Blog Credo

The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.

H.L. Mencken

Saturday, December 14, 2019

Cautiously Optimistic

This June, the Supreme Court will rule as to whether Trump must turn over his financial records. The expected Doom Chorus expects a 5-4 partisan ruling shielding Trump from any oversight. Perhaps Roberts' behavior as presiding judge at the impeachment trial will give us some foreshadowing, but I just can't see the conservative bloc on the court creating such blanket immunity for the president. The law is clearly on the side of Congress and the Manhattan DA's office, and the Constitution requires basic oversight.  Trump has obstructed Congress's oversight in what is the clearest of the two impeachment articles. 

He must turn them over and there's no reason why he shouldn't.  Every court has found that he should.  We can be certain that the Democratic justices will rule on the side of law. I think Roberts will, too.  And I have a hard time seeing Alito and Thomas creating such an obvious carve-out for Trump.  Gorsuch, too.  Yes, they are partisan hacks, but they are partisan hacks with lifetime appointments.  If Roberts endeavors to protect the legitimacy of the Court - which he did before on the ACA cases - it's 5-4 in favor of turning them over.  Once there's a majority to hold Trump accountable to the law, why should Alito and Thomas go along?  If Gorsuch wants to cement himself as a judge or a partisan hack, his incentives would be to go along with all established precedent.  I have less hope for Kavanaugh, but he, too, could decide to keep the issue crystal clear.  I could see an 8-1 or 9-0 ruling, with the conservatives writing a concurring opinion lambasting the "witch hunt" and still upholding the law.

And it will drop right in time for the conventions.

No comments: