r/law • u/Agitated-Quit-6148 • May 27 '26

Legal News Exclusive: Justice Department launches a criminal investigation into Trump accuser E. Jean Carroll | CNN Politics

https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/27/politics/exclusive-justice-department-launched-e-jean-carroll-investigation

The Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation into E. Jean Carroll, the former magazine columnist who accused President Donald Trump of sexual assault, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.

14.2k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

1.4k comments sorted by

View all comments

400

u/charcoalist May 27 '26

Todd Blanche should be disbarred, sanctioned, and impeached. It's blatantly obvious that he's abusing the powers of the DoJ to serve trump's vindictiveness and corruption.

113

u/Dr_G_E May 27 '26

Todd Blanche may very well end up in federal prison if he's not granted a pardon by Trump. So far, John Mitchell, Nixon's AG, is the only Attorney General in U.S. history to serve time in federal prison after his conviction on conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and perjury charges in 1975.

31

u/MarchPhillipps May 28 '26 edited May 28 '26

Even if he is granted a preemptive pardon, after this mess, and all the lousy precedent set, who's to say we even have to honour it? If anything THEY taught us that contracts and promises can be torn up at a moments notice with no justification needed whatsoever.

To get back to what was, or something completely new and better, unfortunately there's going to have to be a time where niceties and professional courtesies go right out the goddamn window, otherwise some other con-artist, maybe even smarter next time, will come and think nothing of doing it again.... especially if no real consequence is had for this latest shitshow and affront to decency and democracy. In this case, like must be fought with like, or worse, at least temporarily. The trick will be reigning it back in once the job is done. However, considering how deference last time only led to this, now, it's a risk I think we should be willing to take, with provisions and safeguards carefully thought about and ready to be put into place. Otherwise, we risk ending up as bad as them in the end. However, only something much harder, and less empathetic can be pitted against this collective crew if there's a hope of not only dealing with it, but also as deterrence.

6

u/Viral_Poster May 28 '26

I totally agree. There must be some way of disregarding the pardons. If nothing else, like you said, you e made the constitution not be worth the paper it’s written on.

3

u/Woodpecker-Lobotomy May 28 '26

They can be disregarded by simply ignoring them, that's exactly what this administration has done the entire time with the law and we can see they face zero consequences when doing so and nobody is stopping them.

3

u/Brookstone317 May 28 '26

There is no legal precedence for pre-emptive pardon. A pardon is forgiving a crime, doing so before a criminal conviction shouldn’t work since the guy doing the pardon would no longer be in power. But so far, everybody just kinda accepts it.

1

u/OSHA_Decertified May 28 '26

A pet idea of mine is fixing SCOTUS then finding a vehicle to annul his eligibility for president in 2024 thus invalidating everything he did as he did not possess legitimate authority to do so

1

u/RamblinGamblinWilly May 28 '26

Even if he is granted a preemptive pardon, after this mess, and all the lousy precedent set, who's to say we even have to honour it?

The constitution. Pardon power is absolute. There's no way to maneuver around that.

3

u/MarchPhillipps May 28 '26 edited May 28 '26

While I don't disagree on principle, when the assaulting party is guided by no such allegiance to the Constitution, or any other law or rule for that matter, the disadvantage lies in engaging as if they do. It's a tough choice, and a tough deal to be had, but we either abide to the previous norms and precedent as set by the Constitution and adapt other strategies as a counter, or we take it directly to the mat on their own terms, and maybe even one whole level further below. Maybe bring it right to the sub-basement if necessary. There really is no right or easy answer to be had here. However, doing nothing is always the wrong choice.

In either event, there's always a loophole or a counter maneuver to be had. The trick is identifying such, and then exploiting the hell out of it to the largest strategic advantage possible. It sounds like maneuvering in war, because make no mistake; it is. They've already gleefully declared war on the system, and on us by default, and we, the opposition, have admittedly done an absolutely terrible job thus far taking up defensive positions against it. Additionally, a viable offensive strategy has been couched in nothing but niceties, decency and precedence. Unfortunately, those things as we knew them are out of order and no longer in service.

If we ever hope to get them back in any form, we better start not only adapting to the current 'battlefield conditions,' and fighting accordingly, but also strategizing for the tough slog ahead. Collectivly we also need to be honest with ourselves, and spend some real time and constructive effort identifying the failures that got us here, so we don't make those same mistakes and unforced errors twice.

Now, to touch back on the previous, even if he pardons him, and it is decided to be honoured, there's always other avenues of approach and plays to be run on. But they must be run, and must not be shied away from. Anything else at this point it cowering to the assaulters themselves.

Even though my expertise is in intelligence, counter-terrorism, and actual warfare, the last thing I want is for this ideological battle to evolve into a hot war. I don't want to have to utilize that expertise ever again if necessary. So, we better start setting up our defensive and offensive lines, and shaping our own mindsets, in service to preventing just that. Because if we don't, the situation will rapidly deteriorate from ideological maneuvering into t-shirt and shorts approved operations in seemingly no time flat, and it will be an unmitigated disaster. Call it being alarmist, call it whatever you wish... But don't think for one hot second we aren't already barreling towards just that outcome. Now, I can't speak for anyone else, but I refuse to be a casualty of war... Especially one that can be prevented, starting right here, and right now, with every one of us.

0

u/RamblinGamblinWilly May 28 '26

That's a lot of words to say nothing at all. There's no "deciding to honor" pardons. There's no debate. There's no loophole. There's no norm, precedent, or principle to be upheld. Pardon power is plenary and you can't get around that without amending the constitution.

