Tuesday Briefing: Top court gives Trump significant immunity

July 2, 2024

	By Daniel E. Slotnik

Good morning. We’re covering the Supreme Court’s ruling on Donald Trump’s immunity and campaigning in the second round of France’s election.

Plus, why scientists are studying pets.

Former President Donald Trump speaking before a crowd on the ellipse grounds in front of the white house on Jan. 6, 2021.

Donald Trump on Jan. 6, 2021. Pete Marovich for The New York Times

The Supreme Court granted Trump substantial immunity

The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that Donald Trump was entitled to substantial immunity from prosecution, a major statement on presidential power that could have long-term repercussions.

The crux of the ruling, which was decided on a 6-3 vote on partisan lines, is in the difference between official and private conduct. Broad immunity for official conduct is needed, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority, to protect “an energetic, independent executive.”

The ruling will almost certainly delay Trump’s trial on charges of plotting to subvert the 2020 election until after the 2024 election. The case now returns to the lower court, which will decide whether Trump’s actions were in an official or private capacity. If Trump wins re-election, he can simply order the Justice Department to drop the charges.

The dissenting liberal justices warned that the ruling extended a level of immunity that could undermine democracy, and said that the decision made the president into “a king above the law.”

A crowd of people shout and wave French flags.

Marine Le Pen’s supporters in northern France on Sunday. Thibault Camus/Associated Press

France reeled after far-right victory

For many, France felt like a different place yesterday after the first round of snap elections. The far-right National Rally party, led by Marine Le Pen, won a record number of votes, and President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist Renaissance party appeared to be near collapse. Here are five takeaways.

Frenetic campaigning has begun for Sunday’s runoff election. Only 76 seats of the 577 seats in the National Assembly were won outright, and there will be a battle for the remaining seats this week.

The big question is whether the National Rally will get enough seats in the runoff to command an absolute majority. If that happens, Macron will be forced to appoint a political adversary as prime minister, shifting domestic policy and muddling foreign policy.

If that doesn’t happen, the National Assembly will most likely be ungovernable, with Macron’s party and its allies squeezed between the right and the left, my colleague Roger Cohen writes in an analysis. France would likely face months of political deadlock or turmoil.

President Biden waving to the press before with Dr. Jill Biden just behind him.

Family members and friends spent the weekend urging President Biden to keep fighting. Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times

Biden’s campaign tries to reassure donors

President Biden’s top campaign official was expected to hold a crucial conference call with donors to try to convince them that the president can still beat Donald Trump in November.

The rush to speak with donors was the campaign’s most formal effort yet to tamp down panic after Biden’s shaky and disjointed performance in Thursday’s debate. Preserving the donor base will be critical to the president’s argument for staying in the race, even as his team braces for poll results this week that could show whether the debate has tanked his support.

MORE TOP NEWS

A tall monument stands in the center of Maidan Square in Kyiv, Ukraine, under a blue sky.

Maidan Square in Kyiv, Ukraine. Brendan Hoffman for The New York Times

Ukraine: The country’s security service said that it had foiled a Russian plot to stir public unrest and topple the government. It was not the first time.
Gaza: Israel released the director of Gaza’s largest hospital after more than seven months of detention.
South Africa: After the president announced the largest cabinet in the nation’s democratic history, the challenge became getting a diverse group of politicians to agree.
Myanmar: The miliary junta, which has plunged the country into economic crisis, has jailed shopkeepers who gave their employees a raise amid rising inflation.
China: Beijing offered subsidies for households to buy cars and appliances in a plan to stimulate the economy. But many consumers aren’t biting.
Space: A commercial Chinese rocket accidentally launched during a ground test before crashing into a nearby mountain and exploding, the company that owned the rocket said.
South Korea: Nine people were killed yesterday when a car crashed into pedestrians near a busy intersection in central Seoul.
E.U.: Regulators said that Meta’s ad-free subscription service essentially forced users to either pay or hand over their personal data for ad purposes, which violated the law.
U.S.: Steve Bannon, the longtime adviser to Donald Trump, has reported for a four-month sentence in federal prison.

Sports

A tennis player in a white uniform giveing a fist pump.

Carlos Alcaraz during his first round match against Mark Lajal yesterday. Hannah Mckay/Reuters

Wimbledon: On the first day of the British Grand Slam, Carlos Alcaraz, the defending champion, won his first match in straight sets. Read more coverage here.
Soccer: Here are highlights from the European Championship, in which France beat Belgium, 1-0. The U.S. will play Uruguay in the Copa América.
Skateboarding: At just 11 years old, Reese Nelson is comfortable performing insane tricks on nearly 15-foot-tall half pipes as she trains for the X Games with Tony Hawk.

MORNING READ

A black dog with pointed ears wearing a multicolored identification collar around his neck licks his nose with his tongue.

Max, a 2-year-old German shepherd, Belgian Malinois and husky mix. M. Scott Brauer for The New York Times

Just a few decades ago, many researchers considered pets to be deeply unserious study subjects. Today, companion animals are scientifically in vogue.

Experts around the world are peering deep into the bodies and minds of cats and dogs. The research, which sometimes relies on data from tens of thousands of pet owners, promises to also inform human medicine.

Lives lived: Ismail Kadare, an Albanian novelist and poet whose dark, allegorical work obliquely criticized his country’s totalitarian government, died at 88. Here’s a guide to his books.

CONVERSATION STARTERS

The Rubik’s Cube’s golden anniversary: It has been five decades since Erno Rubik invented his world-famous puzzle.
Is ghosting ever OK? Therapists, researchers and an etiquette expert weigh in on when you can vanish with a clear conscience.
Growing a home: A couple in a narrow one-bedroom apartment in New York City had to get creative when they had a baby. Here’s how they did it.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times .

ARTS AND IDEAS

Dyrham Park, in England. Andrew Testa for The New York Times

A culture war over Britain’s stately homes

Dozens of properties owned by the National Trust, which manages many of Britain’s prized historic homes, have deep ties to colonial exploitation and slavery.

But when the organization highlighted these links in displays at dozens of its properties, it caused a conservative backlash. Right-wing columnists and academics accused the trust of being “woke” and “anti-British,” and began a campaign to roll back some of the changes. For three years, that battle has played out on social media and in Britain’s right-wing newspapers.

Hilary McGrady, the trust’s director general, said she could understand how the changes “might feel unnerving.” But what she can’t understand are the claims that the trust is on “a mad campaign to undermine history.”

RECOMMENDATIONS

A pasta salad tossed in a green sauce and served with sugar snap peas, basil leaves and Parmesan shavings is piled onto a white oval platter with a silver spoon.

Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Samantha Seneviratne.

Cook: Spinach and basil give this pasta salad its emerald hue.

Clean: How to clean your luggage, just in time for a vacation.

Visualize: Anxiety is the breakout star of “Inside Out 2.” See how the animators came up with the character.

Lift: Wrist weights are being resurrected on social media. But do they work?

Read: These six picture books spark joy in children.

Play: Spelling Bee, the Mini Crossword, Wordle and Sudoku. Find all our games here.

That’s it for today. See you tomorrow. — Dan

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