But here’s a mind-blowing question: what if President Donald Trump, the most maverick and reckless incumbent of the Oval Office in America’s history, simply chooses to say “No Mr Chief Justice, do what the fu#@ you want, I am not going to carry out your orders. Go take a hike, sir”.
It would be a catastrophic constitutional breakdown, and there are very few clues as to how it could unravel from there. One possible playbook could be as follows:
· Since POTUS cannot be arrested in office, SCOTUS could convict the Attorney General or White House Counsel for disobeying the court’s orders
· Theoretically, POTUS could issue an instant pardon to his convicted officers. And if the court reiterates its punishment, Trump could issue one pardon after another to thwart the court
· If SCOTUS sees these repeated pardons as an abuse of Presidential authority, the judges could use “inherent contempt” powers to punish officials for “non-criminal offences”; a pardon cannot be given…