"Joy and pleasure are as real as pain and sorrow and one must learn what they have to teach. . . ." -- Sean Russell, from Gatherer of Clouds

"If you're not having fun, you're not doing it right." -- Helyn D. Goldenberg

"I love you and I'm not afraid." -- Evanescence, "My Last Breath"

“If I hear ‘not allowed’ much oftener,” said Sam, “I’m going to get angry.” -- J.R.R. Tolkien, from Lord of the Rings

Sunday, December 02, 2018

The King's Jester Has Spoken

Although I don't know of another jester in history whose word became a policy decision. There's just no end to the nonsense. This is from Sean Hannity's radio show on November 30:

CALLER: I haven't heard an idea that I have, and I don't know if it's feasible or not. With the corruption in the Department of Justice, the people that are demanded to appear, they don't appear, they appear, they lie, everything that's going on with all the corruption -- what about -- does President Trump have the authority to do -- have the JAG in the military do a tribunal, and investigate the Department of Justice that way? Where Congress --

SEAN HANNITY (HOST): He actually does have that authority.

CALLER: -- apparently cannot do its job.

HANNITY: Well, it's the -- again, that would be within the realm of the executive branch of the government, which he is the head of. Yeah, he would. And look, I think the president has been -- look, he could have fired Mueller, he could -- and he could do it legally, Alan Dershowitz said it yesterday. He could fire Rosenstein, he could have done that at any point, he didn't.

How magnanimous of him.

Via Dispatches from the Culture Wars, where Ed Brayton points out:

The only time military tribunals can be used for civilians — and even this is highly questionable — is when they are accused of war crimes or participated in a military action against the United States. They cannot be used for civilians under any other circumstances. The Supreme Court ruled this in 1866.

The Founders (and the courts) were very keen on limiting the military's power -- that's why it's under civilian control.

They were equally keen on limiting the president's power -- see Article II of the Constitution, where those powers are laid out.

Of course, now that Hannity's said it, Trump will take it as Holy Writ. I'm sure he'll at least threaten to unleash the military justice system on the DoJ. At which point any military judge with any integrity would resign. Yeah, well -- one can hope.

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