Day 1260: "The American people must decide."

WTF Just Happened Today

Tuesday, July 2, 2024

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1/ Biden denounced the Supreme Court’s decision to grant convicted felon Trump broad immunity from prosecution, warning that it sets “a dangerous precedent” and “undermines the rule of law.” Biden said the court’s 6-3 decision puts “virtually no limits on what a president can do,” and all but ensures Trump won’t be tried on charges of trying to overturn the 2020 election before the upcoming 2024 election. The court sent the case back to the trial judge to determine which, if any of Trump’s actions, were part of his official duties and thus were protected from prosecution. “The American people must decide if Trump’s embrace of violence to preserve his power is acceptable,” Biden added. “Perhaps most importantly, the American people must decide if they want to entrust the presidency once again to Donald Trump — now, knowing he’ll be more emboldened to do whatever he pleases, whenever he wants to do it.” (New York Times / Washington Post / NPR / Associated Press / Axios)

• ✏️ Notables.

• Supreme Court’s Trump immunity ruling poses risk for democracy, experts say. The court’s decision raised fears that a future president will be able to act with impunity because official acts of the president have been deemed off limits from prosecution. (Washington Post)

• Now what? Here are the next moves for all the key players after the Trump immunity ruling. (Politico)

• Supreme Court’s Trump Immunity Ruling Avoids the Obvious: He’s Running Again. The decision all but ensures a trial — and a verdict — won’t happen before the Nov. 5 election, an outcome that Trump’s critics slammed as helping him ahead of the election. Trump’s lawyers had repeatedly invoked the 2024 election in pushing to delay a trial until after voters went to the polls. (Bloomberg)

• Trump’s imperial presidency in waiting. Trump, if re-elected, plans to immediately test the boundaries of presidential and governing power, knowing the restraints of Congress and the courts are dramatically looser than during his first term, his advisers tell us. (Axios)

• The Supreme Court Gave Trump a Stunning Gift — and Rewrote the Constitution. (Politico)

• The Supreme Court Puts Trump Above the Law. And gives him permission for a despotic second term. (The Atlantic)

• Supreme Court Immunity Decision Could Put Donald Trump “Above the Law.” The conservative majority’s ruling potentially paves the way for presidents to act with impunity, legal experts warn, as well as further delay the DOJ’s election subversion case against Trump. Justice Sotomayor dissented, “With fear for our democracy.” (WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.