memeorandum: “The president is now a king”: Key lines from Trump immunity ruling (Avery Lotz/Axios)

4:30 PM ET, July 1, 2024

Top Items:

Nina Totenberg / NPR:

Supreme Court says Trump has absolute immunity for core acts only — The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision along ideological lines, ruled that a former president has absolute immunity for his core constitutional powers — and is entitled to a presumption of immunity for his official acts, but lacks immunity for unofficial acts.

Avery Lotz / Axios:

“The president is now a king”: Key lines from Trump immunity ruling … “We conclude that under our constitutional structure of separated 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.

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

4 takeaways from the Supreme Court's Trump immunity decision — The ruling is a win for Trump for a few reasons, and is likely to reverberate in the 2024 campaign and beyond. Here's what it means. — The Supreme Court ruled Monday that former president Donald Trump and other presidents enjoy …

Discussion: New York Times, DNyuz, New Republic, Mother Jones, Advocate, Alternet.org, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, Bloomberg, Just Security and Washington Examiner

Andrew Solender / Axios:

Democrats vow to get “aggressive” with SCOTUS after Trump ruling … - “Everyone is making that argument with donors” after President Biden's poor debate performance last week, one House Democrat told Axios. — “The only thing more dangerous than Trump winning is Trump with control …

Discussion: The Left Hook with Wajahat Ali, New York Times and Breitbart

Richard L. Hasen / Slate:

Trump Immunity Ruling Will Be John Roberts' Legacy to American Democracy — This is part of Opinionpalooza, Slate's coverage of the major decisions from the Supreme Court this June. Alongside Amicus, we kicked things off this year by explaining How Originalism Ate the Law.

Discussion: Raw Story, CNN, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Must Read Alaska and New Republic

Reuters:

US Supreme Court rules Trump has immunity for official, not private acts — The U.S. Supreme Court found on Monday that Donald Trump cannot be prosecuted for official actions taken as president, but can for private acts, in a landmark ruling recognizing for the first time any form of presidential immunity from prosecution.

Discussion: Raw Story, Washington Post, USA Today, Washington Examiner, CBS News, Los Angeles Times, New Republic, The Guardian, The Kyiv Independent, Business Insider, New York Times, DNyuz, The Gateway Pundit, Associated Press, Fox News, The American Conservative, Washington Times and PoliticusUSA

emptywheel:

Justice Roberts' Drone Strike on George Washington's Legacy — Chief Justice John Roberts cloaked his radical opinion granting Presidents broad immunity in the Farewell Address of George Washington, normally celebrated as the codification of the peaceful cession of power, the humility of the role of the President.

Melissa Quinn / CBS News:
Supreme Court says Trump has immunity for official acts in landmark ruling on presidential power

Ed Morrissey / HotAir:
BREAKING: SCOTUS Rules Presidents Have ‘Absolute Immunity’ — For ‘Core’ Official Acts

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Breitbart, Semafor, acecomments.mu.nu, CNBC and Althouse

Politico:
Trump's election subversion case heads back to Judge Chutkan. But it may never reach a jury.

Discussion: CNN, Washington Examiner, The Atlantic, Raw Story, Alternet.org, Axios, DNyuz, IJR and Forbes

Associated Press:
What to know about the Supreme Court immunity ruling in Trump's 2020 election interference case

Discussion: NBC News, The Atlantic, The Daily Beast, Law & Crime, Washington Examiner, Forbes, Associated Press, Washington Times, Fox News, NewsNation, Blaze Media, Robert Reich, Washington Post and Hackwhackers

Business Insider:
Sotomayor says the president can now ‘assassinate a political rival’ without facing prosecution

Discussion: Vox, Newsbusters, RedState, Adam Kinzinger, Digby's Hullabaloo, Talking Points Memo and Mediaite

Jacob Knutson / Axios:
What's next for Trump's criminal cases after SCOTUS immunity ruling

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, freebeacon.com, Breitbart, The Message Box, RedState, Raw Story and NBC News

Washington Post:
Live updates Supreme Court to rule on Trump immunity, social media laws

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Bloomberg, Associated Press, Fox News, New Republic, Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit, Los Angeles Times, No More Mister Nice Blog, HuffPost, New York Daily News, Raw Story, Hartford Courant, Washington Times, Alternet.org and NBC News

Adam Liptak / New York Times:
Thomas and Alito took part in the case, despite calls for their recusal.

