Supreme Court in no rush on Trump trial
Trump lawyer: Can't prosecute a President for a coup
Also in today’s edition of ‘Regular Order’ for April 26, 2024:
Zelenskyy thanks Congressional leaders for aid.
House GOP tries to restrict some earmarks.
Biden chides GOP over CHIPS Act.
SUPREME COURT. If you assumed that the U.S. Supreme Court would swiftly and unanimously address the arguments in Trump v. United States like how the Justices dealt with United States v. Nixon in 1974 (8-0 on the Watergate tapes), you would be wrong. It was rather obvious on Thursday that a number of justices are in no rush to see Trump's Jan. 6 trial move forward.
IMMUNITY. From the over two hours of arguments, it seemed clear that the justices will not accept Donald Trump’s argument that he is immune from prosecution for just about anything he did as President. But that doesn’t mean the case is a slam dunk for the feds.
DELAY. The most likely outcome seemed to be a non-decision, where the case would be sent back to the federal trial court, and possibly narrowed. It is increasingly likely that Donald Trump’s trial related to Jan. 6 will not happen before the November elections.
COURT. I thought the lawyer for the Special Counsel, Michael Dreeben, did not have the best of days. Dreeben is experienced at going before the Supreme Court. But he seemed to treat it like a low-energy theoretical law lecture instead of a critical Supreme Court argument about Trump and immunity.
ARGUMENTS. "The Court and the parties discussed everything but the specific question presented," said former federal appeals court judge Michael Luttig. (In other words, Dreeben didn’t really emphasize how Trump tried to stay in power, and why immunity is not deserved.)
THREE MOMENTS. I thought there were three notable moments involving a trio of justices which did not reflect well on the arguments of Trump lawyer John Sauer. All of them zeroed in on the question of how to handle Trump’s contention that a President deserves total immunity from prosecution - no matter what.
MILITARY. "If the president decides that his rival is a corrupt person and he orders the military or orders someone to assassinate him, is that within his official acts for which he can get immunity?" Justice Sonia Sotomayor asked. Trump's lawyer John Sauer said that was a legitimate option for a President. "That could well be an official act," Sauer said.
COUP. Justice Elena Kagan followed later with a similar query. “How about if a president orders the military to stage a coup?” Kagan asked. Trump's lawyer gave basically the same answer. “That might well be an official act,” Sauer answered, arguing a President would be immune, and not subject to prosecution.
NO PROSECUTION. "Let's imagine that he is impeached and convicted for ordering that coup. And let's just accept for the sake of argument your position that that was official conduct," said Justice Amy Coney Barrett. "You're saying that he couldn't be prosecuted for that?" "There would have to be a statute that made a clear statement that Congress purported to regulate the president's conduct,” Sauer replied.
ALTERNATE HEADLINES. It seemed like the Thomas-Alito-Gorsuch trio felt like the prosecution of Trump was the problem - not Trump's effort to overturn the 2020 election. Maybe the surprise of the day was Justice Barrett, who didn't seem to have much time at all for the arguments of Trump's lawyer. A decision is expected by the end of June.
CONFIDENCE MAN. The case ended on an odd note when Trump’s lawyer gave back his rebuttal time. You don’t see that happen at the Supreme Court. Sauer must have felt like he was the clear winner in the courtroom, even though he had a rough time in his presentation. In other words, it was a lot worse for the feds.
UKRAINE. A day after President Biden signed into law a bipartisan foreign aid package for Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Congressional leaders of both parties by phone to thank them for their efforts to approve the $61 billion in aid.
THANKS. Zelenskyy said he spoke on Thursday with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, and House Speaker Mike Johnson - who single-handedly held up approval of an aid package for months. "I also extended him an invitation to visit Ukraine," Zelenskyy said of the Speaker.
SCHUMER. "I made clear to President Zelenskyy that the United States, our allies in NATO and partners around the world, and Ukraine together will make Vladimir Putin regret the day he ever questioned American resolve and the resolve of democracies to fight back," Schumer said.
