WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden warned Monday that a Supreme Court ruling grantingpresidents broad immunity from prosecutionwould make an unchecked Republican Donald Trump “more emboldened to do whatever he wants” if he regains the White House in November’s election.
Biden, under intense pressure after his disastrous debate performance against Trump last week, urged Americans to think carefully about their election decision and signaled he had no intention of dropping out of the race.
Criticizing the decision by the court’s conservative majority — which all but guarantees Trump will not face trial in Washingtonahead of the November election over his actionsduring the violent riot on Jan. 6, 2021 — Biden said it now fell to the American people “to do what the courts should have been willing to do but will not.
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"The American people have to render judgment about Donald Trump’s behavior.”
Biden's efforts to reset his campaign following the debate, which spooked donors and stirred up majorDemocratic anxiety, has been looking a lot like his past attempts to keep the focus squarely on Trump's misdeeds and shortcomings. During his brief remarks Monday, he made no mention of last week's debate or his performance, and did not take questions, delivering an unusually political message from the White House.
“I know I will respect the limits of presidential power as I have for the three-and-a-half years, but any president, including Donald Trump, will now be free to ignore the law,” Biden said.
Biden seemed relaxed and confident, striking a clear and crisp tone and looking tanned and rested — all of which was in stark contrast to his often halting performance during last week’s debate, when his face was notably pale. The president also had the benefit of a teleprompter for his remarks about the court, something he didn’t have while facing off with Trump.
The Supreme Courtruled Monday for the first time that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution, extending the delay in the Washington criminal case against Donald Trump on charges heplotted to overturnhis 2020 presidential election lossand all but ending prospects the former president could be tried before the November election.
Ina historic 6-3 ruling, thecourt's conservative majority, including the three justices appointed by Trump, narrowed the case against him and returned it to the trial court to determine what is left of special counsel Jack Smith's indictment.
The ruling reflected a muscular view of presidential power, and left dissenting judges to criticize it as undermining a core democratic principle that no person is above the law.
The court's decision highlighted how the justices have been thrust into an impactful role in the November presidential election. Earlier, they hadrejected efforts to bar him from the ballotbecause of his actions following the 2020 election.
Crime-courts
Supreme Court sends Trump immunity case back to lower court, dimming prospect of pre-election trial
- By MARK SHERMANThe Associated Press
The court last week alsolimited an obstruction charge faced by Trump and used against hundreds of his supporters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The split among the justices also in many ways mirrored the political divide in the country.
Notable Supreme Court cases of 2024
Review key cases decided by the United States Supreme Court in 2024.
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AP
Supreme Court sends Trump immunity case back to lower court, dimming prospect of pre-election trial
- By MARK SHERMANThe Associated Press
- Updated
The justices said former presidents have presumptive immunity for their official acts and no immunity for unofficial acts. The justices ordered lower courts to apply the decision to Trump’s case.
Crime-courts
AP Breaking
The Supreme Court keeps hold on efforts in Texas and Florida to regulate social media platforms
- By MARK SHERMANThe Associated Press
- Updated
Both laws aimed to address conservative complaints that the social media companies were liberal-leaning and censored users based on their viewpoints, especially on the political right.
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AP Breaking
Supreme Court makes it harder to charge Capitol riot defendants with obstruction, charge Trump faces
- By MARK SHERMAN Associated Press
- Updated
Roughly 170 Capitol insurrection defendants have been convicted of obstructing or conspiring to obstruct the Jan. 6 joint session of Congress, including the leaders of two far-right extremist groups.
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AP Breaking
Supreme Court weakens federal regulators, overturning decades-old Chevron decision
- By MARK SHERMAN Associated Press
- Updated
The current high court, with a 6-3 conservative majority, has been increasingly skeptical of the powers of federal agencies.
Crime-courts
AP Breaking
Supreme Court allows cities to enforce bans on homeless people sleeping outside
- By LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press
- Updated
The case is the most significant to come before the high court in decades on the issue and comes as a rising number of people in the U.S. are without a permanent place to live.
Crime-courts
AP Breaking
The Supreme Court rejects a nationwide opioid settlement with OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma
- By MARK SHERMAN Associated Press
- Updated
The high court had put the settlement on hold last summer, in response to objections from the Biden administration.
Crime-courts
AP Breaking
The Supreme Court allows emergency abortions in Idaho for now in a limited ruling
- By LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press
- Updated
The ruling came after a day an opinion was briefly posted on the court's website accidently and quickly taken down, but not before it was obtained by Bloomberg News.
Crime-courts
AP Breaking
The Supreme Court strips the SEC of a critical enforcement tool in fraud cases
- By MARK SHERMAN Associated Press
- Updated
The justices ruled that people accused of fraud by the SEC, which regulates securities markets, have the right to a jury trial in federal court.
Crime-courts
AP Breaking
The Supreme Court halts enforcement of the EPA's plan to limit downwind pollution from power plants
- By MARK SHERMAN Associated Press
- Updated
The Supreme Court is putting the Environmental Protection Agency’s air pollution-fighting “good neighbor” plan on hold while legal challenges continue, the conservative-led court’s latest blow to federal regulations.
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Alert Breaking
The Supreme Court rules for Biden administration in a social media dispute with conservative states
- By MARK SHERMAN - Associated Press
- Updated
The case is among several before the court this term that affect social media companies in the context of free speech.
Crime-courts
AP Breaking
Supreme Court upholds a gun control law intended to protect domestic violence victims
- By MARK SHERMAN Associated Press
- Updated
The justices ruled in favor of a 1994 ban on firearms for people under restraining orders to stay away from their spouses or partners.
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AP Breaking
Supreme Court strikes down Trump-era ban on bump stocks, gun accessories used in 2017 massacre
- AP
- Updated
The high court found 6-3 that the Trump administration did not follow federal law when it reversed course and banned bump stocks.
Crime-courts
AP Breaking
Unanimous Supreme Court preserves access to widely used abortion medication
- By MARK SHERMAN - Associated Press
- Updated
The Supreme Court has preserved access to a medication that was used in nearly two-thirds of all abortions in the U.S. last year.
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AP Alert
Supreme Court clears the way for the NRA’s free speech lawsuit against an ex-New York official
- By LINDSAY WHITEHURST - Associated Press
- Updated
The unanimous opinion reverses a lower court decision tossing out the gun rights group’s lawsuit against ex-New York State Department of Financial Services Ssuperintendent Maria Vullo.
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AP Alert
Supreme Court finds no bias against Black voters in a South Carolina congressional district
- By MARK SHERMAN - Associated Press
- Updated
The Supreme Court has preserved a Republican-held South Carolina congressional district, rejecting a lower-court ruling the district discriminated against Black voters.
Crime-courts
AP Alert
Supreme Court sides with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, spurning a conservative attack
- By MARK SHERMAN - Associated Press
- Updated
The Supreme Court has rejected a conservative-led attack that could've undermined the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
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Breaking
Supreme Court restores Trump to ballot, rejecting state attempts to ban him over Capitol attack
- By MARK SHERMANAssociated Press
- Updated
The Supreme Court on Monday restored Donald Trump to 2024 presidential primary ballots, rejecting state attempts to hold the Republican former president accountable for the Capitol riot.
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