Rep. Watson Coleman Statement on Supreme Court Ruling Regarding Presidential Immunity
Today, Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12) issued the following statement regarding the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision in the presidential immunity case:
“This is an astonishing and dangerous decision. The Court has granted absolute immunity to presidents for official actions. Additionally, by failing to establish a clear rule for distinguishing between official and unofficial acts, the Court has taken more power for itself in determining when a president can and cannot be held accountable under the same laws that apply to all of us.
“It seems clear to me that the Court deliberately waited until the last possible moment to issue this decision because the majority did not want the former president to face a jury for his actions on January 6th before he faces the voters on November 5th.
“This is the same Court that has shown itself time and time again to be motivated not by their Constitutional mandate, but by partisan political interests. The same Court that upended a half-century of precedent to strip away reproductive freedom from millions of women across the country, criminalized homelessness, legalized machine guns, and made it nearly impossible for civil servants to regulate the industries that ensure the goods and services provided to the American public are safe for consumption.
“This is the same court on which multiple Justices have accepted and then tried to conceal lavish gifts of private jet flights and luxury yacht cruises from wealthy executives with business before the Court.
“We must take all available measures to reign in the increasingly unfettered power of this radical court, including a binding code of ethics and expanding the number of justices. Six people who were never elected cannot be allowed to continue destroying our democracy.”