Schumer Takes Aim at SCOTUS Immunity Ruling, Proposes 'No Kings Act'
US Sen. Schumer Takes Aim at SCOTUS Immunity Ruling, Proposes 'No Kings Act'
The Facts
US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) proposed a bill called the "No Kings Act" Thursday, which would strip presidents of any prosecutorial immunity for alleged criminal acts. This follows the Supreme Court's ruling in favor of immunity for Trump in his criminal cases.
SCOTUS ruled that presidents have "absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions within his conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority," "at least presumptive immunity...for all his official acts," but "no immunity for unofficial acts."
The Spin
SCOTUS' ruling was not based on legal precedent or thoughtful debate between conservative and liberal justices, but rather an explicit attempt to turn future far-right presidents into dictators. Given the court's super majority of pro-Trump justices, coupled with its current status of life-time terms and lack of an ethics code, the only way to reign in their power and that of their friends in government is to codify a new law banning such ludicrous legal theories.
The Democrats are projecting their nefarious goals with respect to SCOTUS onto the Republican Party. The court's ruling was a very mild one that simply asserted the right of president's — and not just Trump, but all presidents from either party — to govern without fear of being prosecuted by their opponents after leaving office. The Democrats don't want to reform the court—they want to completely redesign it to give themselves absolute power over the country.
