OK. SOP for breaking up an escalating physical conflict is to separate the parties by removing the less threatening/aggressive/dangerous one. This is not a judgment about who is at fault/who deserves to be sanctioned; it’s a judgment about what action will most effectively and most rapidly de-escalate the situation.
So if Malia throws a punch an an LEO who responds in the time-honoured American fashion by pulling out a piece, the SS don’t intercept the LEO; they intercept Malia and drag her away. It doesn’t have to be very far away. This defuses the situation; the LEO can then holster his gun, and usually will, since he’s no longer under the threat of even a girly punch. He can carry on with the task in hand, which is writing out a citation/effecting an arrest/whatever. The SS won’t stop him from arresting Malia, if he’s determined on it, but they will make sure that the arrest is effected in a way that doesn’t expose her to threats to her life or safety.
You’ve seen footage, no doubt, of protection subjects being strong-armed out of danger by their own security details, so this is a drill they’re well used to. It would be no different here.
This raises some interesting questions. Suppose someone under SS protection is arrested. Do SS agents accompany him or her to the police station? Can they insist on a private cell and to be stationed outside of that cell?
For that matter, could the President then preemptively pardon that person? Ford pardoned Nixon before there were even criminal charges.
Yeah, there’s that golden part, she’s just burning it to the end, which may also mean she bummed it from someone else (aaah, memories of my friends asking to bum a cig from a guy “and, you know, just so I’m not providing everything myself, you won’t happen to have a light as well?”).
As noted above: the President’s pardon power extends to crimes against the United States. The governor of Illinois could pardon young Ms. Obama from an offense cited by a Chicago cop; the President has no power to do so.
It has nothing to do with whether you feel it should be legal or not, or any of the other million arguments about it…the simple fact is it’s illegal and therefore shouldn’t be done.
Finger-waggers and pearl-clutchers shouldn’t matter in this situation, nor should society’s overall thoughts.
Jury is still out whether it’s a joint or a cig. But if it was a joint then she should be punished accordingly. I don’t care if it’s the prez’s daughter, your daughter, Putin’s daughter or my daughter. She was caught doing an illegal act and deserves to be punished accordingly. End of story.
It depends on the age of the kid, but it’s gotta be a real pain to be a teenager in the White House. And that’s why the media should stay away from minor incidents like this, especially since we don’t know any crime had been committed. It won’t happen, but it should.
There have been teenagers in the White House before and generally speaking they’ve been treated pretty well. Chelsea Clinton was insulted by the likes of Rush Limbaugh, but the media, for the most part, seemed to stay the hell out of her face, and if you think about it most kids whose fathers were President have turned out okay. Chelsea Clinton did okay. Obama’s kids have been treated well. Amy Carter would have been 13 when his term ended but I don’t think she had a rough time.
As to what the Secret Service should or shouldn’t do, here’s the thing; their job is to keep the person alive. To maximize their chances of doing their job, they need the trust and cooperation of the protected person. If they start getting in Malia Obama’s face every timer she bums a smoke or kisses a boy - or wants to have sex with someone, and as she’s 18 there’s a better than even chance she’s done that - she will resent their presence and make an effort to NOT cooperate with them. I am totally confident the Secret Service is very tactful in how they handle kids to ensure that does not happen.
It’s not like the subjects of SS protection are always cooperative even if they are adults - President Carter snuck away from his detail at least a few times, which really pissed off the Service. It can’t be that easy a job even on the best days, much less when the person you’re protecting is resenting your presence.
Right, if everyone who was doing drugs at Lollapalooza was arrested, there would be a whole lot of arrests happening. Including a lot of arrests of performers.