The Supreme Court's rejection of President Donald Trump's request for a rehearing to overturn writer E. Jean Carroll's $5 million civil judgment against him after a jury found he sexually abused and defamed her can't undo a string of court rulings that had favored the president, an analyst argued.
Salon's Alex Galbraith discussed on Wednesday how Chief Justice John Roberts and other justices handed Trump a rare loss — and "smoke screen."
Galbraith compared the Supreme Court to the Harlem Globetrotters performances, "getting caught up in the magic circle that surrounds Trump’s actions as president."
"The Court is free to play-act at being a check on Trump’s power, so long as the majority of Americans consider it a legitimate body," Galbraith wrote. "Keeping that ruse going is crucial for the aims of the wider right-wing project. And to do that, the conservative majority can’t just rubber stamp every last thing this president does."
This week's decision won't erase other wins the high court has handed Trump.
"By handing Trump a highly publicized and embarrassing loss on an issue that doesn’t hamper Republicans’ agenda, the conservative justices are continuing their smoke screen by reinforcing the Court’s legitimacy as an impartial body at a time when they’re more captured by partisan politics than ever," Galbraith wrote. "Occasionally ruling against the president keeps up the charade."
"Trump might have been sent packing this time, but don’t expect his foils on the Court to go on a winning streak," Galbraith added. "SCOTUS will be back to their regularly scheduled losing soon enough."