ZELENSKYY. "I thank all Americans who work in defense enterprises and every state that manufactures weapons that are now really protecting democracy and our way of life," Zelenskyy said this week, emphasizing that much of the aid money isn't going to Ukraine - but rather to U.S. arms manufacturers.
MONEY. Opponents of aid to Ukraine were already sounding the alarm in Congress about what might come in the future. "The ink isn’t even dry on the $61 billion foreign aid to Ukraine and big spenders are already planning more," said Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who missed the Senate votes on the foreign aid package this week.
EARMARKS. House Republicans are moving to restrict some of the home-state budget earmarks Congress adds to the yearly government funding bills. "One notable change is that non-profits are no longer eligible for Community Project Funding," said Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), the new head of the House Appropriations Committee.
HUD. The GOP change would mainly target non-profits which get money in the funding bill for the Department of Housing and Urban Development. How popular is that program? The recent HUD spending bill had 218 pages of those home state earmarks, which you can see at this link.
NON-PROFITS. The move means a variety of non-profit 501(c)(3) groups like Abused Women’s Aid in Crisis, the West Alabama Food Bank, Boys & Girls Clubs, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Habitat for Humanity, and much more would not be eligible for direct earmarks through Congress.
DEMS. There was anger among Democrats, who accused the GOP of discrimination. “Republicans are trying to root out any help for the LGBTQ+ community," said Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT). "They are willing to hurt their own religious organizations, seniors, and veterans."
SAVINGS. How much money would this save? One review said non-profits - like food banks, senior centers, youth groups, and domestic violence shelters - received about $800 million, thanks to earmarks from both parties. But remember - Senators still might be able to funnel money to those groups.
CHIPS. In Syracuse, New York on Thursday to tout a $6 billion deal with Micron to build two new semiconductor chip factories, President Biden took the opportunity to single out two New York Republicans in Congress who were critical of the 'CHIPS Act,' which authorized billions to help spur domestic semiconductor production.
BIDEN. "In fact, your Congressman, Brandon Williams, called it 'corporate welfare,'" the President said, taking aim next at Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY). "She said it was, 'Washington at its worst,'" Biden added, before delivering the punch line. "I guess they’re not going to be here today to celebrate," he said to laughter and applause.
INFRASTRUCTURE. Biden then followed with a familiar line that he's used with his infrastructure law as well. " I promised to be a President for all of America, whether you voted for me or not," he said. "Today’s investment helps Americans everywhere, in red states and blue states, and proof that we leave no one behind."
CAMPAIGN THEME. Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT) made history when she was elected in 2022 as the first woman member of Congress from Vermont. On Capitol Hill for an orientation event, Balint was asked to introduce herself using just three words - she yelled, 'Scrappy little dyke!' It's now become part of her campaign for reelection.
RAP SHEET. A Pennsylvania man arrested last week has now been indicted on nine different criminal charges related to his actions on Jan. 6. Joshua Atwood repeatedly threw metal poles and other items at police officers in the Lower West Terrace Tunnel leading into the Capitol.
BAYOU STATE. A Louisiana man has been arrested for his actions on Jan. 6. Matthew Matulich was seen on security video stealing a flag from inside the Capitol, taking food set out for staffers, as he marched past the door to my press workspace. The trip cost Matulich his job - he was fired after not showing up for work for three straight days.
MUSE OF HISTORY. April 26, 1870. The Civil War had been over for five years, but it was still an issue in Congress. On this date, the Senate received a petition from an Alexander Kennedy of Tennessee - who wanted to be compensated 'for cotton taken and used by United States troops under the command of Gen. A.E. Burnside in November 1863.' The matter was referred to the Committee on Claims.
LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:
The House is back for votes on April 29.
The Senate next has votes on April 30.
Check President Biden’s schedule.
Follow me on Twitter @jamiedupree.
Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com
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Those of us old enough to remember the Twilight Zone series of the Sixties might hear echoes of that background music while reading this morning's Regular Order.
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On SCOTUS, Ginni Thomas is calling the shots. Conservative Justices are, apparently, protecting Trump, but in reality they want to protect Ginni and her husband. I hope I'm wrong.