The Guardian on the White House press briefing today:
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders is holding a press briefing. She denies that the president was going the “political route” by attacking Chuck Schumer on Twitter this morning.
“The president’s not blamed senator Schumer. He doesn’t believe that the senator is responsible for the attack,” says Huckabee Sanders.
Huckabee Sanders is asked about the president’s willingness to “send him to Gitmo.”
She basically makes clear that that was something the president just said but there’s no thinking behind it:
He supports or would support that but he wasn’t necessarily advocating for it.
‘I believe we would consider this person to be an enemy combatant, yes,” Huckabee Sanders said. But that doesn’t mean the administration does not support trying him in federal court.
The “enemy combatant” designation has a narrow legal definition with implications for the detainees’ rights and potential trial, and the label has never been applied to a suspect detained in the United States.
The press secretary is asked about Trump’s calling the US justice system a “laughingstock.”
“He was voicing his frustration with the lengthy process that often comes with a case like this,” Huckabee Sanders says.
Due process: it takes too long.
Sanders denies that Trump called the justice system a “laughingstock.” Instead she says the president said that “the process” of trying terror suspects in court is regarded by others as a laughingstock.
But she’s mischaracterizing what he said. Trump said “we need quick justice…because what we have right now is a joke and it’s a laughingstock”.
Full quote:
“We have to come up with punishment that’s far quicker and far greater than the punishment these animals are getting right now. They’ll go through court for years, at the end they’ll be – who knows what happens. We need quick justice, we need strong justice, much quicker and much stronger than we have right now, because what we have right now is a joke and it’s a laughingstock.”
He leaned on the word “joke” – leaned on it with contempt and venom. He has venomous contempt for our justice system – not because of its grotesquely high use of prison sentences, but because of its observance of due process.
That’s the head of state.
Comments
8 responses to “Due process: it takes too long”
Sounds like Trump is advocating for executing terror suspects /enemy combatants on arrest.
Probably not, but he’s advocating for swift prosecution and harsh punishment without oversight by civilian judges, which is disgusting enough.
Really he’s probably not even arguing for that, because it’s too coherent. He’s just barfing out half-formed blurts, as usual. His brain has rotted too much for him to think anything through at this point.
We can hope that he will soon be re-acquainted with the justice system as he is subjected to it: again.
Well, off with his head! It’s aready gone off. On it’s own.
https://www.facebook.com/144310995587370/photos/a.271728576178944.71555.144310995587370/1706581219360332/?type=3&theater
@#2 – I have several members of my family who feel that the problem is the appeal process. They feel that someone found guilty should be immediately put to death, and that allowing the appeal process is ridiculous. Their idea is that it is far better that one innocent person be put to death than that several guilty people go free (or, really, it’s more about cost the state a lot of money demonstrating their guilt).
I suspect Trump has something in mind like what he advocated with the Central Park Five. Never mind their innocence, just kill them already and get it over with.
And my Trumpphilic friends and family will all trot out the canard that they wouldn’t have been arrested if they weren’t guilty of something. Even if that was true, it could be said of all of us. Why, just this last week, I jaywalked! In a tiny town with no traffic, but still, jaywalking! I am, therefore, guilty of something.