Biden warns Trump can do ‘whatever he pleases’ if elected as Republicans relish Supreme Court immunity ruling: Live

Twice-impeached convicted felon handed huge win by conservative-majority bench

Biden slams Supreme Court immunity ruling

Joe Biden slammed the US Supreme Court for its ruling on Donald Trump’s immunity from criminal prosecution during an address to the nation from the White House on Monday evening.

“For all practical purposes, today’s decision almost certainly means that there are virtually no limits on what a president can do,” the Democrat said.

“This is a fundamentally new principle. And it’s a dangerous precedent.”

Earlier, the court ruled that Trump is immune from criminal prosecution for official acts conducted during his time as president – but not “unofficial” acts.

The ruling could have a huge impact on cases connected to his attempts to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election and profound consequences for any future attempts to hold former American presidents to account over crimes committed from the White House.

Trump’s defense had already been shot down by the federal judge overseeing the election interference case brought against him by special counsel Jack Smith, as well as by a unanimous panel of appeals court judges.

The 6-3 majority decision was opposed by all three liberal justices on the bench, with Sonia Sotomayor warning in her dissent: “The president is now a king above the law.”

Key Points

• Supreme Court awards Donald Trump some immunity from prosecution
• Trump says SCOTUS decision should end all cases against him
• Where do the cases against Trump stand now after SCOTUS ruling?
• Dissenting liberal justice: ‘The president is now a king above the law’

[1 July 2024 21:50 · Oliver O'Connell]

Watch: Neal Katyal reacts to Sotomayor’s blistering dissent of immunity ruling

[1 July 2024 21:20 · Oliver O'Connell]

MAGA-world celebrates ‘big win’ over Supreme Court immunity ruling

Donald Trump and his allies are celebrating after the Supreme Court ruled that he may have some immunity from prosecution.

In a 6-3 decision released on Monday, the court ruled that former presidents have some immunity from criminal prosecution for “official” actions, meaning that Trump could dodge some charges for his alleged plot to overturn the result of the 2020 election.

However, the court conceded that “not everything the President does is official” and that “the President is not above the law.”

Martha McHardy reports.

[1 July 2024 21:12 · Oliver O'Connell]

Trump calls Supreme Court decision ‘brilliantly written and wise'

Donald Trump has posted one of his trademark all-caps posts on Truth Social in response to the Supreme Court’s decision on presidential immunity.

He wrote: “THE SUPREME COURT DECISION IS A MUCH MORE POWERFUL ONE THAN SOME HAD EXPECTED IT TO BE. IT IS BRILLIANTLY WRITTEN AND WISE, AND CLEARS THE STENCH FROM THE BIDEN TRIALS AND HOAXES, ALL OF THEM, THAT HAVE BEEN USED AS AN UNFAIR ATTACK ON CROOKED JOE BIDEN’S POLITICAL OPPONENT, ME. MANY OF THESE FAKE CASES WILL NOW DISAPPEAR, OR WITHER INTO OBSCURITY. GOD BLESS AMERICA!”

[1 July 2024 21:00 · Oliver O'Connell]

Watch: Schiff says court decision is ‘dangerous, anti-democratic, and unprecedented'

Rep Adam Schiff — now running for the Senate in California — says the Supreme Court’s decision is “dangerous, anti-democratic, and unprecedented”.

[1 July 2024 20:45 · Oliver O'Connell]

SCOTUS avoids ruling in battle over social media moderation

The Supreme Court on Monday ordered lower courts to take another look at a set of content moderation laws in Florida and Texas that were designed to protect conservative speech on social media platforms.

In a unanimous decision, the justices punted the social media moderation cases back to the lower courts, finding that they failed to properly analyze First Amendment challenges to the laws.

For now, social media companies can continue to regulate speech posted on platforms as usual.

Ariana Baio reports.

[1 July 2024 20:30 · Alex Woodward]

Might the evidence against Trump still be presented even if trial schedule is derailed?

Matthew Seligman, a constitutional scholar and a lawyer who argued in support of Jack Smith’s gag order request in the Mar-a-Lago case, said that as “challenging and really shocking this opinion is,” there are next steps.

Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is presiding over the federal case against Donald Trump regarding election interference, will next determine if most of the allegations in the indictment are “official” actions or not.

“It’s an opinion that says ‘we still have to see and the district court still has to decide,’” he said.

That will effectively be a “mini-trial” with fact-finding and evidence, including Trump testifying, Seligman said.

“It slows things down” and “it’s a poor, poor substitute for an actual trial that puts on the issue of guilt and innocence,” he says, “but it is an opportunity to bring much of this evidence to light so the American people can see some of the former president’s crimes.”

Norm Eisen says Judge Tanya Chutkan should set out a schedule for those hearings imminently.

[1 July 2024 20:15 · Oliver O'Connell]

‘Americans should be scared’

President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign has shifted into a full-court press against Donald Trump in response to the incumbent’s disastrous debate performance last week.

On a press call Monday, Biden campaign surrogates including former Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn, Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, and deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks warned that American democracy would disappear in November if Democrats and concerned Americans did not rally behind the president. The call was organized in response to the Supreme Court’s decision granting Trump and all US presidents limited immunity from prosecution for official acts. It also appears to be in response to newfound concerns from his own party that Biden isn’t a strong enough candidate to win the presidential election.

Notably, the Biden campaign team only took questions from four journalists on the call, only one of whom was a White House beat reporter.

John Bowden and Andrew Feinberg report from Washington, DC.

[1 July 2024 20:05 · Oliver O'Connell]

Supreme Court liberal justices denounce ‘nightmare’ immunity ruling

The Supreme Court’s three liberal justices have warned that their conservative colleagues have turned the president into “a king above the law” after they granted Donald Trump some immunity from criminal prosecution.

Monday’s decision radically and dangerously reshapes the presidency and “makes a mockery” of the Constitution and the idea that “no man is above the law,” according to a furious dissenting opinion from Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

Alex Woodward reports.

[1 July 2024 19:55 · Oliver O'Connell]

J Michael Luttig, former judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, says the days of saying “no man is above the law” are over.

He posted on X: “It can never again be said that in America “no man is above the law.” The Supreme Court held today that the President of the United States — and the former president in particular — is above the law, and the only person in America who is above the law.”

[1 July 2024 19:45 · Oliver O'Connell]

Where do the cases against Trump stand now after SCOTUS ruling?

Alex Woodward reports:

The Supreme Court’s monumental decision on whether Donald Trump is shielded from criminal prosecution for his actions in office will likely derail his election interference trial.

On Monday, the court’s conservative majority ruled in a 6-3 decision that Trump is immune from prosecution for “official” acts performed as president, as outlined in the indictment against him.

It will now be up to the lower federal court judge overseeing the case to hold hearings on whether the allegations – including Trump’s alleged conspiracy to overturn Joe Biden’s victory and a pressure campaign aimed at his vice president and state officials – constitute “official” or “unofficial” acts.

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