* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Saturday, September 27, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Cardi B Adds More Dates to Little Miss Drama Tour: ‘Y’all Making Me Work’ – Yahoo

    Cardi B Extends Little Miss Drama Tour: “Y’all Making Me Work

    ‘Today’: Sheinelle Jones Thanks Katie Couric for Support After Husband’s Death – CBS 19 News

    Sheinelle Jones Expresses Heartfelt Thanks to Katie Couric for Support After Husband’s Passing

    Sate your hunger at DBA’s Taste of Downtown – Bakersfield.com

    Indulge Your Cravings at DBA’s Taste of Downtown!

    Caesars Entertainment (CZR): Assessing Valuation After Times Square Casino Setback and Mounting Investor Concerns – simplywall.st

    Caesars Entertainment Faces Times Square Casino Hurdles as Investor Concerns Mount

    Why Hilaria Baldwin Has Found the ‘DWTS’ Process ‘Embarrassing’ At Times – WFXG

    Hilaria Baldwin Opens Up About the Embarrassing Moments on Her ‘DWTS’ Journey

    Harvest Fest 2025 – yadkinripple.com

    Celebrate the Bounty: Harvest Fest 2025 is Coming!

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Aurora police hope to add facial recognition technology to crime-fighting tools – CBS News

    Aurora Police Aim to Boost Crime-Fighting with New Facial Recognition Technology

    Autonomous Solutions shows off cutting-edge technology for the public – Cache Valley Daily

    Autonomous Solutions Unveils Cutting-Edge Technology for the Public

    Amazon to Pay $2.5 Billion in Prime Membership Settlement – The New York Times

    Amazon to Pay $2.5 Billion in Prime Membership Settlement – The New York Times

    What are we really gaining from technology? – Fast Company

    What Are We Really Gaining from Technology?

    TOMI Environmental Solutions, Inc. Expands SteraMist iHP Technology Services in Healthcare Sector with New Provider Partnership – Quiver Quantitative

    TOMI Environmental Solutions Accelerates SteraMist iHP Technology Expansion in Healthcare with New Provider Partnership

    Indiana County Technology Center’s Joint Operating Committee looks to the future as program plans began to take shape – Indiana Gazette Online

    Indiana County Technology Center’s Joint Operating Committee Charts an Exciting Path Forward as New Program Plans Take Shape

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Cardi B Adds More Dates to Little Miss Drama Tour: ‘Y’all Making Me Work’ – Yahoo

    Cardi B Extends Little Miss Drama Tour: “Y’all Making Me Work

    ‘Today’: Sheinelle Jones Thanks Katie Couric for Support After Husband’s Death – CBS 19 News

    Sheinelle Jones Expresses Heartfelt Thanks to Katie Couric for Support After Husband’s Passing

    Sate your hunger at DBA’s Taste of Downtown – Bakersfield.com

    Indulge Your Cravings at DBA’s Taste of Downtown!

    Caesars Entertainment (CZR): Assessing Valuation After Times Square Casino Setback and Mounting Investor Concerns – simplywall.st

    Caesars Entertainment Faces Times Square Casino Hurdles as Investor Concerns Mount

    Why Hilaria Baldwin Has Found the ‘DWTS’ Process ‘Embarrassing’ At Times – WFXG

    Hilaria Baldwin Opens Up About the Embarrassing Moments on Her ‘DWTS’ Journey

    Harvest Fest 2025 – yadkinripple.com

    Celebrate the Bounty: Harvest Fest 2025 is Coming!

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Aurora police hope to add facial recognition technology to crime-fighting tools – CBS News

    Aurora Police Aim to Boost Crime-Fighting with New Facial Recognition Technology

    Autonomous Solutions shows off cutting-edge technology for the public – Cache Valley Daily

    Autonomous Solutions Unveils Cutting-Edge Technology for the Public

    Amazon to Pay $2.5 Billion in Prime Membership Settlement – The New York Times

    Amazon to Pay $2.5 Billion in Prime Membership Settlement – The New York Times

    What are we really gaining from technology? – Fast Company

    What Are We Really Gaining from Technology?

