I spent some time reading the ruling on Immunity from the USSC…. and the laughable objections to that ruling from the dissenters on the bench.
Personally if I had a military background, I believe I would be seriously insulted by Sotayor’s “seal team 6” argument. Her argument seems to be based solely on the plot of “A few Good Men” where the base commander orders a murder and the military personnel under him dutifully carry out that order.
Seems to me the Victory Girls have this one right::
“Sotomayor’s contention is both intellectually disingenuous and legally flawed. It shows an utterly defective understanding of military professionalism. It also ignores the majority opinion’s express reservation of judicial review for presidential actions which constitute acts of “authority without law.” No serious legal scholar would claim that a president has the legal authority to kill a domestic political opponent. Established law on what constitutes lawful orders includes the stipulation that an order is pursuant to a “military duty” — plainly a domestic political assassination is a political and criminal act. Still, Sotomayor’s inventive conspiracy has sparked fear by some that former President Donald Trump could order SEAL Team Six to kill off his political enemies if he returns to office.
And, I wouold add, the sheep are bleating “Four legs good two lags bad” in unison as a result of the prompting from the supposedly “wise Latina”.
That brings us back to the Delta Force commander’s board question.
Because the answer to that question, at least if you want to retain a shot at passing the commander’s board, is not “I would follow said order.” On the contrary, it is a variation on the theme of “I would refuse the directive on grounds it constitutes an unlawful order” or “I would consult Joint Special Operations Command legal adviser.” The rationale for this question is simple: Delta wants thinkers who can fight, not zombies who can pull triggers. It wants operators with moral confidence and competence who understand that they serve under a constitutional legal structure rather than as heirs to the corrupt traditions of 1st-century-onward Praetorian Guard units. In essence, Delta, DEVGRU, and 24th STS want and provide the exact opposite of what Sotomayor apparently believes they want and provide.”
And there it is, folks.
In the end, Sotomayor’s is an argument founded not in law and logic, (Or God forbid, the Constitution and established precedents) but in the desperate desire to nail someone whose politics she doesn’t like, and therefore she ignores the inherent frailties in her argument. One must wonder what her reax would be if the question of immunity ever came up with a Democrat…. say, Biden for example. I think we both know the answer to that question.
