What would happen if Musk tries to defy court orders?

[Eugene]

Source: ABC News

What would happen if Musk tries to defy court orders?

A constitutional law expert says the fines would pile up pretty quickly.

ByPeter Charalambous
February 9, 2025, 7:39 PM

-snip-

With Musk now flirting with the idea of defying court orders or targeting judges, the third branch of government might soon confront an unprecedented scenario in modern history -- the president of the United States openly and willingly disobeying a court order.

While such a challenge is yet to materialize, the federal courts have a few options to enforce their orders, according to constitutional law professor Justin Levitt, who previously served as a senior policy adviser in the Biden administration.

The first option that the courts yield is exponentially escalating fines that could not only target someone like Elon Musk but also the young employees working for DOGE.

"Those sanctions can be quick and swiftly painful," Levitt said. "You owe me $1,000 today, double it tomorrow, double it the next day, double it again the next day, double it again the next day. Exponential curves are not kind, and that'll start adding up to a whole bunch of real money for which a 25-year-old is going to be liable."

-snip-

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/happen-musk-defy-court-orders/story?id=118628274

[sheshe2]

1. Put his lily white ass in jail!

[JustAnotherGen]

11. Thank you sheshe

Missing my mom a lot this week, and its like you called her forth and she posted through you!

"lily white ass" was heard often coming from her mouth.

[sheshe2]

28. Kudos to your late mom for that.

It seems she raised you right.

Enjoy your birthday week, JAG

[icnorth]

17. Fines vs jail...

Absolutely agree with you sheshe2. Fines for the ruling class are most often a built in factor for their cost of doing business. For the indentured class, they have an attitude adjusting impact. Down time assigned in a government operated facility introduces a prescription of equality for both.

[NJCher]

23. Judges know that

That’s the reason for exponential. If you read the article, that’s acknowledged and the author says not even the so called world’s richest man is likely to let it go on too long.

[elleng]

2. CONTEMPT

[speak easy]

5. Pardoned.

[elleng]

7. I somehow doubt 'pardon' would work, re: CONTEMPT OF COURT.

[speak easy]

9. CONTEMPT OF COURT in a Federal Court is a Federal Offense,

18 USC Ch. 21: CONTEMPTS'

The U.S. Code extinguishes the Common Law.

[elleng]

12. Fed up judge takes serious action against Trump - Brian Tyler Cohen.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/132260107

[speak easy]

13. A sitting president cannot be indicted.

As per the Federalist Papers, the appropriate remedy is impeachment.

[NJCher]

24. Musk

Eom

[James48]

3. Nothing.

He defied the FAA who proposed a $ 600,000 fine for disobeying a safety directive, and launching without permission. He blew it off.

He had the FAA Administer fired/ quit.


Elon doesn’t believe in government. Except when it can give him a leg up .

[NJCher]

4. This needs repetitive posting

I posted it earlier on this thread:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=20015962

But it deserves its own thread.

[Karasu]

6. In all likelihood, nothing. But the country would be irrevocably fucked.

[royable]

8. I just keep having visions of bunker busters being put to good use. n/t

[Nululu]

10. Prosecute under state laws

Prosecute under state laws. All Musk's minions especially.

[ReRe]

14. Fines? Fines?

Give me a break, will ya?
Fines won't mean shit to Edolph.
No. Throw his ass in jail.
He's not the President.
He hasn't a tad of immunity.
He may have bought himself
into the WH, but I don't think
he'll be able to buy himself
out of jail. Throw the key
in the ocean! And while they are
at it, take back those gov't
contracts!

[Martin Eden]

15. Felon would pardon Elon for everything related to DOGE

Felon himself has presidential immunity. Good luck getting Republicans to impeach him, and to what end ... President Vance?

The criminals in charge have good reason to believe they can't be stopped.

[OldBaldy1701E]

16. Well, when you bring a wet noodle to a gun fight.

We need to stop with the wet noodle. We need to understand the gravity of the situation.

We need to do it sooner rather than later. All of these little wins are just going to make them do something even more egregious. Without meaningful consequences, which none of them have ever suffered, they will just keep on fascizing. (New word?)

[Martin Eden]

18. What weapon do we have -- massive sustained protests?

The Felon is itching to declare martial law and bring in the army to shoot protesters. All it takes is any act of violence by protesters, possibly by Proud Boys in the crowd to get things rolling.

[ReRe]

19. Dayam. How could I forget that????

Well, he's committed treason. Remember what we used to do when someone committed treason?
I guess Stupid could pardon him posthumously.
The whole Republican Party needs to be held accountable in some way for what it has done.
It is amazing how low they have sunk.

[Martin Eden]

20. The party of Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, and Eisenhower is dead

Today's Republican Party models itself after Victor Orbán’s Hungary -- control the media, the courts, law enforcement, and elections.

They can smell permanent rule, and will stop at nothing to sieze and hold onto power.

The rank and file Republicans in Congress can either enbrace this fascism, or risk everything they have in what they deem would be a futile attempt to stop it.

And the fact is most are on board with shrinking government to a size that can be drowned in a bath tub, and with imposing "Christian" nationalism.

[ReRe]

21. You're right.

But God, I hope this Democracy can pull through this. Our ancestors are rolling in their graves.

[Martin Eden]

22. Our Greatest Generation sacrificed greatly to destroy fascism abroad

And now fascism is destroying our Constitutional democracy from within.

The People have to somehow rise up against this -- including many who were conned into voting for The Fascist Grifter.

[NJCher]

27. Ahem

The whole Republican Party needs to be held accountable in some way for what it has done.

++ I was reading the RICO acts (both state and federal) the other day, with that in mind.

[NJCher]

25. Exponential

Would mean, for example, @$10,000 for himself and maybe 3 cohorts, or 40,000 a day. Musk is not going out on a limb with his own money for this.

[OLDMDDEM]

26. Nothing would happen. The enforcement people are all in the administration.

[patphil]

29. I have a hint for you. Pam Bondi is Trump's Attorney General at DOJ.

She'll just reach out her hand, and welcome Mayor Adams on board the Death Star.
And that will be that, unless there are state charges to be contended with.