    TOMI Environmental Solutions, Inc. Expands SteraMist iHP Technology Services in Healthcare Sector with New Provider Partnership – Quiver Quantitative

    TOMI Environmental Solutions Accelerates SteraMist iHP Technology Expansion in Healthcare with New Provider Partnership

    Indiana County Technology Center’s Joint Operating Committee looks to the future as program plans began to take shape – Indiana Gazette Online

    Indiana County Technology Center’s Joint Operating Committee Charts an Exciting Path Forward as New Program Plans Take Shape

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Thomas Jefferson Disagrees with John Roberts About Presidential Immunity

July 6, 2024
in News
Thomas Jefferson Disagrees with John Roberts About Presidential Immunity
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Thomas Jefferson played no direct role in authoring the federal Constitution. He wasn’t even in the country at the time. He was living in France as the U.S. Ambassador. Indeed he was at least equivocal about key elements of the document, despite the fact that much of it was the work of his friend and protégé James Madison, who kept him informed about the progress of events by post from the United States. But Jefferson was of course a central figure in the creation of the American Republic and a critical figure in defining executive power under the federal Constitution both as Secretary of State and one of two principal advisors to George Washington and then, later, during his two terms as President. He spoke clearly to the question at the heart of the Court’s immunity decision and very clearly disagreed with the reasoning and any idea that Presidents weren’t subject to the law.

I should start by saying that we don’t have just Jefferson to go on. You can’t read any part of the discussions of the Constitutional Convention, the discussions leading up to it or the debates over it, without seeing that the idea that the President would be immune from the criminal law over his conduct in office would have struck these people as simply absurd. But Jefferson himself came at the question later from a different perspective, not as a theoretical matter but as a retired chief executive who had actually wielded presidential and prerogative power and believed that at least in some cases he had exceeded his powers in the interests of the nation.

A brief side note: I believe I first came across this in graduate school in another letter of Jefferson’s in which he discussed this matter more closely in the context of he Louisiana Purchase. But I don’t remember the particular date or correspondent. But he makes the same essential points in a letter from 1810 (Letter to John Colvin, September 20th, 1810), two years after leaving office. It’s possible that my memory is erroneous and my recollection is actually of this letter to John Colvin. So if anyone who’s spent time in the Jefferson Papers remember this other letter which I had remembered being written in 1813 or a few years later, please let me know. But for the purposes of this post I’ll focus on the Colvin one so you don’t have to trust my possibly erroneous member of the other.

In any case, here Jefferson addresses the common question of whether a head of state might sometimes be justified in violating the law in the interest of some greater good, saving the country, protecting the country, to preserve the law itself. We can state this question in various ways but we understand the basic concept: is a President ever justified in breaking the law in the interests of the country itself. Often, the question is framed as a case where the authors of the laws in question would have recognized the justice of a future President’s actions if they could know the precise situation in which he found himself.

So what did Jefferson say? His answer has stuck in my head ever since I read it and it has always struck me as the correct answer for republican governance. His answer was yes, it is sometimes justified. But the second part of the answer is the critical. He says that men who take on these high offices are obligated to make these decisions and assume the personal risks of doing so. This can’t be stressed enough. He doesn’t say Presidents or other high officials working at their behest are above the law or immune from prosecution under the law. He says clearly and explicitly that one of the responsibilities of power is that they may face situations in which they must break the law or violate the Constitution in the interests of some higher and more pressing goal and then face the personal consequences of having done so.

To quote specifically:

“The officer who is called to act on this superior ground, does indeed risk himself on the justice of the controlling powers of the Constitution, and his station makes it his duty to incur the risk.”

“It is incumbent on those only who accept of great charges, to risk themselves on great occasions, when the safety of the nation, or some of its very high interests are at stake.”

“[T]he good officer is bound to draw it at his own peril, and throw himself on the justice of his country and the rectitude of his motives.”

We have really the key quote here: “Throw himself on the justice of his country.” This point is crystal clear. Such a leader has to accept the consequences under the law and in essence throw himself on its mercy, arguing that despite the fact that he violated the law it was the right thing to do under the circumstances. Jefferson also makes the point that the public should judge this leader not on the basis of retrospect but on the basis of the facts and exigencies that were known at the time. But none of these points take away from the essential point: a chief executive must come clean about what he did and accept the legal consequences for the decision. He is emphatically neither above the law nor immune from its consequences.

While the modalities would fit those of the early 21st century, the scenario Jefferson envisions is one in which a President takes actions he or she feels they must take and then once there’s time to do so they must go before the public and say, I did this. I think it was the right thing to do. But I’m ready to face the consequences, if you think there should be any, for doing so.

What has always been so interesting to me about this argument is that Jefferson not only says a chief executive must face these consequences but that he may be obligated to take actions for which they will later face such consequences. In other words, it would not be acceptable for a chief executive to say, ‘Well, I think it’s best for the country if I do X. But I could go to jail for doing X. So I’m not going to go there.’ Jefferson says that when you agreed to take on this high office you agreed to take on these personal risks in the country’s interests. So that fear of personal risk isn’t acceptable. Your obligation is to the country, not yourself.

