Ayotte's Supreme Court Appointee Rules That Presidents Are Entitled to Immunity for Official Acts

On July 1st’s ruling in Trump v. United States, which grants former Presidents immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts, is the latest extreme and disturbing Supreme Court ruling supported by Justice Neil Gorsuch, who Kelly Ayotte played a pivotal role in ushering onto the Court.

In 2017, Ayotte served as “sherpa” for then-Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch – taking part in nearly 80 meetings between Gorsuch and the senators vetting him, and preparing Gorsuch for the Senate hearings in which he “refused to take a position on Roe” before later voting to overturn it just “10 minutes after it hit his desk.”

Today, Gorsuch supported an opinion that will drastically reshape the checks and balances that hold Presidents accountable, and one that, as stated by Justice Sotomayor, is "inconsistent with text, history, and established understandings of the President's role.” The opinion is especially troubling in the context of former President Trump’s plans for his second term if he were to win in November: Trump has repeatedly pledged to be a dictator on “day one,” and his advisors are already pondering bolstering that effort by “[invoking] the Insurrection Act on his first day in office to allow him to deploy the military against civil demonstrations.”

“Kelly Ayotte has bragged about her role in getting Neil Gorsuch appointed to the Supreme Court – an appointment that has culminated in the overturning of Roe, the reversal of abortion rights, and today’s deeply worrying ruling on presidential immunity. Every day, she proves she’s too extreme for New Hampshire’s corner office,” said NHDP Chairman Ray Buckley. “Granite Staters deserve to know if Ayotte stands by today’s opinion and the work of Gorsuch - does she believe that if elected, Donald Trump, who has called for the termination of the Constitution, should have immunity to do what he wants? We know the extremist she got appointed to the Court does.”