The Tests for Today
Trump does "Lawfare"
I commend Joyce Vance’s article, The Cheneys. It is Important (with a capital "I"). Investigating, or attempting to prosecute Liz Cheney for investigating January 6, violates her congressional immunity, which you'd think someone as immunity conscious as Donald Trump would be sensitive to, and stop rather than encourage.
And then there is Trump’s lawsuits against the Des Moines Register and their pollster. Ann Selzer, for publishing a poll that predicted he would lose in Iowa is almost certainly the result of ABC caving to Trump's spurious lawsuits against them and George Stephanopolous. Back in the day, when large corporations began buying the major networks, (ABC was bought by Disney, NBC by GE, CBS by Westinghouse) it was predicted that a time would come when corporate interests would precede the country's interest of reporting truth and facts, told by a independent and constitutionally protected press.
Trump's lawsuits against the Des Moines Register and Ann Selzer are blatant hassment meant to intimidate a free press to not hurt his feelings. They violate the First Amendment and offend common sense. Trump's intended DOJ investigation of Liz Cheney, launched by puppets in the GOP led House Oversight Committee is ludicrous on its face and violates Article I, Section VI, Paragraph 1 of the Constitution1, which includes *explicit* Immunity from legal action for Congressional Reps' speech and writing rendered as part of their official responsibility; unlike the inferred immunity a Trumpist SCOTUS majority had to discover to protect Trump from the consequences of his behavior.
These are important tests facing Congress and the Courts. How they respond will tell us much about thecountry we'll live in, and our children, and their children will inherit.
“They [referring to Senators and Representatives] shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.”
This same clause was cited by Linsey Graham to limit his testimony to the zFulton County Grand Jury investigating his role in pressuring Georgia officials to throw out votes then candidate Joe Biden received in 2020.
Totally agree about the Cheneys and the Des Moines Register. The President-elect has always been a litigious person, using the courts to harass, and would that he would stop.
However, your statement about "ABC caving to Trump's spurious lawsuits against them and George Stephanopolous" is off the mark in my opinion. Sometimes large corporations do settle just because the cost of the legal defense is greater than the cost of being found liable. That was not the case here, as the trial process had only just begun, and a Florida jury might make a huge award if it found in Trump's favor. Some might suggest Disney/ABC "caved" to curry favor with Trump, but there is little evidence for that.
What did happen? The judge in the case ordered both sides to sit for initial in-person depositions and provide all the relevant evidence immediately. ABC producers admitted (and Disney/ABC already knew this of course) that they repeatedly told George before and during the interview with Rep Mace NOT to use the word rape in reference to Trump's prosecution. If you watch the interview, he uses it ten times, with emphasis. This would easily meet the standard for intentional malice necessary for Trump's side to win. Disney/ABC feared what that Florida jury might do, and worse, what kind of media legal precedent it might set. Recall that Presidential immunity was always thought of as something there but undefined until several Democratic district attorneys forced the issue into the courts, and thence to SCOTUS. See what that got us.
Stephanopoulos went rogue, and Disney/ABC did the right thing.