© Steven Hirsch/New York Post via AP, Pool |
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The Supreme Court on Monday decided that core presidential powers are immune from criminal prosecution, handing former President Trump a broad victory in an election-year ruling that will have massive legal and political consequences. - The ruling gives presidents full immunity on core presidential powers and a presumption of immunity for other official acts. Courts can determine whether the official acts fall under the canopy of core powers on a case-by-case basis. There is no immunity for unofficial acts.
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Trump faces four federal felony counts brought by special counsel Jack Smith on allegations he developed false electors, illegally pressured the Justice Department and then-Vice President Mike Pence to “fraudulently alter election results,” and provoked the Jan. 6 riot to disrupt the Electoral College vote count. The Supreme Court ruling badly damages at least part of Smith’s case.
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The ruling does not grant Trump the total immunity he sought in the federal case against him. Still, the ruling kicks Trump’s case back to a lower court and likely delays his trial beyond the November election.
- Trump also faces state charges in Georgia pertaining to his efforts to overturn the election, although that case is similarly not likely to go to trial before the election.
The ruling means Trump will have presumptive immunity on the allegation he pressured Pence to go around the state-certified election results to certify his slate of “fake electors.” But the government has some leeway to prove in court that some of Trump’s other actions were separate from the core powers of the presidency. Trump’s attorneys argued before the Supreme Court that his fake electors scheme was private behavior by himself and his campaign, not an official act as president.
“The question then becomes whether that presumption of immunity is rebutted under the circumstances,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote. -
The decision kicks Trump’s case back to Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing the special counsel case in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Chutkan was appointed by former President Obama.
- Chutkan’s court will determine which of Trump’s actions merit the presumption of presidential immunity outlined by the Supreme Court.
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Welcome to Evening Report! I’m Jonathan Easley, catching you up from the afternoon and what’s coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here. |
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Breaking down the high court’s decision
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CHIEF JUSTICE JOHN ROBERTS, joined by the Supreme Court court’s five other conservative justices, wrote in the majority opinion that this “is the first criminal prosecution in our Nation’s history of a former President for actions taken during his Presidency.” With little case law to draw from, Roberts said the justices looked at “the framers’ design of the presidency” within the separation of powers.
“The nature of Presidential power requires that a former President have some immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts during his tenure in office. At least with respect to the President’s exercise of his core constitutional powers, this immunity must be absolute.”
BUT…:“As for a President’s unofficial acts, there is no immunity. Although Presidential immunity is required for official actions to ensure that the President’s decisionmaking is not distorted by the threat of future litigation stemming from those actions, that concern does not support immunity for unofficial conduct.” Roberts pointed to a civil lawsuit Paula Jones brought against then-President Bill Clinton. The Supreme Court rejected Clinton’s argument he enjoyed “temporary immunity” from the lawsuit while serving as president. THE DISSENT: Liberal Justice Sonya Sotomayor wrote a blistering dissent opinion that she read out loud before the court, her eyes trained directly on Roberts. She was joined by the court’s other two liberal justices.
“Today’s decision to grant former Presidents criminal immunity reshapes the institution of the Presidency. It makes a mockery of the principle, foundational to our Constitution and system of Government, that no man is above the law,” Sotomayor said. POLITICAL FALLOUT: The ruling likely pushes Trump’s trial on 2020 election interference and Jan. 6 charges past November, ensuring he won’t face another jury before the election.
The Biden campaign called on voters to not lose sight of the big picture: “Trump is already running for president as a convicted felon for the very same reason he sat idly by while the mob violently attacked the Capitol: he thinks he’s above the law and is willing to do anything to gain and hold onto power for himself.”
THE REACTION IN WASHINGTON: On the Democratic side… -
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called the decision “disgraceful.” Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said the Supreme Court had “gone rogue.”
- Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) vowed to file impeachment articles aimed at the conservative justices.
- Senate Democrats vowed to continue their push for a code of conduct to be enforced on the Supreme Court.
On the Republican side… -
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) called the ruling “another defeat for President Biden’s weaponized Department of Justice and Jack Smith.”
- House Oversight Committee chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said he would “continue to oversee dangerous lawfare tactics in our judicial system.”
