Sen. Blumenthal calls conservative justices ‘nakedly partisan hacks’ in immunity ruling
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said the Supreme Court has “put lawbreaking presidents like Donald Trump above the law” in what he called a “cravenly political decision to shield President Trump” and delay his criminal trial.
In a statement, Blumenthal, a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the ruling bestows “an unwise and unjust broad shield for him and other presidents who flout and flagrantly abuse their office.”
“This is a license for authoritarianism,” he said. “My stomach turns with fear and anger that our democracy can be so endangered by an out-of-control Court. The members of Court’s conservative majority will now be rightly perceived by the American people as extreme and nakedly partisan hacks — politicians in robes.”
Sen. Vance says decision may 'destroy all of Jack Smith's case'
Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio and a Trump vice president contender, posted on X that the ruling was "a massive win, not just for Trump but the rule of law."
He continued saying, "I'm still digesting but this may well destroy all of Jack Smith's case against the president."
Justice Barrett says Trump still should stand trial
Justice Amy Coney Barrett issued a concurring opinion, agreeing with the majority that Trump has some immunity from prosecution but that the decision shouldn't get in the way of his standing trial.
"A President facing prosecution may challenge the constitutionality of a criminal statute as applied to official acts alleged in the indictment,” she said, noting that the court rejected Trump's broader immunity claims. “If that challenge fails, however, he must stand trial."
She also said she agreed with the dissent's opinion that immune conduct should still be allowed to be used as evidence in his trial.
"I appreciate the [majority's] concern that allowing into evidence official acts for which the President cannot be held criminally liable may prejudice the jury," but, "the Constitution does not require blinding juries to the circumstances surrounding conduct for which Presidents can be held liable."
Dissent says the president is 'now a king above the law'
Another scathing line from Sotomayor's dissent:
Let the President violate the law, let him exploit the trappings of his office for personal gain, let him use his official power for evil ends. Because if he knew that he may one day face liability for breaking the law, he might not be as bold and fearless as we would like him to be. That is the majority’s message today. Even if these nightmare scenarios never play out, and I pray they never do, the damage has been done. The relationship between the President and the people he serves has shifted irrevocably. In every use of official power, the President is now a king above the law.
Steve Bannon arrives at Connecticut prison to begin sentence for defying congressional subpoenas
Steve Bannon has arrived to report to prison at Danbury, Connecticut. Supporters standing outside of the prison chanted his name upon his arrival.
Bannon, an ally of Trump who has pushed his baseless claims of a rigged 2020 election, was sentenced to four months in prison for refusing to comply with subpoenas from the House Jan. 6 committee, which requested his testimony in its probe into the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021.
Bannon told NBC News that he is set to be released from prison Oct. 31, the week before the November presidential election.
Schumer says it's a 'sad day for our democracy'
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said "This is a sad day for America and a sad day for our democracy," in a statement posted to X.
A “disgraceful decision” by the Supreme Court, Schumer said the decision will allow the former President to “weaken our democracy by breaking the law.”
Schumer added, "Treason or incitement of an insurrection should not be considered a core constitutional power afforded to a president."
Donald Trump Jr. says ruling was 'solid'
Former President Donald Trumps oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., posted on Truth Social after the Supreme Court ruling.
"Solid SCOTUS ruling today. I'm sure the corrupt prosecutors and Dc judge will work overtime to continue their lawfare. It's all they have left."
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene says Supreme Court made the 'right decision'
Awaiting Steve Bannon's arrival at federal prison in Danbury, Conn., Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene told NBC News that the Supreme Court made the "right decision" in Trump's immunity case. She also said special counsel Jack Smith should be "defunded."
Any official acts can't be used as evidence at trial
In writing his decision, Roberts made clear that anything the lower court determines to be an "official act" cannot be used as evidence in a criminal trial — meaning it's entirely off limits to prosecutors even if it would corroborate evidence deemed unofficial.
"Presidents cannot be indicted based on conduct for which they are immune from prosecution. On remand, the District Court must carefully analyze the indictment’s remaining allegations to determine whether they too involve conduct for which a President must be immune from prosecution," Roberts wrote. "And the parties and the District Court must ensure that sufficient allegations support the indictment’s charges without such conduct. Testimony or private records of the President or his advisers probing such conduct may not be admitted as evidence at trial."
Roberts argues liberal dissenters are having a 'disproportionate' reaction to immunity ruling
Chief Justice John Roberts, writing in his majority opinion, appeared to argue that the liberal justices overreacted to the court’s decision in their dissents.
"As for the dissents, they strike a tone of chilling doom that is wholly disproportionate to what the Court actually does today," Roberts wrote.
The three justices who make up the court's liberal bloc — Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson — all dissented from the court's majority opinion and argued that it created a dangerous new precedent for American presidents.
Sotomayor, for example, wrote that she lodged her dissent “with fear for our democracy."