John Roberts appears to casually undermine DOJ independence in Trump immunity ruling
U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts appeared to casually end the independence of the Department of Justice in a ruling on Donald Trump's immunity.
The conservative majority ruled 6-3 that Trump enjoyed limited immunity for actions he undertook as president to remain in office despite his 2020 election loss, and the chief justice upended one of the agency's stated values of independence and impartiality.
"The President may discuss potential investigations and prosecutions with his Attorney General and other Justice Department officials to carry out his constitutional duty to 'take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed,'" Roberts wrote. "And the Attorney General, as head of the Justice Department, acts as the President’s 'chief law enforcement officer' who 'provides vital assistance to [him] in the performance of [his] constitutional duty to "preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution."'"
The former president allegedly conspired with a Justice Department official who is believed to be Jeffrey Clark to use the department to “open sham election crime investigations” and “influence state legislatures with knowingly false claims of election fraud," and the Supreme Court ruling determines that falls under Trump's official duties as chief executive.
Trump came close to installing Clark, who had previously worked in the department's civil division, as acting attorney general in the last days of his administration after he allegedly agreed to support his baseless claims of election fraud.
Clark also helped draft a letter to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp urging the Republican to convene a special session of the state legislature to send a slate of phony electors to Washington, D.C., for the Jan. 6, 2021, certification of Joe Biden's election win.
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That letter resulted in criminal charges for both Clark and Trump in the wide-ranging Georgia election interference case that ensnared 19 co-defendants, including local GOP officials and the former president's attorneys.
Trump has accused former president Barack Obama of wiretapping the building where he lived during the 2016 campaign, which the DOJ confirmed was inaccurate, and blames President Joe Biden for his four indictments and civil lawsuits, but Roberts' ruling seemingly affirms presidents could order federal prosecutors to target their political rivals.
Presidents nominate attorneys general who then serve at the chief executive's pleasure, but the top-ranking DOJ official is generally considered to be independent.