Rep. Adam Schiff has been a U.S. Congressman representing California nearly since this century began, entering the House in 2001 as George W. Bush entered the White House and watching as the shock of 9/11 permanently altered the chemistry of the country.
So when Schiff, a Harvard Law graduate who has witnessed a lot of controversial legal maneuvers, calls a piece of jurisprudence “unprecedented,” it is a significant characterization.
When beyond “unprecedented,” Schiff calls a judicial decision “shocking and destructive” — as he characterized this week’s Supreme Court decision to grant presidents immunity for official acts — that description emphasizes the far-reaching implications of a finding that, as both supporters and dissenters agree, fundamentally changes the power structure of the government, shifting as-yet-immeasurable power to the executive branch.
Moments ago the Supreme Court granted Donald Trump broad immunity for “official acts.”
This decision is dangerous, anti-democratic, and unprecedented.
Let’s break it down: pic.twitter.com/nfSUPVqwzl
— Adam Schiff (@AdamSchiff) July 1, 2024
Though the decision impacts all former and future U.S. presidents, its immediate impact — and of the greatest concern to Schiff — is how it alters the legal avenues available for the prosecution of former President Donald Trump.
[NOTE: Schiff, a former Assistant U.S. Attorney, was the lead impeachment manager in Trump’s first impeachment trial.]
“Donald Trump will have immunity for official acts,” Schiff says in his breakdown of the SCOTUS decision, “an astonishing decision that validates the former president’s attempts to undermine our democracy.”
Saying the decision “flies in the face of our founding principles,” Schiff takes those principles to include the idea that “nobody, not even the president, is above the law.”
Schiff encapsulates what he sees as the decision’s most concerning aspect into a two-sentence summation: “If leaders can be immune from liability for criminal acts while in office, designed to overturn a free and fair election, that might very well be the end of our Republic…Our country is in grave danger if we allow any president to stay in power after losing and be held immune from legal consequence.”
Schiff gets pilloried in the comments by the regular army of his MAGA enemies, who treat him with contempt and accuse him of falsely accusing Trump of “collusion” with the Russians.
But some Democrats, while concerned, also disagree with Schiff about the ultimate impact of the decision, as many contend that a strong prosecution can show that an attempt to overturn the election does not qualify as an “official” act — and therefore won’t be protected by immunity. The Supreme Court itself said the lower courts will decide — for now — which acts qualify as “official.”
Taking that position, Schiff’s fellow Democratic Congressman from California Eric Swalwell, who receives similarly vituperative treatment from MAGA adherents online, went so far in the aftermath of the SCOTUS ruling to say “This is not a win for Trump.” Swalwell told his followers not to “panic” over the immunity move.
Don’t panic on Trump immunity case. Jack Smith will argue Trump’s actions were not “official acts.” There’s precedent on this from a J6 civil case *that I know a thing or two about* that was unanimously upheld by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. This is not a Trump victory.
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) July 1, 2024