Thread by @DavidPepper

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Roberts’ Handy Roadmap for Illegal Cover-Ups

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Yesterday and today, Trump’s former personal lawyer is meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell.

No doubt trying to win her over and keeping her from further incriminating Trump

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But much worse than the fact that his former personal lawyer is having this conversation….is the fact that this man is having this conversation AS a DOJ lawyer.

And part of the conversation is clearly that he is a dangling a formal pardon as leverage in that conversation.

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That feels as inappropriate as it gets, doesn’t it?

Well, do you want to know the worst part?

It’s that this is exactly what Justice Roberts’ opinion on presidential immunity guided a lawless president to do if he wanted to get away with an illegal coverup.

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You see, if Trump’s personal attorney were to have a conversation with Maxwell as a private attorney, then the Supreme Court said that that might pose a risk to Trump.

But under that same opinion, because Trump hired his personal lawyer to move over to the DOJ,

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and because that personal lawyer is conducting this Maxwell negotiation under the auspices of the DOJ, that means Trump is immune no matter how much lawlessness or chicanery is going on in that jailhouse conversation.

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In this way, Roberts’ opinion literally invites Trump to bring his personal business (and people) into the most core functions of the US government, because it is there that whatever he does enjoys immunity.

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At the same time, the opinion also invites that newly hired private gun to talk about pardons in particular (as opposed to just a typical shakedown), because granting pardons is an official presidential power, which also shrouds the conversation in immunity.

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And this is just one of many examples where that disastrous immunity decision doesn’t just provide an open invitation for Trump to do exactly what he’s doing now….

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Worse, it actually lays out a clear and easy-to-follow road map on how he can and should pursue it without risking his own hide—tap into the most essential powers of the presidency to protect himself, no matter how lawlessly those powers are wielded.

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Of course, for the American people, the use of official government power (our government) to cover up a scandal or perpetrate an illegal scheme is the worst and most dangerous thing a rogue president could do.

For the country, for example,

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it is WORSE if the DOJ, the FBI, the DNI, the CIA, the military, and other essential US government functions are the powers being abused to do a president’s dirty work.

But for Trump—per the Roberts roadmap—he is BETTER OFF using and abusing those very powers

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to advance illegal schemes and cover-ups.

He only risks trouble if he keeps the government out of it, and instead uses private means to execute the cover up.

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Ie. sending a private lawyer to threaten Maxwell as opposed to hiring his private lawyer into the DOJ, and then tasking him with dangling an official pardon to her if she helps in the cover up.

Yes, it’s all insane.

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The only wrinkle to all this is whether the officials he tasks with breaking the law also enjoy immunity.

And that is an open question.

If you were Bondi and Gabbard or another official asked to take part in an illegal coverup, would you want to risk prosecution?

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To avoid that risk, the first response would be to refuse to carry an illegal order out.

But as we’re seeing in Trump world, that rarely happens. And doesn’t look to be happening now.

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But if you’re too cowardly or lawless to do that, you’d at least seek a pardon in advance.

Which begs the question…have they?

Someone might want to ask.

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Go here for the full analysis: davidpepper.substack.com/p/roberts-hand…