Yes, he’s effectively above the law because his boss controls the DOJ and could pardon him. That doesn’t mean that he’s in compliance with the law, only that Republicans consider obeying laws optional if it interferes with their exercise of power.
I don’t agree. George Santos just got convicted and will be serving 7 years for fraud. He is/was Republican.
Not saying any one of them is perfect, just trying to be reasonable that he probably used Signal and maybe still does but it’s not this blazing fire that it’s made out to be.
Plus, the President is the ultimate classification authority. He can make the rules.
Santos isn’t comparable: he was charged under an administration which followed the law, at a time when his vote didn’t affect the balance of power, and he also lied to his fellow Republicans. Based on what we’ve seen so far with a newly-politicized DOJ, it’s debatable whether he’d have the same outcome now or be seen as a very safe vote after being given a deal like Eric Adams to avoid punishment as long as he toes the line.
While it’s true that the president can set policy, there’s no evidence that he’s done so in this case. You’ve made a really concerted effort to try to imagine scenarios where this wouldn’t be a big deal but there’s no evidence that they’re real. For example, if Trump had decreed that personal devices were approved for classified messages, you’d expect that Hegseth would have defended himself by pointing to that memo.
