I’m pretty sure this wasn’t the right thing to do. Right and wrong. It’s not that difficult. Guess I took Civics as a subject worthwhile, it must have stuck. Once we let our presidents make this kind of power grab, where am I living? Right and wrong. Foundational principles. Sappy stuff like that. It’s not that difficult.
Trump sought to ‘perpetuate himself in power’
Smith’s office stressed the private and political nature of Trump’s actions around the 2020 election.
“The executive branch,” prosecutors wrote, “has no authority or function to choose the next president.”
That argument appeared designed for federal appeals courts, including the Supreme Court, that have placed a heavy emphasis in recent years on the historical understanding of the separation of powers.
In other words, Smith is arguing that Trump’s effort to overturn the election was necessarily private because the Constitution gives a president no official authority for choosing his successor.
“The defendant’s charged conduct directly contravenes these foundational principles,” the motion reads. “He sought to encroach on powers specifically assigned by the Constitution to other branches, to advance his own self-interest and perpetuate himself in power, contrary to the will of the people.”
