Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor pushed back against former President Donald Trump’s lawyer Thursday over the “plausibility” of official acts as president.
“What is plausible about the president insisting and creating a fraudulent slate of electoral candidates?” Sotomayor asked Trump lawyer John Sauer.
Sauer responded that it was “absolutely” plausible that creating a second slate of electors was within the president’s rights.
Earlier, Justice Samuel Alito raised the issue of SEAL Team Six being used for political purposes. A lower court had raised a similar issue, asking whether an order given by the commander in chief to the military would be an official act. Sauer responded that a president could do that under some circumstances.
“I’m sure you’ve thought of lots of hypotheticals where the president could say ‘I’m using an official power,’ and yet the president uses it in an absolutely outrageous manner,” Alito said.
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