KING FOR A… TERM?

The Supreme Court heard arguments on Thursday in yet another landmark case, this time involving presidential immunity. Damn, we’re getting pretty tired of these “unprecedented” times!

• Over the course of some two-and-a-half hours of arguments, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority signaled support for giving presidents some level of criminal immunity for certain acts taken while in office. Lawyers for disgraced former president Donald Trump appealed his immunity case all the way to the highest court in the land over claims he cannot be prosecuted for trying to overturn the 2020 election.

• Trump has long claimed that the President of the United States has “absolute immunity”—which even some of the Court’s most notorious conservative whack-jobs seemed to rebuff. However, some of those same whack-jobs also indicate a belief that the president needs some immunity from criminal prosecution. At the heart of the discussion was the question of what constitutes an “official act” for which a president cannot be prosecuted. The lawyer representing Trump, D. John Sauer, was truly On One on Thursday, arguing that without total immunity from criminal prosecution “there can be no presidency as we know it.” Because the president simply NEEDS to be able to do crimes!

• Under questioning from the Court’s three liberal justices, Sauer stood firm in his batshit argument. Justice Elena Kagan asked if immunity would apply “if the president orders the military to stage a coup.” Sauer replied: “That might well be an official act.” Justice Sonia Sotomayor asked whether the president “creating a fraudulent slate of electoral candidates” would be “within his right?” Sauer replied: “Absolutely.” What about the president assassinating a political rival he deems corrupt, Sotomayor asked. Again, Sauer said: “That could well be an official act.” Thanks for clearing that up, my guy! We are, in fact, talking about full-blown authoritarianism.

The Supreme Court’s ruling may narrow the scope of Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith’s allegations against Trump, but it appears that other parts of his indictment would survive. But even if Trump loses, the decision could further delay Trump’s trial, if the Supreme Court sends the decision back to a lower court for review.

UNDER THE RADAR

Antiwar protests at Columbia University have spurred similar protest encampments at countless more major American universities in the past week. University administrations in cities and towns across the country have directed law enforcement to break up the peaceful protests, with increasingly violent results. Over the past two days, law enforcement in Atlanta deployed tasers and tear gas against student protesters at Emory University, according to the student newspaper and videos taken at the scene. In Boston, MA, police clashed with protesters at Emerson College and arrested more than 100 of them after sweeping an encampment at Boylston Place Alley. Dozens more protesters were arrested at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Southern California on Wednesday night. Even in the face of escalating violence from law enforcement, more solidarity encampments sprung up on Thursday morning at Northwestern University, Cornell, Princeton, Ohio State University, George Washington University, University of Rochester, Indiana University, Temple University, the University of Pennsylvania, the City College of New York, and more. Student and faculty protesters are demanding both an end to the Israel-Hamas war, and that their universities divest from companies that profit from the war like weapons manufacturers.

USC announced on Thursday that it is canceling its May commencement ceremony in the wake of campus protests that began last week after the school informed Class of 2024 valedictorian Asna Tabassum that she would not be allowed to deliver the traditional speech over what the university called concern for “campus security and safety.” Pro-Israel student groups like USC Trojans for Israel and We Are Tov as well as similar organizations outside the school protested her selection as valedictorian, as they took issue with Tabassum’s Instagram account linking to pro-Palestinian resources. Tabassum—who is a first-generation South Asian Muslim American and wears a hijab—told CNN last week that she had not even begun working on her speech when she found out she would be barred from delivering it. USC Provost Andrew Guzman said that the decision had “nothing to do with freedom of speech,” and that there is “no free-speech entitlement to speak at a commencement.” The issue, he said, is about maintaining “campus security and safety, period.” The administration would not elaborate on specific safety concerns. Despite the university’s decision to cancel commencement, Tabassum will receive her degree in biomedical engineering, with a minor in resistance to genocide.

NEWS NEWS NEWS

Harvey Weinstein’s landmark 2020 conviction for sexual assault and rape was overturned on Thursday by the New York state court of appeals in a shocking 4-3 decision. The COA said the trial judge made a critical mistake by allowing additional women to testify that Weinstein had assaulted them when their accusations were not part of the trial. Weinstein, who also faces 16 years for a separate conviction, will not be freed immediately.

Israel increased airstrikes on the southern Gaza city of Rafah overnight, where over one million displaced Palestinians are sheltering.

American economic growth fell below the Federal Reserve’s estimates in the first quarter of the year. The economic slowdown was accompanied by increasing inflation, which could pose a thorny dilemma for the Fed.

In spite of that, Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen told Reuters on Thursday that the U.S. economy and growth was likely stronger than suggested by that data, and said that the Biden administration was keeping all options open.

Support for sending U.S. aid to Israel has plummeted among swing state voters since the war in Gaza began, according to a new Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll.

The U.S. fertility rate dropped to a record low in 2023, according to new data released on Thursday by the CDC.

Half of Americans, including a staggering 42 percent of Democrats, say they would support mass deportations of undocumented immigrants according to a new Axios survey conducted by The Harris Poll.

Building defenses against the right wing propaganda machine requires your attention and support. You can become an advocate for progressive content while ALSO enjoying ad-free episodes of Pod Save America, Pod Save the World and so much more exclusive Crooked content. Become a Friend of the Pod today by heading to crooked.com/friends now!

LIGHT AT THE END OF THE EMAIL