# Trump and Retribution - Legal Question

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-retribution-legal-question/1013410>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Tags:** trump\
**Created:** [January 26, 2025, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-retribution-legal-question/1013410 "2025-01-26T02:00:17Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\
**Post date:** [January 28, 2025, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-retribution-legal-question/1013410/21 "2025-01-28T02:17:34Z")

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I think I read somewhere that Mr Yoo has never travelled outside the US since he wrote those opinions.

He’s a prisoner of conscience, I tells ya!

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**Author:** ![Gordon\_G](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3da27b/32.png) [@Gordon\_G](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gordon_G)\
**Post date:** [January 28, 2025, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-retribution-legal-question/1013410/22 "2025-01-28T12:16:42Z")

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The U.S. President has enormous power. Here’s a well-known quotation where POTUS placed himself above the Supreme Court:

> [@President Andrew Jackson](#):
>
> [Chief Justice] John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it.

(This was in the matter of Worcester v. Georgia, with Jackson refusing to enforce federal treaties with the Cherokee nation and allowing the State of Georgia to illegally seize Cherokee land.)

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**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\
**Post date:** [January 28, 2025, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-retribution-legal-question/1013410/23 "2025-01-28T13:28:47Z")

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> [@Hari\_Seldon](#):
>
> That was John Torture-is-fine Yoo.

Please, it’s not “torture” when you tie someone up for days on end in a stretched position so they develop arthritis and have limited movement afterwards. It’s “enhanced interrogation”.

It’s only “torture” when the North Vietnamese do it to John McCain.

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**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\
**Post date:** [January 29, 2025, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-retribution-legal-question/1013410/24 "2025-01-29T02:49:05Z")

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It’s difficult to answer because of the greater range of powers and immunity the president was given recently. Technically it would have to be done as “part of his duties” but that has been interpreted very broadly by some.

But even if we don’t invoke that, there’s certainly a number of ways he could do it legally, like siccing the DOJ on someone, especially if there’s some reasonable sounding cover story.

He also tries to expand the number of government workers who are appointed rather than hired, which would mean he could fire a lot more people for not being loyalists.

Certainly Biden was worried about what he could do, which is why he gave preemptive pardons to perceived enemies of Trump.

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