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On shooting one's mouth off
In response to Tuesday's truck attack on a bicycle path in Manhattan, this from the Tweeter In Chief:
"NYC terrorist was happy as he asked to hang ISIS flag in his hospital room. He killed 8 people, badly injured 12. SHOULD GET DEATH PENALTY!' the President tweeted late Wednesday night. (CNN link)
In other words, before a trial has started, before any evidence has been presented, and certainly before anybody has been found guilty of a crime, the President of the United States has already publicly decided on both the guilt and the penalty phases of the trial. Can you say "mistrial", boys and girls? Can you say "my client cannot get a fair hearing from any court in the United States"? I thought you could.
The best counterargument to such a mistrial claim would be "The judges, and perhaps the juries, of the United States know better than to pay any attention to the rantings of the President of the United States." Which doesn't look so good either.
"NYC terrorist was happy as he asked to hang ISIS flag in his hospital room. He killed 8 people, badly injured 12. SHOULD GET DEATH PENALTY!' the President tweeted late Wednesday night. (CNN link)
In other words, before a trial has started, before any evidence has been presented, and certainly before anybody has been found guilty of a crime, the President of the United States has already publicly decided on both the guilt and the penalty phases of the trial. Can you say "mistrial", boys and girls? Can you say "my client cannot get a fair hearing from any court in the United States"? I thought you could.
The best counterargument to such a mistrial claim would be "The judges, and perhaps the juries, of the United States know better than to pay any attention to the rantings of the President of the United States." Which doesn't look so good either.