The relationship between Donald Trump and the Supreme Court was rocky
Towards a Political Solution: The Case of Donald Trump, the Supreme Court, and the Commission into the History of the Second Law and its Political Implications
Editor’s Note: Adapted from “NINE BLACK ROBES: Inside the Supreme Court’s Drive to the Right and Its Historic Consequences,” by Joan Biskupic, published by William Morrow.
Trump immediately highlighted the rare attendance of the full Supreme Court: “Joining us for tonight’s ceremony is every sitting Supreme Court justice.”
Justices had declined to attend similar White House events under previous presidents, resisting the optics that would conflict with separation of powers. They were worried about being used for political reasons and worried that the full contingent of justices could be seen as endorsing the president.
After he became president, Trump continued to dislike the judiciary. He always looked towards the Supreme Court as his salvation or tormentor. You should go to the Supreme Court! He was happy when he lost the immigration case. When the high court majority turned against his administration a few years later, Trump asked if he had the impression that the Supreme Court didn’t like him.
Trump wrote in a social media post Friday on Truth Social: “The Judge ‘assigned’ to my Witch Hunt Case, a ‘Case’ that has NEVER BEEN CHARGED BEFORE, HATES ME. He is the same person whorailroaded my CFO, Allen Weisselberg, to take a plea deal even if he was guilty. in jail.”
The political fight that was triggered by Trump nominating a second Supreme Court justice was not over when the Senate confirmed him. News networks continued to talk about the Senate hearings in October, especially Christine Blasey Ford’s accusation of sexual assault by Supreme Court nominee Michael K. Judge when she was teenager.
Some of the justices found the hearings so painful that they refused to watch them. The sessions stirred their own anxieties from their time in the witness chair, and even those who found Ford credible shuddered at the public thrashing of Kavanaugh. He was going to join their ranks, they knew that, and they were a part of it.
The swearing-in of the new president on October 8 won’t be political after all, as Roberts quietly requested reassurance from the White House counsel.
Roberts and the justices went to the White House for an event after his fears were calmed. As the camera showed them, they took their seats in the East Room. Jane Roberts was sitting next to her husband. She was with the other spouses, including Martha-Ann Alito, who was also at her side.
He announced their names, individually, like blue ribbons he had just won: “Chief Justice Roberts. Thank you. Justice Thomas. Thank you. Ginsburg is a justice. Thank you, that’s all. Justice Breyer. Thank you, justice. Justice Alito. Thank you very much. JusticeSOurito Thank you very much. The Supreme Court justice is known as Justice Kagan. Thank you. And Justice Gorsuch.” The audience applauded.
“I would like to begin tonight’s proceeding differently than perhaps any other event of such magnitude,” Trump said. “On behalf of our nation, I want to apologize to Brett and the entire Kavanaugh family for the terrible pain and suffering you have been forced to endure. Those who are about to serve our country should get a fair and dignified evaluation, not a campaign of political and personal destruction.
But that was not true. There had been no trial, nor even much of an investigation into Ford’s accusations. But as with so many of Trump’s assertions, the truth did not matter to him or to a certain number of his supporters.
When the US Supreme Court Becomes More Open, Justice Clarence Thomas Responds to a Kavanaugh Event: Trump’s Corrupting Attorney General John Roberts
Justice Clarence Thomas, however, was conspicuously enthusiastic, applauding heartily after Kavanaugh spoke. A Department of Justice spokeswoman, speaking on Fox News, later described Thomas as “the life of the party” at the Kavanaugh event.
In a statement issued by the Supreme Court, Roberts said that they did not have Obama judges, Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges. The judges are doing their best to make sure that the people who are appearing before them are treated equally.
Two justices at the high court formed an early alliance. As our newest colleague puts it, we don’t sit on opposite sides of an aisle and we don’t caucus in separate rooms, so we do not serve one party or one interest. We serve one nation.
Trump fired back on Twitter immediately: “Sorry Chief Justice John Roberts, but you do indeed have ‘Obama judges,’ and they have a much different point of view than the people who are charged with the safety of our country.”
His fixation was evident early. During his presidential campaign in 2016, he tried to disparage US District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who was then hearing a Trump University fraud case in San Diego, as “a Mexican” judge who was unlikely to give him a fair shake.
Ginsburg told me that Trump is a faker during an interview in July 2016 who became the Republican presidential nominee. He doesn’t have any consistency about him. He says whatever comes into his head at the moment. He has an ego. She should leave the bench because her mind is shot, said Trump.
