OC Register: Southern California Democrats condemn Supreme Court’s historic Trump immunity decision
By Hanna Kang, Clara Harter, and Beau Yarbrough
Southern California House Democrats quickly condemned the U.S. Supreme Court’s immunity decision on former President Donald Trump while several regional Republicans were tight-lipped.
The nation’s highest court, in a historic 6-3 ruling Monday morning, said former presidents do have immunity from prosecution for official acts. The justices told lower courts to figure out how to apply that decision to Trump’s case, where he faces charges that he plotted to overturn the 2020 election loss.
In a damning statement, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, castigated the court’s “unprecedented and destructive ruling” and the effect it will have on the future of American democracy.
“It must now be presumed that the president, as king, is immune from accountability,” said Schiff, a candidate for U.S. Senate. “The rule of law applies to everyone except the most powerful person on Earth. It would be difficult to overstate how much this opinion shifts the balance of power away from Congress and towards the presidency, and how unshackled a corrupt president will now be.”
“The court gives the president absolute power, and it will corrupt him, absolutely,” said Schiff, a member of the House Jan. 6 committee.
“The Supreme Court has lost credibility,” said Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-San Bernardino, also a member of the congressional committee that investigated the 2021 attack on the Capitol. “Instead of affirming the fundamental American principle that no one is above the law, they’re providing aid and comfort to Donald Trump as he tries to escape accountability for his role on Jan. 6.”
“A dark day,” said Rep. Judy Chu, D-Pasadena. “The MAGA justices continue to shield Trump from accountability for trying to throw out Americans’ votes and overturn the results of the 2020 election. In so doing, they shred one of our founding principles: that presidents are not kings.”
Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Los Angeles, accused the “extreme justices” on the court of making things up to protect the former president.
“Nowhere in the constitution does the word immunity appear,” he said. “This is radical judicial activism by the MAGA justices.”
Lieu also shared a section of Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s dissenting opinion, which quickly went viral, in which she listed all of the potential acts a president could now be deemed immune for committing: “Orders the Navy’s Seal Team 6 to assassinate a political rival? Immune. Organizes a military coup to hold onto power? Immune. Takes a bribe in exchange for a pardon? Immune. Immune, immune, immune,” Sotomayor said.
Trump quickly touted the decision as a win, but regional Republicans, meanwhile, are largely holding their tongues.
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Steve Garvey, through a spokesperson, declined to comment. So did Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Hesperia.
Lance Trover, a spokesperson for Rep. Michelle Steel, R-Seal Beach, declined to comment on the Supreme Court’s decision, instead asking about her Democratic opponent Derek Tran’s support for President Joe Biden following last week’s debate. Trover also declined to provide comment from Matt Gunderson, a Republican running against Rep. Mike Levin, D-San Juan Capistrano, in the 49th congressional district.
Rep. Young Kim, R-Anaheim Hills, “respects the Supreme Court’s decision as a co-equal branch of government,” a spokesperson said, adding that the congresswoman is focused on addressing inflation, gas prices and crime.
A spokesperson for Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Santa Clarita, did not respond to a request for comment. But Garcia’s Democratic challenger George Whitesides wasted no time in criticizing the incumbent’s silence.
“All Americans should be deeply troubled by today’s Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity, but we know Congressman Mike Garcia is happy to support anything Donald Trump wants,” said Whitesides.
As was the case with Trump’s hush money verdict, Golden State Republicans are treading a delicate line between maintaining party loyalty and not alienating the independent voters they need to win in November.
Rep. Darrell Issa, however, was unreserved in his support of the former president and implied that Democrats “weaponize prosecutions.”
“Donald Trump’s only crime is exposing Joe Biden as a failed president and an elderly man with a poor memory. The court has now spoken, and it is for the people to decide this election,” he said.
“The Supreme Court today decisively applied decades of settled precedent and agreed upon interpretations of presidential immunity.”
More reactions
Sen. Alex Padilla: “Before today, America’s judicial system was rooted in the simple but fundamental principle that no one is above the law. Not Congress, not the courts, and not even the president of the United States. Today’s decision turns that most fundamental principle on its head. If brazenly attempting to overturn a democratic election by claiming the powers of the presidency can be a so-called ‘official’ act of the president, then where does it end?”
Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Long Beach: “This 6-3 Supreme Court and this dangerous immunity ruling is a result of one man: Donald Trump. He appointed 3 extreme judges and is now exploiting the powers of the president in ways that were once unthinkable. The court can no longer be counted on to defend the constitution.”
Rep. Mike Levin, D-San Juan Capistrano: “Today’s Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity severely undermines our democratic principles. Essentially, it grants any sitting president unchecked authority akin to a ‘dictator on day one,’ allowing them to exploit official powers for personal gain without facing consequences. … Our only recourse now is through the ballot box, electing a new Congress and appointing a Supreme Court that prioritizes Constitutional integrity over personal power.”
Rep. Katie Porter, D-Irvine: “Today’s Supreme Court decision makes clear that voters, not the courts, are the only backstop to hold Donald Trump accountable for his lawbreaking. The real indictment was that we rejected his self-dealing, corrupt presidency in 2020 — and we need to do it again this year.”
Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Palm Desert: “No one, including a twice-impeached former president, should be above the law. When the Constitution was created, the founders envisioned a land that was governed by the rule of law, not by monarchs. Today’s decision upends this principle and threatens the foundation of American democracy.”
Rep. Linda Sánchez, D-Whittier: “Today’s decision by the conservative Supreme Court majority ignores a founding principle of our democracy — that no one is above the law. … This court has once again issued a decision that upends precedent set in previous presidential powers cases and will have ramifications for future presidencies. In doing so, the court has opened the door for criminal activity disguised as official acts. This is a sad day for our country.”
Rep. Mark Takano, D-Riverside: “Today’s ruling from an activist, conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court shakes our system of government to its core. Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s dissent lays out the terrible effect of today’s decision in plain terms: ‘It makes a mockery of the principle, foundational to our Constitution and system of Government, that no man is above the law.’”
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