Roberts Writes SCOTUS’s Most Anti-American, Anti-Democratic Opinion Since Dred Scott

In Trump v. United States, the last opinion of the Supreme Court’s term, Chief Justice John Roberts, writing also for the five other Republican-appointed, conservative Justices, exhibited arrogance and hubris in a shameless attempt to overrule our Founders.

The Roberts opinion bestowed absolute immunity for “official acts” in some cases and presumptive immunity in others for Presidents that will authorize a President to commit crimes with no legal recourse.

This is the most anti-American, anti-democratic Supreme Court decision since the Dred Scott decision (1857). This ruling creates enormous, dangerous consequences for the country.

Based on past performance, just imagine what Donald Trump, if elected in November, would do with a license from the Court to commit crimes with impunity.

The Roberts opinion rejects the foundational principle that the United States will not be ruled by a king and opens the door for a President to exercise monarchical, if not dictatorial, powers. The opinion rejects the foundational principle that no person is above the law, a principle that, until the Court’s decision on July 1, has governed our nation from the beginning.

Roberts and his five conservative colleagues have issued a radical decision that, in the words of historian Sean Wilentz, “has descended [the Court] to a level of shame reserved until now for the Roger B. Taney Court that decided the case of Dred Scott v. Sandford in 1857.”

Wilentz accurately states that the Court “has seized the opportunity to invent, with no textual basis, ‘at least presumptive’ and quite possibly ‘absolute’ presidential criminal immunity for official acts, a decision so broad that it essentially places the presidency above the law.

According to Harvard Law Professor Noah Feldman: “In a sweeping decision that constitutionalizes the modern reality of the imperial presidency, the U.S. Supreme Court has established near-total criminal immunity for Donald Trump’s official acts while he was president. … In sum, the Supreme Court has gutted the historic effort to hold Donald Trump legally accountable for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.”

Perhaps the worst of the Roberts opinion is its ruling: “Because the President cannot be prosecuted for conduct within his exclusive constitutional authority, Trump is absolutely immune from prosecution for the alleged conduct involving his discussions with Justice Department officials.” (page 5.)

This is nothing less than a carte blanche authorization for a President to commit crimes, including to criminally misuse and abuse the Justice Department and the FBI.

The absolute right to use the Justice Department in whatever way a President wants was apparently provided specifically to free Trump from some of the charges he faced in the January 6 indictment.

This included Trump’s efforts to pressure Justice Department officials to make knowingly false statements claiming widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election.

Much of Trump’s dangerous agenda is captured in Project 2025, a 900-page plan authored by the Heritage Foundation and Trump allies, and described as the “Second American Revolution.” The document contains rewrites of our constitutional principles, attacking the very fabric of our democracy.

Trump has already promised a revenge campaign against his opponents if he’s elected. And he is expected to use the complete control over the Justice Department and FBI provided by the Roberts opinion, and proposed in Project 2025, to attempt to punish his opponents.

With their decision in the Trump case, Chief Justice Roberts and his Republican-appointed colleagues — let’s call them the “Roberts Six” — have attempted to overrule Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and the other Founders.

Our Founders knew the dangers of a king’s absolute power and fought a revolution to ensure no king would ever rule the United States and stand above the law.

The Roberts Six have, in their irresponsible decision, threatened the very foundation of our democracy.

If Trump is elected in November, we will face the most difficult battle to protect our country, our democracy, and our constitutional system since the Civil War — this time in civil, not military, battles.

The Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. United States has made this battle for democracy all the more urgent and a battle essential to win.

This was adapted from a piece that appeared in Wertheimer’s Political Report, a Democracy 21 newsletter that’s published on Thursdays. Read this week’s and recent newsletters here. And, subscribe for free here to receive your copy each week via email.