By Daniel Lazare, Weekly Worker

America is in thrall to a dictatorship of the past. That Donald Trump is relying on the Supreme Court to establish his ‘presidential immunity’ from prosecution should act as a clarion call for mass action to achieve a genuine democracy, argues Daniel Lazare

Whatever its literary merits, Joseph Heller’s satirical novel about World War II, Catch-22, at least introduced readers to a logical conundrum that is growing more and more relevant in terms of America’s ongoing political meltdown

It concerns an airman who pleads insanity to avoid going on a dangerous bombing mission. No problem, he is told. But there is a catch. The mission is so perilous that no sane person wants to go on it to begin with. So pleading insanity is the normal thing to do. It is proof that the airman is perfectly sane and must therefore go regardless. ‘Catch-22’ means he is screwed either way.

Whether or not the US Supreme Court judges weighing Donald Trump’s claim of presidential immunity have read Heller, they are wrestling with essentially the same problem. During oral arguments last week, Trump’s lawyer told the court that the once, and likely future, president cannot be charged with inciting insurrection, because, while he was impeached by the House of Representatives – a process akin to indictment – the Senate voted to acquit him by a vote of 57-43, which is 10 shy of the two-thirds majority required to convict.

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