House Accountability War Room

Talking Points: MAGA House GOP & Trump Supreme Court Immunity Case

Topline Message: Today, the far-right majority on the Supreme Court gave Trump immunity for parts of his plot to overturn the results of the 2020 election, and remanded the Trump v. United States case back to the United States District Court to determine whether Trump’s other actions possess immunity, further delaying the criminal prosecution of Trump’s conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election. These delays provide the political cover Speaker Mike Johnson and MAGA House Republicans desperately need to protect Trump and further undermine our democratic principles. The overwhelming majority of Americans believe Trump should be held accountable for his alleged crimes. Far-right efforts to delay a criminal trial must stop.

Talking Points:

  • By further delaying the criminal trial, the Supreme Court took MAGA Mike Johnson’s plan to defend Donald Trump, protect insurrectionists, and whitewash what happened on January 6th. While Speaker Johnson couldn’t get his friends on the Supreme Court to provide Trump with total immunity, they did give him extended political cover by further delaying the trial on Trump’s role in the efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
  • Speaker Johnson is out of step with the majority of Americans who reject Trump’s argument that he must have complete and total immunity from criminal prosecution for any actions taken while president.
  • In Speaker Johnson’s playbook there is no real separation of powers or checks and balances. Rather than hold the other branches of government accountable, Johnson works hand in hand with the judicial branch to jointly protect former President Donald Trump. A unified force in pursuit of advancing a MAGA agenda.
  • Since 2020, Mike Johnson has been intent on undermining the will of the American people to help MAGA Republicans stay in power—and he’s in good company. Justices Thomas and Alito, who concerningly did not recuse themselves from this case, both have well-documented ties to Donald Trump and the January 6 insurrection. 
  • Donald Trump called Mike Johnson shortly after his May 31st conviction, and asked him to help overturn his conviction and protect him from further legal matters. Johnson has been scheming with his leadership team on how to get this done, but he may not have the votes. This is why he needs his friends on the Court to “step in”.
  • Speaker Johnson has signaled he has close relationships and is in regular communication with Supreme Court justices. After Trump’s conviction in the New York hush money trial, Johnson said he was sure “this will be overturned.” Johnson added he knows many of the Justices “personally” and that they were “deeply concerned.”
  • A large majority of Americans (70 percent) believe the charges against Donald Trump are serious. This is further underscored by new polling from ABC News and Ipsos, which found that 50% of Americans believe that former President Donald Trump’s guilty verdict on all 34 counts in his election interference trial is correct and 49% believe that he should end his 2024 presidential campaign. 
  • When elected officials break the law—we must hold them accountable—whether they’re a citizen, candidate, or president. In supporting this ruling and Trump’s ridiculous claims of immunity, MAGA House Republicans are further eroding the foundations of our democracy and sowing doubt about future elections. 

Additional Talking Points:

  • House members have earnestly enabled Donald Trump’s behavioral pattern of jeopardizing American democracy—from supporting this ruling to whitewashing Trump’s efforts to overturn the election in 2020. Now, Speaker Johnson is even pushing for a policy to show allegiance to Trump and make it easier for Trump to self-pardon himself.
    • By attempting to move state-level charges against Trump to federal court, Republicans are eroding the accountability mechanisms that ensure no one is above the law. This bill is a transparent attempt to allow Trump to potentially pardon himself, should he regain the presidency.
    • It is a performative act designed to appease Trump, just like MAGA Mike Johnson’s dangerous 2020 legal strategy to overturn the election.
  • We must stand firm in protecting our democracy from extreme House members and their political games. Attempts to defund prosecutors and manipulate the judiciary for political gain threaten the foundations of our democracy.

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