Quick Hit:

New York Senator and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has announced plans to advance legislation to strip former President Trump of immunity granted by the Supreme Court on July 1st. The legislation seeks to reclassify certain presidential actions as unofficial, making them subject to criminal prosecution.

Key Details:

• Senate Democrats, led by Chuck Schumer, aim to counteract a Supreme Court decision that granted broad immunity from prosecution for actions taken while in office.

• The Supreme Court ruled on July 1st that Trump is entitled to absolute immunity for actions within his "conclusive and preclusive" constitutional authority and presumptive immunity for other official acts. The case is remanded to lower courts to distinguish between Trump's official and unofficial acts.

• The proposed legislation intends to categorize specific actions as unofficial acts, removing immunity protections.

Diving Deeper:

According to a report by The Hill, New York Senator and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Monday that he and fellow Senate Democrats are preparing legislation to revoke the immunity former President Donald Trump received under a recent Supreme Court ruling. 

Schumer emphasized Congress’s constitutional authority to regulate the judiciary, stating that the new legislation would redefine certain presidential actions as “unofficial acts.” This reclassification would make these actions ineligible for immunity from criminal prosecution, directly challenging the Supreme Court's recent 6-3 decision.

Schumer voiced his disapproval of the ruling from the Senate floor, arguing, "They incorrectly declared that former President Trump enjoys broad immunity from criminal prosecution for actions he took while in office. They incorrectly declared that all future presidents are entitled to a breathtaking level of immunity so long as their conduct is ostensibly carried out in their official capacity as president." He further criticized the court's conservative justices for “effectively placing a crown on Donald Trump’s head,” making him seemingly “untouchable.”

The Senate Majority Leader declared his intent to collaborate with colleagues on the legislation, asserting, “We’re doing this because we believe that in America, no president should be free to overturn an election against the will of the people, no matter what the conservative justices may believe.”

The Supreme Court's ruling, issued on July 1, granted Trump and future presidents significant immunity from prosecution for crimes related to official acts. However, it left the determination of whether specific actions qualify as official acts to the lower courts.