Two secondary points to finish up. I should emphasize that Jefferson makes clear this only applies in extreme, extreme cases. It’s not a matter of choose your own adventure. These apply to extreme cases where time doesn’t afford the possibility of delay, writing a new law, getting Congress to approve something etc. etc. In our modern world of analogies we’d describe these as ticking time bomb scenarios. The other interesting thing is that in this letter Jefferson speaks interchangeably about Presidents and other high officers of government. This can seem confusing. But it makes a separate but related point. These were all high government officials given great power to achieve certain goals and ends. None of them were above the law. In other words, Presidents were not some unique constitutional creature, simply the highest officeholder in the country, serving under the law like everyone else.

To anticipate some rejoinders, it’s quite true: Jefferson didn’t write the Constitution or vote on it. In some highly notional sense his opinion is worth no more than John Roberts’ or Sam Alito’s. But obviously if we’re interested in what the Constitution meant to those at the time, those who were in close contact with those who created it and indeed the people most closely involved in defining presidential power Jefferson is a powerful, powerful fact witness. And we must recognize that in his time, this idea was actually a controversially robust assertion of executive power. I can’t stress this enough. The consensus opinion was simply that of course Presidents have to follow the law. I mean, that’s a good consensus to have! Jefferson was saying that there are some cases in which they may be entitled to and even obligated to violate the law. But then they have to face the consequences. So while Jefferson was in his theoretical meanderings a small government guy, this was actually much more than most contemporaries would allow for what a President might be allowed to do. It seems inevitable that this was in large part because Jefferson had been President, and knew the practicalities involved.

If history mattered to this Court this evidence would bulk very large in any argument. Indeed, I think it’s pretty determinative. But it doesn’t because this decision is something the Court simply created out of whole cloth, indeed a bespoke suit for none other than Donald Trump.

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : Talking Points Memo – https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/thomas-jefferson-disagrees-with-john-roberts-about-presidential-immunity

Tags: JeffersonnewsThomas
Previous Post

Caitlin Clark rallies the Indiana Fever past the New York Liberty 83-78 with the first triple-double by a WNBA rookie

Next Post

Trump Tries To Claim He Has No Idea What The Deal Is With Project 2025

City Parks Initiative Launches Ecological Tracker for Bond Projects – Citizen Portal AI

Revolutionary Ecological Tracker Unveiled to Transform Monitoring of City Parks Bond Projects

September 27, 2025
Award-winning science writer leads student discussions at Eckerd – theonlinecurrent.com

Award-Winning Science Writer Inspires Student Discussions at Eckerd College

September 27, 2025
Human Head Transplants: Where the Science Stands, and Why the Ethics Are So Complicated – Discover Magazine

Human Head Transplants: The Science Behind the Procedure and the Complex Ethical Debate

September 27, 2025
New lifestyle brand TENŌRE set to open flagship store in Waikīkī – KITV

New lifestyle brand TENŌRE set to open flagship store in Waikīkī – KITV

September 27, 2025
Aurora police hope to add facial recognition technology to crime-fighting tools – CBS News

Aurora Police Aim to Boost Crime-Fighting with New Facial Recognition Technology

September 27, 2025
Hawaii women’s volleyball team prepares to get creative for Big West play – Spectrum News NY1

Hawaii women’s volleyball team prepares to get creative for Big West play – Spectrum News NY1

September 27, 2025
Hypertension – World Health Organization (WHO)

Hypertension – World Health Organization (WHO)

September 26, 2025
In Kansas City, Secretary Rollins Speaks on State of Farm Economy, Announces Suite of Actions to Support American Farmers – USDA (.gov)

Secretary Rollins Launches Bold New Initiatives to Boost Kansas City’s Farm Economy and Empower American Farmers

September 26, 2025
Cardi B Adds More Dates to Little Miss Drama Tour: ‘Y’all Making Me Work’ – Yahoo

Cardi B Extends Little Miss Drama Tour: “Y’all Making Me Work

September 26, 2025
Vandalia Health Mon Stonewall Jackson Memorial Hospital to host blood drive Sept. 29 – Mon Health

Vandalia Health Mon Stonewall Jackson Memorial Hospital to Host Life-Saving Blood Drive on September 29

September 26, 2025

Categories

Archives

September 2025
M T W T F S S
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
2930  
« Aug    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (839)
  • Economy (859)
  • Entertainment (21,734)
  • General (17,265)
  • Health (9,902)
  • Lifestyle (872)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (861)
  • Politics (869)
  • Science (16,069)
  • Sports (21,359)
  • Technology (15,842)
  • World (842)

Recent News

City Parks Initiative Launches Ecological Tracker for Bond Projects – Citizen Portal AI

Revolutionary Ecological Tracker Unveiled to Transform Monitoring of City Parks Bond Projects

September 27, 2025
Award-winning science writer leads student discussions at Eckerd – theonlinecurrent.com

Award-Winning Science Writer Inspires Student Discussions at Eckerd College

September 27, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version