presidential bow: “We still have power over you - to wit, we retain the right to determine whether or not you’re operating according to the "rulebook.” In their minds, they were defending their judicial turf.
However, Trump, being Trump, took it in a completely different way: - “I’m going to do whatever the fuck I want, and I DARE YOU to tell me it’s illegitimate.”
And now we’re all on pins and needles waiting to see whether or not the justices are vertebrates.
I'm going with - probably not!