The Supreme Court’s immunity decision remanded, or sent back President Donald Trump’s Jan. 6-related case to the district court in Washington. In doing so, the justices directed the lower court to alter how the case proceeded based on their instructions and holdings about the nature of immunity.
In Trump v. United States, the majority said that presidents enjoyed a presumption of immunity for their official acts and absolute immunity for “actions within [their] conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority.”
It directed the district court to consider several aspects of the Special Counsel Jack Smith’s case, including “whether a prosecution involving Trump’s alleged attempts to influence the vice president’s oversight of the certification proceeding would pose any dangers of intrusion on the authority and functions of the Executive Branch.” It said that Trump was “presumptively immune” from prosecution for those actions.
The indictment is expected to narrow significantly as the court applies the Supreme Court’s ruling—raising the prospect of another grand jury issuing a superseding indictment. D.C. District Judge Tanya Chutkan may also hold an evidentiary hearing with witnesses who could shed light on former Trump’s actions on and leading up to Jan. 6, 2021.
Chutkan will also have to consider which of Trump’s alleged actions were unofficial or official, thereby falling within the scope of his immunity.
Fischer v. United States is another Supreme Court decision the district court is expected to consider as it bore on one of the laws applied in Trump’s indictment. In that case, a majority of justices held that the Justice Department misinterpreted a financial reform law in prosecuting Jan. 6 defendants.
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A pre-election trial looks all but impossible at this point, especially given that the former president could file an interlocutory appeal over how the district court applies the Supreme Court’s holding in Trump v. United States. That appeal could, in turn, work its way back up to the Supreme Court—prompting further refinement of immunity and delay in the district court.
It’s unclear how long the lower court’s pre-trial proceedings will continue even without an immunity-based appeal. The trial, which was scheduled for March, was put on hold even as various other pre-trial motions remained on the docket.
Trump is expected to drop the Washington case if he wins re-election and takes office in January 2025.
Even if the case made it to trial, it’s unclear how successful Smith will be in pursuing a narrowed indictment. The majority in Trump v. United States also held that juries could not consider evidence concerning presidents’ official acts.
—Sam Dorman
GOOD LOSES PRIMARY
In one of the biggest upsets of the 2024 election cycle, House Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good (R-Va.) lost to Trump-backed Virginia state Sen. John McGuire by 374 votes, the Virginia Department of Elections announced on July 2 two weeks after the closely-watched primary election.
Good is the first Republican House incumbent, and second House member overall, to go down to a non-incumbent primary challenger this year.
However, a recount is likely. A candidate may request a recount if the difference between candidates is 1 percent or less, according to Virginia law. Good has said he will seek one.
“We’re going to have a full recount. We’re going to have a full investigation,” he said on Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast on June 20, noting he has a legal team ready to observe one.
The contentious primary battle had been largely defined by loyalty to Trump. Good had initially endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the presidential race, before flipping to the former president after the governor dropped out.
Trump and McGuire cast Good as disloyal to the presumptive Republican nominee. Trump, in a Truth Social post, previously said that despite the House Freedom Caucus chair’s subsequent endorsement, “the damage had been done.”
One caucus member, Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio), supported McGuire, calling him “conservative and effective.”
Good was one of eight Republicans to join all Democrats in ousting former Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as House Speaker in October.
A super PAC affiliated with Republican Main Street Partnership, a group that supports moderate Republicans, spent more than $450,000 to defeat the GOP incumbent, according to Open Secrets.
The seat seems likely to stay in GOP hands as Good won reelection in 2022 with 57.6 percent of the vote.
—Jackson Richman
BOOKMARKS
The Supreme Court has refused to hear several gun-related cases, including an Illinois ban on “assault weapons.” Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that he would have liked to review the Illinois case, and that he hoped the Court “will consider the important issues presented by these petitions after the cases reach final judgment.”
Former N.Y. Mayor Rudy Giuliani has been disbarred for disputing the results of the 2020 election. Mr. Giuliani still faces RICO charges, and has filed bankruptcy after being ordered to pay $148 million in damages for defaming two Georgia election workers.
Harvard University is facing questions from the House of Representatives after it removed student protesters from a speech by Chinese Ambassador Xie Feng. Among other questions, the lawmakers want to know if Harvard coordinated with “representatives of the Chinese government” for security at the event.
Republicans in Arizona are seeking to prevent non-citizens from voting in the 2024 election, but have run into lawsuits filed by voting rights groups. District Judge Susan Bolton has blocked two laws, one which required proof of citizenship to vote, and another which required reporting the number of voters who listed no status of citizenship on their registration forms.
The United States will provide another $2 billion in military aid to Ukraine, according to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. This brings the total spending on the war in Ukraine to around $175 billion since February 2022.
—Stacy Robinson
