Season 4, Episode 39 (Show 196): The Return of the Enemies List

October 2, 2024

The lessons of the Nixon era may not have been learned so well after all.  Donald Trump is here to remind us, and an old bugaboo, Nixon v. Fitzgerald, still haunts as well.

CLE Credit Available for this episode from podcast.njsba.com.

Donald Trump continues to spout inflammatory rhetoric; he has compounded his talk of being “a dictator on day one” with an intention to conduct a “purge” with extreme violence allowed, again allegedly for one day.  All this makes one expect that he will not back off his first-term tendency to take an authoritarian posture regarding the Justice Department. The New York Times ran an article presenting new and thorough look at Trump and the Dept in his prior term, and we analyze.  We also take more of your election-related constitutional questions.

(LAWYERS AND JUDGES ARE ELIGIBLE FOR CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION CREDIT by visiting podcast.njsba.com after listening.)

Show Notes:

How to get Continuing Legal Education Credit for listening!

Virtually all lawyers and judges admitted to practice anywhere in the USA can obtain CLE (Continuing Legal Education) credit after listening to this episode by visiting podcast.njsba.com.  You do not have to be a New Jersey lawyer or resident or admitted to the NJ Bar; essentially every state has reciprocity arrangements with New Jersey.  When you visit the site you fill out a form and provide the code Andy read during the episode, pay a small fee, and within two weeks you will receive the certificate from New Jersey.  It couldn’t be easier.  Thanks to the New Jersey Bar Association for making this possible!  Note, too, that other podcast episodes from our “back catalog” now qualify for this credit as well.

Click to go to the website for CLE credit

As President Trump Demanded Investigations of Foes - The New York Times

The New York Times article from September  21, 2024 that reports on Trump’s investigations of his political foes for what turned out to be essentially the “crime” of being his political adversary..

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Nixon v. Fitzgerald

The 1982 case that established a form of civil immunity for presidents and ex-presidents, and set the stage in some ways for the horrors of Trump v. United States.

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Executive Privileges and Immunities - Harvard Law Review

Akhil Amar and Neal Katyal write in the Harvard Law Review in 1995, detailing the problems with Nixon v. Fitzgerald and explaining the source of what limited immunity there is for Presidents (and how there is none for ex-presidents).

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