“…the ruling…opened the door for prosecutors to detail much of their #evidence against #Trump in front of a federal judge—& public—at an expansive #fact-finding hearing, perhaps before #Election Day.
“…it will focus on the question at the center of #SCOTUS’ decision: whether the myriad allegations in #Trump’s 45-pg indictment were based on official acts…or unofficial acts….”
#SCOTUS decided there was no question that #Trump enjoyed #immunity from being prosecuted for 1 of those methods: his efforts to strong-arm the #DOJ into validating his false claims…. That was because the justices determined that Trump’s interactions w/top ofcls in the dept were clearly part of his ofcl duties.
But the justices left Judge #Chutkan w/the substantial task of performing the official-unofficial test for the other 4 methods described in the indictment.
And gives him permission for a despotic second term.
By Adam Serwer
Near the top of their sweeping, #lawless opinion in Trump v. #UnitedStates, Donald Trump’s defenders on the #SupremeCourt repeat one of the most basic principles of American constitutional government: “The president is not above the law.” They then proceed to obliterate it.
Although the pro-#Trump justices attempt to nest the breadth of their opinion in legalese, their finding that the president cannot be prosecuted for “official acts,” & that much of Trump’s efforts to seize #power fall under that rubric, means that the justices have essentially legalized a losing president refusing to step down, as Trump tried to do after the 2020 election.
“Distinguishing the President’s official actions from his unofficial ones can be difficult,” #JohnRoberts writes. Then he makes it more difficult, writing that “in dividing official from unofficial conduct, courts may not inquire into the President’s motives.”
A lifetime appointment means that #SupremeCourt justices can do whatever they wish when they are in the majority. When the justices wanted to force #Colorado to return #Trump to its presidential #ballot after the state concluded that his attempted seizure of #power on #Jan6 barred him from holding office under the #FourteenthAmendment, they moved as rapidly as possible. When they wanted to assist Trump’s strategy of delaying any possible federal trial, they took their time.
#SCOTUS is supposed to rule this morning on #Trump’s claim that he is immune from prosecution on charges of trying to overturn the 2020 election.
The decision will determine whether & how special counsel #JackSmith’s case against Trump can proceed — although it’s unlikely a trial would happen before #Election Day. But the ruling could also set an important #precedent for how to prosecute presidents for their actions in office.
Chief #JusticeRoberts's ruling expresses skepticism that #Trump could be prosecuted for the speech he gave on #Jan6 or any of his tweets that day. Roberts notes that “most of a president’s public communications are likely to fall comfortably within the outer perimeter of his official responsibilities.” But he leaves open the possibility that Trump could face charges for his words if they were delivered as “a candidate for office.”
AG Garland, just now: "The vast majority of the more than 1,400 defendants charged for their illegal actions on #Jan6 will not be affected by this decision."
The judge who presided over the trial of Three Percenter associate Guy Reffitt, the first J6er to stand trial, has already called for a resentencing in light of the Fischer ruling #SCOTUS#Jan6
After the #Jan6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, federal prosecutors charged >350 participants in #Trump’s #insurrectionist mob w/ #obstructing or impeding an official proceeding. The charge carries a 20-yr maximum penalty & is part of a #law enacted after the exposure of massive #fraud & shredding of documents during the collapse of the energy giant Enron.
Writing for the majority, Chief Justice#JohnRoberts said the government must establish that a defendant “impaired the availability or integrity” of records, documents or other objects used in an official proceeding. The decision returns the case to the lower courts for additional proceedings.
Justices #AmyConeyBarrett, Sonia #Sotomayor & Elena #Kagan dissented.
ONLY ONE #J6 defendant received a punishment that severe— #ProudBoys ldr #EnriqueTarrio, who was ALSO convicted of a #SeditiousConspiracy to keep #Trump in power. He was sentenced to 22yrs in prison. The avg sentence for a rioter w/no criminal history & convicted of no felonies other than obstruction is ~2yrs.
In #dissent, Justice #AmyConeyBarrett noted that there is no mandatory minimum punishment. “Given the breadth of its terms, the [#law] naturally encompasses actions that range in severity,” she wrote. “Congress presumably #trusted District #Courts to impose sentences #commensurate with the defendant’s particular #conduct.”
It is not clear how much weight Jackson’s view would carry in the lower courts, but it is an important one. Jackson’s point was that while #SCOTUS limited the #statute to #crimes involving the impairment of #evidence, Congress’s #Jan6 certification of the #2020election itself “plainly used certain records, documents or objects — including, among others, those relating to the electoral votes themselves.”
Justice #KetanjiBrownJackson, concurring w/ the 6-3 majority, suggested that the #Jan6#obstruction charge could still be brought against #Trump, specifically #crimes involving the actual or attempted “impairment … of the availability or integrity of things used during the #January6 proceeding.” Trump is charged w/ corruptly interfering w/ electoral vote certificates to be counted by VP #MikePence.
"A much bigger deal is what it says that the television media and pundits so completely bought into Trump’s performance. They appear to have accepted Trump’s framing of the event—that he is dominant—so fully that the fact Trump unleashed a flood of lies and non-sequiturs simply didn’t register."
An alert #AttorneyGeneral would've announced on Day 1 that #Jan6 was an #insurrection, and the #DOJ was investigating top leaders based on open public information.
An alert AG would not have squandered away time prosecuting theft of classified docs and nuclear secrets with "pretty please."
They would've investigated why search was not thorough. Why a closet remained unopened by #FBI?
An alert president, OR HIS TEAM, would've sought early correction of these errors. Buck stops.
@DrPsyBuffy@Wikisteff@wdjorth The lies he told about Nancy Pelosi, that she took all the blame for #Jan6, when trump himself instigated the coup, were egregious.
Adams’s lawsuit said she “swore an oath to ‘prevent fraud, deceit, & abuse’ in Fulton County elections”—duties she says aren’t possible w/o examining the recs she demanded. Her detractors say she is seeking the #power to block a victory for Pres #Biden. #Democrats asked to intervene in the suit, claiming Adams’s actions are part of a coordinated effort by #Trump & the #GOP to sow the same kind of doubt in this year’s #election that led to the #Jan6#insurrection.
#SCOTUS is expected to hand down more rulings Wednesday. There are 10 more cases to be decided this term, including some of the court’s most politically salient ones. Those cases address topics such as whether #Trump is immune from prosecution for all acts during his presidency, whether the #Biden admin violated the #FirstAmendment in asking #SocialMedia companies to take down posts, & whether a federal #law means ER doctors can perform #abortions in states where they are restricted or banned.
There are still 9 cases left this term that #SCOTUS has yet to decide:
#Trump v. #UnitedStates — Whether Trump is immune from prosecution for his efforts to stay in #power by overturning Joe #Biden’s election victory.
2.#Fischer v. United States — Whether prosecutors properly charged hundreds of #Jan6 defendants & Trump using a #law that makes it a #crime to #obstruct or impede an official proceeding —in this case, the disruption of Congress’s certification of Biden’s #2020election victory.