Why can’t they?
The government’s aim should not be to win a lawsuit no matter what, but to win it if, and only if, the facts, or the law, are in the government’s favor. Delaying release of facts that could have easily been determined in a day or two is not in the public interest. It only delays the Secret Service from learning from the incident, assuming it wishes to.
In general, once the lawsuit has been filed, that is it- the sued party is told not to comment. It will all come out in discovery.
Any of our SDMB legal eagles will say the same. Whoever spoke out would be fired.
https://cornerstonelaw.us/six-dos-and-donts-when-getting-sued/
1. DON’T post about it on social media.
The first thing you definitely should not do is post on social media that you have been sued. Do not post about what happened. Do not post about the conflict that you have with the other guy. Don’t post negative things about the company/neighbor/business partner/soon-to-be-ex who filed this frivolous/outrageous/immoral complaint. Anything that you say can be used against you in a court of law—especially on social media.
When you post things publicly it is very difficult to predict how they can come back to get you in the future. It may feel good in the moment to pop off and say something, but the consequences to that decision can be significant. Accordingly, we strongly recommend against making public statements upon being served with a lawsuit.
2. DON’T call the person or lash out at them directly.
In a similar vein, calling the person, Facebooking them, or sending them a message, email or text are all bad ideas. Doing so can only be used against you in a court of law and cannot benefit you in any real way. In addition, doing so will give the adverse party the satisfaction of knowing they have gotten under your skin by suing you.
That’s just the way it is. Besides there are no big secrets here
The U.S. Secret Service fatally shot a person who opened fire on officers at a security checkpoint on Saturday in an exchange of gunfire that briefly locked down the White House, officials said.
The shooting happened shortly after 6 p.m. when a male approached the Secret Service checkpoint at 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, pulled a gun from a bag and opened fire on officers, the Secret Service said in a statement.
The officers returned fire and shot the suspect, who was taken to a hospital, where he later died, the Secret Service said. The agency said the shooting remains under investigation.
A bystander was also shot, the Secret Service said, but it was unclear who fired the round that injured that person. Their condition was not immediately available.
They did speak out — anonymously to D.C. Channel 4.
If the leakers are fired, that will be yet another Trump administration Secret Service disgrace.
A private person or commercial entity should do as you cite.
A government agency should be entirely interested in the truth, in full immediate disclosure, and complete accountability to the citizens in everything they do. With zero regard for any potential lawsuit that the taxpayers may later be on the hook for.
Of course that’s not how any part of the current criminal regime operates.
You think they shot the tourist deliberately?
What I worry about is how they prioritize their loyalties. The prime directive of the Secret Service attached to the president is to protect him at all costs. So, hypothetically, Trump refuses to relinquish the presidency and the White House in 2028. Will they protect our democratic process and arrest him, or will they continue to protect what amounts to a coup?
To protect him from what though?
You’re correct to be worried that trump’s toadies have carefully stacked the WH security detail with folks who’d be personally inclined to protect trump from the legitimate forces of law and order, not just from the forces of criminal assassins.
But the SS as properly constituted does not have the mission to protect the President at all costs. Only to protect the officeholder from criminal or hostile government violence.
…Or will they choose to protect the President, who will be some guy other than Trump?
It is not their job to arrest him. If there was an arrest warrant, and he didn’t turn himself in, I think that would be the job of the U.S. Marshals. But remember that SCOTUS has pretty much put the President above the law.
And Trump gets Secret Service protection for life.
And the 2028 Democratic presidential nominee, win or lose, gets SS protection (in practice if not by law) at least up until the January inauguration.
Whomever the military takes orders from is the de facto president. While the SS makes me nervous for reasons detailed in this thread, I’m not nervous that they could dictate who has presidential power.
Only in his official duties.
Which extend as far as paying off hush money to porn stars. Everything he does is considered an official duty, and therefore everything he does is above the law.
Sure, but then her question just shifts to “will they let him be arrested? If he resists, to they protect him, or do they let law enforcement do its job?”
I hope the latter, but I do understand being concerned it might be the former.
(I agree SCOTUS made it harder, but they didn’t completely rule out criminal prosecution. They’d have to do that after he was arrested.)
That was never ruled to be covered-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stormy_Daniels–Donald_Trump_scandal#Legal_matters
In fact Michael Cohen was convicted.
And the presidents 34 NY felony convictions were not overturned.
The ACLU’s brief argued that while it has long been recognized that presidents cannot be prosecuted criminally in office,…
This is all so unlikely.
The only way there is an issue is if state-level law enforcement tries to arrest Trump when there is a pro-Trump presidential administration. And that just would not happen. New York State authorities are not going to try to arrest someone when the policy of the federal government is to stop it.
I’m tempted to say that Trump would just stay out of New York State. But it would never get to where he had to.
I feel about the SS like Princess Lea did about Obi-Wan.