memeorandum: Trump Immunity Ruling Will Be John Roberts' Legacy to American Democracy (Richard L. Hasen/Slate)

5:35 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.

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, Washington Examiner, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Must Read Alaska

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.

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.

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: NBC News, DNyuz, New York Times, Raw Story, Bloomberg, Mother Jones, New Republic, Advocate, Alternet.org, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion and Washington Examiner

Elie Mystal / The Nation:

The President Can Now Assassinate You, Officially — Under this new standard, a president can go on a four-to-eight year crime spree and then retire from public life, never to be held accountable. — Pocket — Welp, Donald Trump won. The Supreme Court today ruled that presidents are entitled to …

Discussion: CLAYTOONZ and DNyuz

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

David Corn / Mother Jones:
“The President Is Now a King”: The Most Blistering Lines From Dissents in the Trump Immunity Case

Discussion: Newsbusters, New Republic, The Daily Beast, The Root, Adam Kinzinger, CBS News, The Guardian, Digby's Hullabaloo, Rolling Stone and Just Security

Reuters:
US Supreme Court rules Trump has immunity for official, not private acts

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, New York Magazine, Axios, IJR and Forbes

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

Discussion: Washington Post, Blaze Media, Talking Points Memo, Washington Times, The Daily Signal, Breitbart, RedState, acecomments.mu.nu, New York Post, Semafor, The Federalist, CNBC, Fox News and HuffPost

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

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, New Republic, Fox News, Washington Post, Breitbart, freebeacon.com, The Message Box, The Daily Beast, USA Today, Raw Story and NBC News

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

Discussion: emptywheel, RedState, Talking Points Memo and Mediaite

Adam Serwer / The Atlantic:
The Supreme Court Puts Trump Above the Law

Discussion: Vox, CatholicVote org, Reason, Raw Story, New Republic and Washington Post

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

Discussion: NBC News, PBS NewsHour, The Daily Beast, Los Angeles Times, Law & Crime, Forbes, Fox News, Washington Times, San Diego Union-Tribune, Associated Press, NewsNation, Al Jazeera, Blaze Media, Robert Reich, Washington Examiner and Hackwhackers

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

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 …

Bloomberg:

Democrats Weigh Mid-July Vote to Formally Tap Biden as Nominee — The Democratic National Committee is considering formally nominating Joe Biden as early as mid-July to ensure that the president is on November ballots, while helping to stamp out intra-party chatter of replacing him after last week's poor debate performance.

Discussion: RedState and Mediaite

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.

Discussion: New York Magazine, CNN, Fox News, CBS News, The Bulwark, HotAir, nationalinterest.org, Breitbart, New Jersey Online, RedState, New York Post, American Prospect, The Post Millennial, Mediaite, freebeacon.com, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion and IJR

Bill Maher / New York Times:
Why I Want an Open Convention — Over the past few years, many people have told …

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

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

Discussion: The Root and The Hill

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

Discussion: El País and RedState

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

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

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

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

J K Dineen / San Francisco Chronicle:

S.F. becomes first California city to miss its housing goals. The impact will be massive — The majority of housing projects in San Francisco will now be eligible for over-the-counter approval, thanks to the activation of a new state law that eliminates the city's famously contentious land-use battles …

Discussion: SFist, The Daily Caller and The Daily Signal

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, The Daily Caller, Law & Crime, Wall Street Journal, New York Post, Raw Story, Fox News and IJR

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

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

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 …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Politico, Associated Press, NPR, Fortune, NBC News, Euronews, Bloomberg, Telegraph, CBS News, Semafor, The Moderate Voice, DNyuz, The Daily Caller, acecomments.mu.nu, Al Jazeera, The Sun, Reason, CNBC, Human Events and Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion

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: Washington Examiner, Fox News, HuffPost, RedState, New Republic, Business Insider, The Gateway Pundit, The Post Millennial, One America News Network, Alternet.org, DNyuz, The Political Insider, Twitchy, IJR and New York Daily News

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.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, The Hill, Business Insider, Spectator, HotAir, WNCT, freebeacon.com, Slate, The Daily Caller, The Daily Beast, RedState, Mediaite and Fox News

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 …