Politics

Why a federal judge appointed by Ronald Reagan is slamming the Trump immunity ruling

Published

2 years ago

November 11, 2024

Why a federal judge appointed by Ronald Reagan is slamming the Trump immunity ruling

The Supreme Court decision granting Donald Trump broad criminal immunity has had no shortage of critics. But it’s still notable that a federal judge just came out with an op-ed in The Washington Post blasting the ruling authored by Chief Justice John Roberts.

In the opinion piece published Monday, Stephen S. Trott, a senior judge on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, wrote:

Under the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on presidential immunity, could President Richard M. Nixon have legally ordered his Plumbers to burgle the office of Daniel Ellsberg’s psychiatrist? Might they all have gotten away with it?

It certainly looks that way to me, and I have a particular interest in this matter. As a young lawyer in the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office in 1971, I oversaw the burglary indictment of senior White House officials and White House operatives for breaking into the Beverly Hills office of Dr. Lewis Fielding.

It’s worth underscoring here that Trott was appointed to the federal bench by a Republican president, Ronald Reagan. He wrote that the result of the ruling from the court’s GOP majority in Trump v. United States is that: “The president and his agents are free to break the laws that apply to every other person in the nation.”

Not just the fact but the breadth of Trott’s critique is noteworthy, in his estimation of how the ruling would apply beyond former presidents.

Not just the fact but the breadth of Trott’s critique is noteworthy, in his estimation of how the ruling would apply beyond former presidents. That’s because a question raised by the immunity decision is whether and how it would extend beyond Trump (or another former president), because the decision focused on former presidents. The issue could need further clarification from the justices if it arises in a case against someone who was allegedly engaged in criminality with or at the direction of a president.

At any rate, Trott’s criticism is correct as he concludes: “Nowhere in the Constitution or the Federalist is there any provision, suggestion, or hint that the president can with impunity commit crimes against the state or lawlessly abuse citizens without recourse. But that is what the Supreme Court has left us: a kingdom within our republic.”

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Jordan Rubin

Jordan Rubin is the Deadline: Legal Blog writer. He was a prosecutor for the New York County District Attorney’s Office in Manhattan and is the author of “Bizarro,” a book about the secret war on synthetic drugs. Before he joined BLN, he was a legal reporter for Bloomberg Law.

Politics

Rick Jackson wins Georgia GOP governor runoff, will face Bottoms in November

Published

10 minutes ago

June 17, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Jun. 16, 2026, 9:49 PM EDT

Healthcare executive Rick Jackson clinched the Republican gubernatorial nomination on Tuesday, pulling off a win over Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and securing a spot in the November election against Democratic nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms.

The pair advanced from the Republican primary after neither candidate secured the majority needed to avoid a runoff on May 19.

The contest came as Republicans seek to hold the governor’s mansion in a state that has become one of the country’s premier political battlegrounds. Gov. Brian Kemp is term-limited and cannot seek re-election, creating the first open governor’s race in Georgia since 2018. Kemp threw his weight behind Jones over the weekend.

Jackson, a businessman who entered politics as an outsider candidatesought to position himself as an alternative to career politicians. His campaign focused heavily on economic issues, government spending and opposition to what he describes as establishment politics.

Jackson has argued that Republicans need a nominee who can energize voters frustrated with the political system. He has also attempted to appeal to conservatives who want a candidate outside Georgia’s existing political leadership structure.

The runoff highlights divisions within the Georgia Republican Party over the direction of the state’s conservative movement after Kemp’s tenure. While both candidates embraced many of the same conservative policy positions, they have differed over experience, electability and the future of Republican leadership in the Peach State.

The race also attracted attention because of Georgia’s importance ahead of the midterms. Democrats have made significant gains in the state over the past decade, winning presidential and Senate races while turning Georgia into a key battleground. Republicans, however, have continued to perform strongly in statewide races, including Kemp’s decisive re-election victory in 2022.

Bottoms, who served as Atlanta’s mayor from 2018 to 2022 and later worked in the Biden administration, secured the Democratic nomination and is preparing for a competitive general election campaign. Democrats view the open-seat contest as an opportunity to regain control of the governor’s office for the first time in more than two decades.

Ebony Davis is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked at BLN as a campaign reporter covering elections and politics.