Discussion: Washington Post and Why Evolution Is True

Sanjana Karanth / HuffPost:
Sonia Sotomayor Voices ‘Fear For Our Democracy’ In Fiery Trump Immunity Dissent

Discussion: USA Today, ABC News, Axios, The Daily Beast, Associated Press, Raw Story and NewsNation

Jonathan Martin / Politico:

Whitmer Disavows ‘Draft Gretch’ Movement — and Delivers A Warning to Biden — Democrats' 2028 bench is eager to avoid appearing eager to push Biden aside. — When Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer telephoned a senior official with President Biden's campaign on Friday night …

Discussion: HotAir, The Hill, Fox News, freebeacon.com, USA Today, New York Post, Blaze Media, Associated Press, acecomments.mu.nu, The Detroit News, RedState, National Review, New Republic, The Guardian, Washington Examiner, The Daily Beast, CNN and The Free Press

Mike Allen / Axios:

Behind the Curtain: Biden's salvation plan … - Dismiss “bedwetting.” … - Squeeze polls for juice. … - Warn of chaos. … - Limit dissent. … - Keep elected leaders close. … - Get the donor class to chill. … - Prove vitality. … - Ignore/engage the media.

Bloomberg:

Democrats Weigh Early Biden Nomination to Squash Talk of a Swap — President's allies have pushed back on calls for replacement — The Democratic National Committee is considering formally nominating Joe Biden as early as mid-July to ensure that the president is on November ballots …

Bill Maher / New York Times:

Why I Want an Open Convention — Over the past few years, many people have told me I should stop making Biden-is-old jokes because “it just helps Trump” — as if voters wouldn't have noticed his age otherwise. I can't ignore the obvious; none of us can. And I'm not going to mindlessly …

Discussion: The Hill, Fox News, IJR, Raw Story and Althouse

Ed Kilgore / New York Magazine: There's No Clean Way to Replace Biden and Harris

emptywheel:
Don't Let a Biden Succession Crisis Create a Succession Crisis

Discussion: El País, RedState and The Spectator World

Susan Page / USA Today:
Joe Biden's core Democratic support takes big hit after debate, exclusive poll shows

Discussion: The Hill

Jazz Shaw / HotAir:
Now We Know Who's Really in Charge at the White House

Discussion: New York Post, Washington Post, Twitchy, Associated Press and Business Insider

Ted Van Dyk / Wall Street Journal:
Biden Should Withdraw, And So Should Trump

Discussion: Off Message, Bloomberg, The Guardian, Politico and Power Line

NBC News:
Biden's family urges him to ‘keep fighting’ as donors look for alternatives

Discussion: USA Today, New York Times, PJ Media, CNN, Twitchy, RedState, NPR, Washington Times, Fox News, The Daily Caller and Business Insider

New York Times:
The Road to a Crisis: How Democrats Let Biden Glide to Renomination

Discussion: OutsideTheBeltway, The Bulwark and Fox News

Zachary Leeman / Mediaite:

AOC to File ‘Articles of Impeachment’ Following Supreme Court Immunity Ruling: ‘Corruption Crisis Beyond Its Control’ — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) announced on Monday she intends to file articles of impeachment following the Supreme Court's ruling on presidential immunity.

Discussion: Fox News, Washington Examiner, Business Insider, Alternet.org, DNyuz, Twitchy and The Political Insider

Oriana González / NOTUS:
Democrats Say the Supreme Court's Immunity Ruling Proves Its Pro-Trump Bias

Discussion: HuffPost, New York Post, One America News Network, IJR, New York Daily News, Associated Press and PoliticusUSA

ABC News:

Steve Bannon reports to prison for contempt of Congress sentence — Bannon was sentenced to four months in prison for contempt of Congress. — Steve Bannon, former advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump, aattends an event in Detroit, Michigan, June, 15, 2024.

Discussion: New York Times, USA Today, Voice of America, Wall Street Journal, New York Post, IJR, Raw Story and Fox News

CNN:
Steve Bannon set to begin 4-month prison sentence for defying congressional subpoena

Discussion: Associated Press, CBS News, NBC News, The Guardian, New York Times, The Daily Beast, CNBC, UPI, Hackwhackers, Deadline, USA Today, The Federalist, Axios, Mediaite, DNyuz, Al Jazeera, Raw Story, Breitbart, New York Daily News and The Post Millennial

Aurelien Breeden / New York Times:

Five Takeaways From France's Snap Election — It was a big day for the far-right National Rally. Just how big will not be clear until after a second round of voting. — A new week of frenetic campaigning started in France on Monday, a day after the far-right National Rally party dominated …

Bonchie / RedState:

Biden's Handlers Release a New Video, and It's a Five-Alarm Fire Moment — It's only been four days since Joe Biden's disastrous debate performance, and the White House is scrambling to find its feet. Truly, I've never seen anything like this. I understand that there have been past presidents …

Vogue:

First Lady Jill Biden on What's at Stake in 2024 — Editor's Note: The debate on June 27 spurred a discussion about whether President Joe Biden should remain the Democratic nominee. Dr. Jill Biden, the first lady and Vogue's August cover subject, has fiercely defended her husband and stood by him.