Democratic lawmakers are already calling for congressional action to respond to the Supreme Court’s decision on presidential immunity, arguing that the decision is a blow for democracy while empowering former President Trump.
But the forceful outcry is a stark contrast to Democrats mostly downplaying concerns regarding President Biden’s chances of beating Trump in November.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has threatened to introduce articles of impeachment against the Supreme Court’s conservative justices when Congress is back in session next week.
“The Supreme Court has become consumed by a corruption crisis beyond its control. Today’s ruling represents an assault on American democracy. It is up to Congress to defend our nation from this authoritarian capture,” Ocasio-Cortez said on X, formerly Twitter.
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Another Democrat, Rep. Joe Morelle, of New York, said he would introduce a resolution to reverse the Supreme Court’s decision.
He wrote on X after the ruling came out: “The conservative, extremist majority on the Supreme Court has decided former President Trump is above the law. Today’s decision further erodes the public’s confidence in our institutions and poses as great a threat to our democracy as the former president’s behavior.”
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Trump’s classified documents case that presidents do have immunity for official acts while in the White House, and that those acts cannot be used as evidence against them in a trial. However, it also ruled that not all of a president’s actions are official, and left it to a lower court to decide which of Trump’s actions constitute which.
Democrats argued that it gave Trump a vast legal shield over matters he should be prosecuted for. It also almost guaranteed that the ex-president will not have a federal trial in his classified documents case before November.
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It prompted Sens. Tina Smith, D-Minn., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., to renew their calls to expand the Supreme Court.
But to stand any chance of doing so, Democrats would need to win commanding victories in the House, Senate and White House – and several polls since Thursday night’s debate show Biden’s appeal slipping among general election voters.
Discussions surrounding Biden’s viability as a candidate have swirled in the media and among pundits on the left after the 81-year-old president’s poor performance in his debate against Trump last Thursday.
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Elected Democratic officials have largely defended Biden since then, however, arguing he’s still the best candidate to beat the ex-president in November – while others have stayed silent.
A new CBS News and YouGov poll released over the weekend showed nearly three-quarters of Democratic voters believe Biden does not have the cognitive health to serve as president.
A USA Today/Suffolk University poll released Monday shows Trump leading Biden 41% to 38% among nationwide voters.
But the aforementioned Democratic lawmakers did not respond to queries from Fox News Digital about whether they were concerned Biden’s performance in the debate would enable Trump, who they view as a threat to democracy, to win in November.
Morelle said earlier this week that he “wouldn’t write Joe Biden off because of one bad performance,” according to local outlet WXXI.
He indicated, as others have, that Biden himself should decide his own viability. “I think he has to make a decision, his family and his inner circle about whether they think he feels he can still fulfill his obligations.” Morelle said.
Meanwhile, Ocasio-Cortez, who has publicly broken with Biden on certain issues in the past, appeared on video days after the debate urging Latin American voters watching the Copa America soccer tournament to support Biden.
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