Accessory to a Presidential Crime Spree: Celebrating Twenty Years of Chief Justice Balls and Strikes

Let's revisit some of the biggest moments from 2005:

Hurricane Katrina devastates New Orleans.

YouTube is founded.

The highest-grossing film is Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

The best-selling album is X&Y by Coldplay.

Pope John Paul II dies and is succeeded by Pope Benedict XVI.

Charles, Prince of Wales, marries Camilla Parker Bowles.

Suicide bombings in central London kill more than 50 people.

The trial of Saddam Hussein begins.

Surgeons in France perform the first human face transplant.

Rosa Parks dies.

Angela Merkel becomes the first female chancellor of Germany.

David Foster Wallace delivers his "This is Water" commencement address at Kenyon College.

John G. Roberts is confirmed as Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, setting in motion 20 years of jurisprudence culminating in the Great Presidential Crime Spree of 2025, thanks to the Chief Justice's reasoned opinion that presidents can't be held liable for anything, ever (not applicable to Democratic presidents). Thank you, Chief Justice Roberts!

Please enjoy these moments from his confirmation hearings in 2005, the ones in which he compared judges to umpires calling balls and strikes. Marvel at his earnest declarations about the importance of respecting Court precedents, the separation of powers and the right to privacy. Just try not to laugh at the absolutely HY-STERICAL bit at 13:30 when he describes courts as passive institutions that have no constitutional authority to make law. Good one, Chief!

And maybe when you're done with that, listen to "This is Water".