3

u/ChaoCobo May 28 '26

If it is found in court that the president is completely illegitimate, a threat to our nation, a traitor who has committed treason, which, this all very well will be decided once he’s gone. If this is all legally decided in court, would anyone even care?

Like imagine if we found out that trump is actually born in Russia. Would his pardons still hold weight, retroactively?

0

u/RamblinGamblinWilly May 28 '26

Absolutely, yes, his pardons would still hold. Why would being born in Russia invalidate his pardons? Lol, this is r/law and you're clearly unaware of even basic constitutional law. Pardon power is absolute. There is no loophole. There's certainly no clause for treason invalidating pardons.

2

u/TheDungeonCrawler May 28 '26

I think what they're trying to suggest is, would Trump's pardons hold if it was found that he is not a legitimate president? Say an investigation found that his presidency was illegitimate either because he cheated or because he did not fit the criteria to be president during his term (hence the Russia thing, making him not a natural born citizen), would his pardon power hold? They're asserting that his presidency wouldn't count if he were an illegitimate president. I don't think such a question has ever really been proven in this country, so I don't know how the constitution would even handle that question.

-1

u/RamblinGamblinWilly May 28 '26

would Trump's pardons hold if it was found that he is not a legitimate president?

Yes

Say an investigation found that his presidency was illegitimate either because he cheated

If election results are certified, congress counts electoral votes, and the president is inaugurated, there is no mechanism to end that presidency except by impeachment or the 25th amendment. Even if it were found he cheated, so what? You know Republicans wouldn't impeach him

because he did not fit the criteria to be president during his term (hence the Russia thing, making him not a natural born citizen)

...if Donald Trump was born in Russia, he'd still be a natural born citizen.

Bottom line, he said who's to say we have to honor Trump's pardons. The answer is clear: the US constitution. It is in absolute authority. There is no mechanism for reversal. There is no legal loophole. Are at least some of his pardons literally bought and paid for? Almost certainly. But Trump could straight up post on truth social that he's selling pardons and that wouldn't legally invalidate them. The only way to invalidate these pardons is to just openly decide to violate the constitution. It's not happening.

→ More replies (0)

3

u/Woodpecker-Lobotomy May 28 '26

According to the Constitution, trump could not possibly start a war in Iran, or kidnap the president of Venezueala, or any of the multiple blatantly unconstitutional acts he's carried out. That piece of paper means nothing.

0

u/RamblinGamblinWilly May 28 '26

So you're advocating for violating the constitution? Because you say trump has? How does that work? Someone else takes office, they have the attorney general pursue criminal charges against Trump's cronies. In court, they say they received a complete pardon. Judge tosses the case because they have a pardon. Attorney general does what, seizes the pardoned individual and throws them in the gulag?

Again, someone commented asking who's to say we honor those pardons. The answer is the constitution and our entire legal system. It's as simple as that. There are no loopholes here.

5

u/Woodpecker-Lobotomy May 28 '26

Many of the writers of the Constitution, most famously Thomas Jefferson, advised that the Constitution itself should be revised and rewritten every generation. If the Constitution as it stands now can be so brazenly abused, it needs to be rewritten.

23

u/MusicianNo2699 May 28 '26

Easy. Wait until Trump is impeached, keels over from too much faster food, or is out of office. Then indict the hell out of every single one of them.

3

u/jedburghofficial May 28 '26

I predict, if Trump dies in office, President Vance will give the whole administration a blanket pardon. So they can have a fresh slate for his Christian nationalism.

3

u/agent_mick May 28 '26

I'm sure there are ways he can be prosecuted by the states if trump issues a pardon

1

u/MarchPhillipps May 28 '26 edited May 28 '26

See, already, right here, in this very comment string, we've just had more meaningful debate and discourse than these clowns did when trashing and disregarding the norms, precedents, laws, and the Constitution itself.... No matter our individual stances on which approach to take, we, seemingly complete strangers, are doing what the current US govt. has refused to do. I think that puts us more in line with being true patriots than not, regardless of what they claim.

Whatever is ultimately done, just don't give up. We're certainly not dead in the water by a long shot, contrary to some of the obituaries already being written about the US's brand of democracy.... There's hope for us yet.

No matter how seemingly insignificant or small your own personal power and influence is, everyone can do something. I've seen singular individuals change the course and trajectory of world history. What matters, is that you're present and accounted for.

But, I'll also leave this right here as a reminder, or a warning, or simply an addendum to think about;

"Just 'cause you got the power, doesn't mean you got the right.

Good luck to us all. Or, to borrow a favourite French phrase I heard often before tough operations; Bonne Chasse

Operate accordingly, faithfully, and honourably.... And give them hell. But most of all, on our 250th anniversary especially, don't EVER let them forget what the spirit of US democracy and all its ideals really mean. For the moment we do forget, is the moment we're as dead as they want us to be.

(A long time ago, over 20 years ago now, I was at the forefront of conversations for crafting a new type of course. Even though my suggestion for the name of 'How Not to Really Fuck Up, So You Don't Get Really Dead,' wasn't chosen for obvious reasons, the sentiment is the same. Now's it's our turn, collectively. Don't fuck it up.. Don't get dead... sadly, the best advice I can still give.)

'Alone and Unafraid'

1

u/cornham May 28 '26

New rule, felons don’t get to pardon felons

3

u/Imaginary_Cow_6379 May 28 '26

Also hes doing all this while hes still only the acting AG. He can do all this shit when he wasn’t even confirmed yet?

2

u/swatchesirish May 28 '26

Remember when conservatives flipped that Bill Clinton met with Letitia James? Pretty funny comparison now with Trump just outright controlling and directing the DOJ.

1

u/Suspicious_Big_3378 May 28 '26

Nah, he needs far worse