Was Proof Trump Can't Legally Be President IGNORED? w/ Dean Obeidallah

Does the Constitution bar Trump from being president again? Thom Hartmann and Dean Obeidallah argue that Trump should not have been allowed to be President. MORE FROM THOM 📃 Thom's Hartmann's 'Daily Take' Newsletter: https://HartmannReport.com 🎦 Watch a full program re-run anytime: https://www.patreon.com/thomhartmann 🎧 Audio Podcast: https://thom.tv FOLLOW THOM 📕 AMAZON: https://amzn.to/2hS4UwY 📝 DAILY TAKE: https://hartmannreport.com 👥 FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/ThomHartmannProgram/ 📸 INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/Thom_Hartmann 🎦 PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/thomhartmann 🐦 X: https://www.twitter.com/thom_hartmann Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hartmannreport.com 🌐 WEBSITE: https://www.thomhartmann.com 📺 YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=thomhartmann 👕 Merchandise: https://teespring.com/stores/thom-hartmann-program-2 🍺 Thom Merchandise: https://teespring.com/thom-hartmann-mug?pid=522&cid=101870 ABOUT THE PROGRAM The Thom Hartmann Program is the leading progressive political talk radio show for political news and comments about Government politics, be it Liberal or Conservative, plus special guests and callers. #MoreFromThom ✔ Amazon links are affiliate links TRANSCRIPT Thom: You have a novel legal theory about why Donald Trump can't become president. Dean: I have a novel legal theory about this—the release of this Jack Smith report. Thom: Okay, and you're an attorney and I'm not. Dean: Yeah, thank you. Let me run mine by you, and then you can run yours by me. Thom: It's your show, whatever you want to do. I'm happy. By the way, who do you think is more pissed off about Obama and Trump yucking it up this morning—the racists freaking out on X or Democrats? Dean: It's hard to say. Obama looked like the guy on the airplane stuck next to someone who won't stop talking. He was rolling his eyes and trying to be nice the whole time. Thom: Yeah, that was good. I saw Trump had more makeup on than I’ve seen men in a drag show. He had so much makeup. There's something wrong with him. Dean: By the way, he looked awful at his press conference. Thom: I'm not making light of it. I don't wish ill on anyone, even someone I despise, but he didn’t look well. Dean: They put extra makeup on him. It's covering up some kind of condition, not sure what. Part of it is getting old, part of it is being out of shape, and his diet is terrible. Thom: Anyhow, here's my theory. Dean: Go ahead. Thom: The law says that if a federal judge says you can't do something, you can’t do it until an appeals court or the Supreme Court weighs in. Am I correct? Dean: Sure, the law says if there's an injunction or court order, you can’t overturn it on your own. Thom: Right. So let’s say a judge said to Joe Biden—or more specifically to Merrick Garland—not to release this report. That’s the law. But doesn’t the law now also say, as a result of the Supreme Court’s ruling last year, that presidents can do whatever they want, even if it breaks the law? Dean: There are three different buckets in the Supreme Court's decision. First, powers explicitly enumerated in the Constitution—like the pardon power. Absolute immunity. You could literally sell pardons on eBay. That's the law now. Second, official actions. These have a presumption of immunity, though it could be overturned. Third, personal actions done for fun or personal gain—those get no protection at all. Thom: So, if Joe Biden takes an official action, like releasing this report for national security reasons, does that fall into the first bucket? Dean: That’s close to being enumerated in the Constitution, yeah. If Biden were to physically walk the report down to the White House Press Office and release it, he’d essentially be saying, "Go ahead and sue me, I have the right to break the law. Just ask Clarence Thomas." Alternatively, Garland could release it and Biden could pardon him. Thom: But Garland won’t do that. Dean: Garland’s been a failure, right? We need accountability from Merrick Garland. Thom: If Biden were to violate a court order and articulate that his actions were for official reasons, what happens? Dean: He’d still be violating the court order. Trump’s DOJ would have tried to hold him accountable if the roles were reversed. Biden’s defense would be, “This was an official action,” but it would drag on for years. At this stage in his career, I don’t think Biden wants to deal with that. Thom: Fair point. Dean: But I'm not saying don’t do it. Biden should give us the report as his last act. Who cares what happens? Thom: Agreed. The Supreme Court has said they’ll determine what qualifies as an official act. They could rule against Biden while ruling for Trump on the same thing. Dean: Exactly. Now, let’s get to your theory.