While the Supreme Court did not grant Trump absolute immunity, it said the president could abuse his power and pressure federal agencies to overturn the election. This is considered an “official act”.
The Supreme Court did not grant Trump absolute immunity but said the president could abuse his power and pressure federal agencies to overturn the election. This is considered an “official act”. pic.twitter.com/4CcjlsrNkD
—Sarah Rhys-Jones (@PoliticusSarah) July 1, 2024
Neal Katyal said on MSNBC:
It was a 6-3 decision that sided with President Trump on many things. For example, much of Jack Smith’s indictment concerns Trump’s pressure on Justice Department officials, which the court said was part of Donald Trump’s official duties as president and for which he was immune. The other part of the indictment was about Trump and what he did to the vice president regarding the false certification of electors and stopping the certification on January 6, and the court said the majority found it a difficult issue and they returned it.
That means returning it to the district court to decide whether Jack Smith’s efforts to argue that this was not official conduct had overcome the presumption of immunity. A third allegation in the indictment concerns whether Trump pressured state officials, private groups and the public on January 6 to participate in his plan. In response, the Court remanded it back to the trial court to assess whether this overcomes the presumption of official immunity and whether the acts were official acts.
So, if I were reading this, you know, there might be some caveats because I read very quickly. This means that the District Court will hold the evidentiary hearings that Andrew mentioned to decide some of the issues that may arise before the election. But it does make it almost impossible for a trial to begin.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote in her dissent that “the Court now declares, for the first time in history, that America’s most powerful official can (without complete certainty) become the law to himself.” .
Legal experts stepped in and found the results were not pretty, ranging from warnings that it meant the president could nuke cities against his political opponents to saying it was a broader ruling than feared because it put the president above above the law. We discuss this more in our newsletter.
The only solution to a Supreme Court that is so corrupt that it undermines the principles our country was founded on is to gain uncontested votes in the 2024 elections. People must also pressure their chosen candidates to support and expand courts and enforceable ethics rules.
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Sarah has been granted coverage of President Barack Obama, then-Vice President Joe Biden, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and has had multiple exclusive interviews and exclusive reporting with Speaker Nancy Pelosi She made her first home appearance since then-President Donald Trump’s first impeachment.
Sarah is a two-time Telly Award-winning filmmaker and a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
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