A career is also about building and maintaining professional relationships. Keep in touch with former colleagues. Avoid burning bridges. Carefully choose which hills to die on.

This sounds like the status quo that existed before this ruling. Any president could plead the 5th to avoid answering questions about their motive.

I didn’t say it wasn’t a terrible situation. I truthfully answered the OPs question that it’s not Article 48 as there are still opportunities for review by the other branches of government.

These actions were already possible. Nothing has been granted that wasn’t already there, but now we know a president can’t be sued/charged for official acts after they leave office. And it appears the burden of proof is, as always, up to the prosecutors to prove. So, once again, the courts will have to establish precedence over what they consider to be official and unofficial.

The president’s power is still checked via judicial review and congressional impeachment.

Germany could have disavowed the Zimmerman Telegram and avoided or postponed the U.S. entering The Great War, but they fucking owned that shit.