The court, led by Roberts, was becoming more skeptical of the administration’s policies. Roberts voted against Trump’s plan to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census. Roberts’ switched vote sealed the 5-4 ruling against the plan that immigrant rights groups feared would diminish Latino completion of the important decennial census questionnaire.
The Supreme Court continued to confront Trump post-presidency. In January 2022, the justices rejected Trump’s attempt to block the release of presidential records to a congressional committee investigating the siege of the Capitol. Only Thomas publicly dissented as the majority brushed away Trump’s effort to prevent the National Archives from turning over the documents to a US House select committee.
The business activities Trump had done prior to being president were the reason for the disputes. New York prosecutors were looking for a large amount of documents, including whether Trump had directed hush money to women who said they had affairs with him. Trump has denied the women’s claims. The New York financial investigation led to the current charges against Trump.
Separately, committees of the House of Representatives, led by Democrats in 2020, were trying to obtain Trump’s accounting and banking records as they developed ethics legislation to tighten money-laundering prohibitions.
As the turmoil continued, Roberts presided over Trump’s first impeachment trial (and acquittal) in the Senate, which arose from Trump’s 2019 apparent bargaining over military aid to Ukraine and a request to President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate the Ukrainian activities of Joe Biden, whom Trump faced in the 2020 election.
The Trump Experience in Georgia and the Pre-Trial Phase of the Trump-Majorcase Insights into the 2020 Insurrection
At a time when he needs to be focused on another White House bid, there are signs that this new reality could be increased at a time when he has already committed hefty financial commitments to his legal team.
The case may go on. Smith is looking at Trump’s conduct before the US Capitol insurrection. In Georgia, the ex-president could be investigated for his attempt to overturn the result of the 2020 election.
CNN’s Evan Perez reported Monday that prosecutors have secured daily notes, texts, emails, and photographs and are looking at how Trump handled classified information and those who may have witnessed him. The new details coincide with signs the Justice Department is taking steps consistent with the end of an investigation.
In an interview with CNN, Ty Cobb was quoted as saying that the developments in the case represent a serious turn for the ex-president. “We’ve known the investigatory steps were under way, we just haven’t known alleged results until today,” Cobb said. “I think these are highly consequential.”
Trump denies any wrongdoing in all of these investigations. He has described his behavior in Georgia as “perfect.” And he has lambasted the sealed indictment in New York, where he faces more than 30 counts related to business fraud, as an example of politicized justice.
Trump made a big show on Monday of his return to New York ahead of his arraignment. The motorcade of Secret Service SUVs to and from his private plane carried a message of strength through a power play meant to send the word of strength.
After court Tuesday, he will return to his Mar-a-Lago resort and reclaim the media spotlight with a primetime speech he will likely use to proclaim his innocence, attack the New York case as political persecution and try to distract from the fact he will be a criminal defendant.
At times, he may be compelled to appear in court. The grueling pre-trial process, with its numerous legal argument deadlines and heaps of evidence the defense must sift through, will impose severe demands on a legal team that has often struggled to act coherently. Ahead of his appearance Tuesday, for instance, Trump made a late shuffle of his legal team, bringing in another attorney, Todd Blanche, to serve as his lead counsel – a move some saw as sidelining another attorney, Joe Tacopina. The ex-president’s camp pushed back on this interpretation, however.
One criminal prosecution is onerous enough. Trump hasn’t been charged in any of the other cases, but a multi-front defense in multiple cases would represent an extraordinary storm. It would cause more damage to the ex-president’s ability to control his political schedule. When he was under scrutiny in the Russia investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller, or during his two impeachments, Trump exploited his huge popularity with Republican voters to discredit accusations against him. He pressured most GOP senators, who knew they would pay with their careers if they voted to convict him in an impeachment trial.
There is a similar situation to that of the 2020 election when the will of voters prevailed because of Trump’s attempts to have votes thrown out and the results changed.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/04/politics/trump-legal-threats-analysis/index.html
Trump isn’t the only one who fears being part of a media circus, but he can do it in a non-comedy media circus
In a late-night ruling, Merchan turned down the request for broadcast cameras. Five still photographers will be allowed to take pictures of Trump and the courtroom before the hearing begins, however.
If anyone knows how to thrive in a media circus, it is Trump. The difference, perhaps, in this case is that he fears being part of a media circus that he can no longer control.