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The Democrats’ Biden dilemma
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The Supreme Court momentarily united Democrats on Monday, putting divisions over whether President Biden should leave the ticket briefly on the backburner. But Democratic concerns over whether Biden can defeat former President Trump are also exacerbated by the ruling, which underscores the stakes of the November election. -
Biden’s family is urging him to keep fighting, raising the likelihood that he stays in the race.
- Biden reportedly discussed the matter while meeting with his family over the weekend as part of a photo shoot for a magazine profile.
First lady Jill Biden, featured on the cover of Vogue, is striking a combative tone, even as she takes flak for refusing to bow to calls that Biden step away.
“We will not let those 90 minutes define the four years he’s been president…We will continue to fight,” she said. -
The Biden campaign released a new ad featuring Biden’s remarks from a post-debate rally in Raleigh: “I know I’m not a young man, but I know how to do this job. I know right from wrong, I know how to tell the truth. And I know, like millions of Americans know, when you get knocked down, you get back up.”
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Media outlets and Democratic strategists continue their drumbeat for Biden’s exit. The New Yorker is the latest to pile on. The Hill’s list of all the outlets calling on Biden to drop out is here.
OUTLOOK: At least for now, it appears Biden will stay. That could change if the dam breaks on current elected Democratic officials calling for Biden to step down before the convention. So far, elected officials are only criticizing Biden in background quotes to reporters. Until they put their names on it, and until their numbers reach critical mass, there’s not enough pressure on Biden to take drastic measures.
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Biden’s allies in the Senate, where he spent 36 years representing Delaware, are circling the wagons on Biden’s behalf. Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) said Biden’s campaign should give him more opportunities to make unscripted remarks at events.
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Still, there are eye-opening remarks from some Democratic lawmakers that seemed unimaginable only a few days ago, underscoring just how cataclysmic Thursday’s debate was for Biden. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, said Democrats are privately “having a serious conversation about what to do.”
- Former White House adviser David Axelrod said it’s too late to talk about replacing Biden because the time to have that discussion was before the primary.
The Hill has a rundown of how replacing Biden might work, but by far the likeliest path to replacement is if Biden steps down on his own. Read more:
Axios: Top aides shielded Biden from staff, but couldn’t hide the debate.
CNN: Democrats fear replacement scenarios as much as keeping Biden.
The New Republic: Obama must lead Democrats now.
The Guardian: Democrats must seize the wheel, not drift to disaster.
The Wall Street Journal: If only Democrats had chosen a competent vice president. |
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© Kyle Mazza, Anadolu via Getty Images |
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Post-debate polling trickles in
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Washington is still waiting for the deluge of post-debate polls measuring the presidential horse race following last week’s debate. There’s one new national survey out from Atlas Intel, which has a strong rating from both FiveThirtyEight and Nate Silver. The survey of 1,638 likely voters gave Trump a commanding 5-point lead nationally. Additionally: Biden’s disastrous debate has Republicans eyeing an expanded map in November.
Trump held a campaign rally in Virginia after the debate, where he was joined by popular Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), who refused to appear with Trump in 2020. The Decision Desk HQ/The Hill aggregate of polls finds Trump and Biden effectively tied in Virginia, with Trump holding a miniscule advantage.
Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania are must-win states for Biden. Most polls leading up to the debate found Trump with small leads in all three.
Michigan is a particular sore spot for Biden due to its large Arab and Muslim population. More than 100,000 Democrats in Michigan voted “uncommitted” in the primary to protest Biden’s handling of the war in Gaza.
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“Will Biden put his own interests ahead of the country?,” by Bernard Goldberg for The Hill. “The Supreme Court gives its blessing to Trump’s criminality,” by Adam Serwer for The Atlantic. |
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14 days until the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. 49 days until the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
71 days until the second presidential debate. 127 days until the 2024 general election. 203 days until Inauguration Day in 2025. |
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Monday - President Biden leaves Camp David this evening and returns to the White House.
Tuesday - Biden delivers remarks on extreme weather at the DC Emergency Operations Center, then holds a campaign event in McLean, Va.
- Vice President Harris attends a campaign event in San Francisco.
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