"The President is now a king above the law."

[View in browser]( [Support our nonprofit journalism]( [Mother Jones Daily Newsletter](     July 1, 2024 As with many things related to Donald Trump and the Supreme Court, it's hard not to sound hyperbolic when describing their actions. The former president has proven to shock with despotic rhetoric, free-flowing racism, and mind-melting stupidity; this conservative-majority Supreme Court continues to hand down decisions that undo [longstanding precedence](, many of which will inflict harm onto large swaths of people living in the United States. So, when sounding the alarm that the high court's latest decision [granting Trump sweeping immunity]( effectively puts a twice-impeached, convicted felon who has been found liable for sexual abuse above the law, it's once again difficult to avoid seeming dramatic. Yet as my colleague Pema Levy writes, [that's exactly what today's disastrous ruling]( amounts to: The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that presidents have broad criminal immunity for official acts, effectively placing the presidency beyond the reach of criminal law for the first time in the country’s history. The 6-3 decision along ideological lines sends the federal case over Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election back to the district court to determine whether Trump’s actions fall outside the court’s sweeping new grant of immunity—but the effects will stretch far beyond Trump’s possible trial by fundamentally changing the nature of the presidency and, by extension, American democracy. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who with Justice Elena Kagan wrote the dissent in Trump's immunity case, [described it this way](: 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. That this decision arrives days out from one of the worst days of Joe Biden's political career makes everything feel even more screwed. Here's to hoping that the powers that be, whether that's Biden himself, the folks running the DNC, or the voters themselves, avoid installing a despot come November. —Inae Oh Advertisement [Upstart: How China Became a Great Power by Oriana Skylar Mastro is available now from OUP. Learn more.]( [Top Story] [Top Story]( [The Supreme Court Just Put Trump Above the Law]( In handing him a win in his immunity case, the justices obliterated the courts' ability to rein in presidents. BY PEMA LEVY SPONSORED POST     [Sponsored Content]( [Navigating Farm and Ranch Transfers to a New Generation]( An ambitious program supports land access as many farmers approach retirement, posing challenges for America’s food system. THIS CONTENT WAS PAID FOR AND SPONSORED BY [AMERICAN FARMLAND TRUST](. [Trending] [“The president is now a king”: The most blistering lines from dissents in the Trump immunity case]( BY DAVID CORN   [Steve Bannon swaps his podcast studio for a prison cell]( BY TIM MURPHY   [Polls show nearly half of Democrats believe Biden should drop out]( BY STEPHANIE MENCIMER   [The Supreme Court's January 6 decision was a win for progressive protesters, too]( BY JEREMY SCHULMAN Advertisement [Upstart: How China Became a Great Power by Oriana Skylar Mastro is available now from OUP. Learn more.]( [Special Feature] [Special Feature]( [The endless pursuit of equality through college admissions]( The new documentary “Admissions Granted” examines the different ways Asian Americans are impacted by the battles over affirmative action. BY ALEX NGUYEN MOTHER JONES MEMBERSHIP UPDATE   GREAT JOURNALISM, SLOW FUNDRAISING Our team has been on fire lately—publishing sweeping, [one-of-a-kind]( investigations, ambitious, [groundbreaking]( projects, and even [releasing]( “the holy shit documentary of the year.” And that’s on top of [protecting free and fair elections]( and [standing up]( to bullies and BS when others in the media don’t. Yet, we just came up pretty short on our fundraising campaign. So even though we’re done screaming about [the donations we need]( for a while, if you value the journalism we do but haven’t pitched in recently, please [consider doing so now](—we urgently need a lot of help to make up for lost ground. And of course, THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who has pitched in. It means the world to us. [Donate]( Did you enjoy this newsletter? Share it on [Facebook]( and [Twitter](. [Mother Jones]( [Donate]( [Donate Monthly]( [Subscribe]( This message was sent to {EMAIL}. To change the messages you receive from us, you can [edit your email preferences]( or [unsubscribe from all mailings.]( For advertising opportunities see our online [media kit.]( Were you forwarded this email? [Sign up for Mother Jones' newsletters today.]( [www.MotherJones.com]( PO Box 8539, Big Sandy, TX 75755