By Aria Brent
AFRO Staff Writer
abrent@afro.com
On July 1, the Supreme Court ruled that presidents do have some immunity for official acts that took place during their presidency. This decision was made in a 6-3 ruling, with the majority opinion belonging to the conservative justices. The ruling will be applicable for all current and future presidents, however this Supreme Court decision is especially beneficial for former president Donald Trump. This decision aligns with his claims of immunity to criminal prosecution for his role in the events that took place in the nation’s capital on Jan.6, 2021.
Trump argued to dismiss the indictment he received from a federal court based on four counts of conduct that happened during his presidency, following the 2020 election. He was charged with conspiring to overturn the results by spreading false claims of election fraud in an attempt to interfere with the collecting, counting and certifying of the election results.
Trump claimed that the charges should be dismissed based on presidential immunity.
President Joe Biden spoke on the Supreme Court’s opinion on presidential immunity the night of July 1.
“The presidency is the most powerful office in the world. It’s an office that not only tests your judgment, perhaps even more importantly it’s an office that can test your character because you not only face moments where you need the courage to exercise the full power of the presidency, you also face moments where you need the wisdom to respect the limits of the power of the office of the presidency,” said Biden. “This nation was founded on the principle that there are no kings in America. Each of us is equal before the law. No one is above the law, not even the president of the United States.”
Biden said that the Supreme Court’s decision on presidential immunity, “almost certainly means that there are virtually no limits on what a president can do.”
“Nearly four years ago, my predecessor sent a violent mob to the U.S. Capitol to stop the peaceful transfer of power. We all saw it with our own eyes. We sat there and watched it happen that day. Attack on the police. The ransacking of the Capitol. A mob literally hunting down the House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi,” said Biden. “Gallows erected to hang the vice president, Mike Pence. I think it’s fair to say it was one of the darkest days in the history of America.”
“Now the man who sent that mob to the U.S. Capitol is facing potential criminal conviction for what happened that day,” continued Biden. “The American people deserve to have an answer in the courts before the upcoming election. The public has a right to know the answer about what happened on Jan. 6th before they ask to vote again this year.”
Following the Supreme Court decision, Trump took to social media to express how just he found the ruling to be and to further argue his innocence regarding the events that took place on Jan. 6.
“Total exoneration! All of these unfair charges represent the worst level of election interference ever seen in our country’s long and storied history,” said Trump, on his social media platform, Truth Social. “It must be understood that I was totally and completely innocent from the beginning of this giant and highly illegal scam, long before the Supreme Court’s decision was released. The impact of the immunity ruling is a loud and clear signal for justice in the United States.”
Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (TX-30) also weighed in on the decision and the justices who hand a hand in the ruling.
“Let us be clear: not only is the outcome of today’s decision deeply flawed, so too was the judicial process that enabled it to move forward. Make no mistake—Justices Thomas and Alito should never have taken part in determining the outcome of this case,” said Crockett, in a statement sent to the AFRO. “Justice Thomas should have been immediately precluded due to his wife’s active involvement with President Trump’s Chief of Staff as they worked to overturn the 2020 election, raising a clear conflict of interest in the outcome of this case.”
Crockett continued, saying that “despite these egregious actions, this Court has enabled itself to be a separate, unequal branch of government—one which has repeatedly operated without basic judicial ethics, without oversight, and without accountability. ”
“While today’s ruling will leave shocks felt throughout our judicial system, it is the American people and Congress who must check this institution and build back the system of government our Founding Fathers envisioned before it was too late,” she said. “It is time Congress fulfill its constitutional duty to ensure our Court is accountable, transparent, and protects the law and the American people rather than the special interests of wealthy donors. It is time we safeguard our democracy by preventing the appointment of judges who will overturn decades of precedent all due to their own blatantly political biases.”
Chevron ruling
Just days before the July 1 immunity ruling, on June 28, a 40-year-old ruling decision known as the “Chevron deference” was overturned, removing federal agencies power to interpret laws and decide the best ways to apply them. The ending of this deference is expected to deeply affect agencies like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Sen.Ben Cardin (D-Md.) commented on this ruling, sharing that the decision is regressive and it prioritizes corporations over the American people.
“I am deeply troubled by the Supreme Court’s decision today to overturn the doctrine of Chevron deference for federal agencies to set rules to protect the American public,” Cardin stated. “The ideological right of the Court has once again set aside decades of precedent at the behest of powerful corporate interests and made a decision that turns back the clock on the ability to protect the public’s health and welfare. This includes keeping our environment clean and combating financial fraud in our markets.”
Homelessness
On June 28, the Supreme court handed down a decision that makes it easier for communities across the nation to ticket, fine or arrest the unhoused.
In a 6-3 ruling in the case of City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, the justices in the majority determined that it’s not cruel and unusual punishment to target homeless people that are occupying public spaces via ban enforcements and criminal or civil penalties — even if there are no alternative shelter or housing options available for them.
Congresswoman Alma S. Adams, Ph.D.,(D-NC-12) released a statement condemning the ruling, declaring it to be dangerous and disgraceful.
“The Supreme Court’s ruling that homelessness is not a protected status under the Eighth Amendment is a dangerous disgrace and is at odds with who we are as a nation,” stated Adams. “It punishes poor people for simply trying to exist. Instead of penalizing people without a roof over their head or a bed to sleep in, we should be working to make sure that every American in every corner of our country has a place to live— a fundamental human right.”
All of the court rulings mentioned here were made by the same 6-3 conservative majority vote.
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