Thank You President Biden for Naming and Shaming the Compromised Justices of the Supreme Court

On July 21 President Biden relinquished his reelection bid. On July 29, he publicly called out the Supreme Court for what it has become: a lawless, plutocracy-beholden, Christian-nationalist tool to destroy democracy, enforce theocracy, and protect their benefactor Trump, at all costs. He blasted the conservative Justices for their extremism and abuse of power.

In 2000, I left law firm life to work in burgeoning democracies. In the following 15 years, I worked on rule of law projects across the world. I encountered bribe-taking, blatantly biased court decisions directed by oligarchs, and criminals exonerated for their crimes because of who they were. Ironically, by 2024, I would see all of these carried out in my own country by the U.S. Supreme Court.

In his July 29 speech and same-day in The Washington Post opinion piece, President Biden singled out some of the most egregious decisions issued by the conservative Justices, particularly the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and the shocking decision granting former President Trump immunity for the criminal acts he committed while President.  

The Justices granted Trump immunity for his violent coup attempt by first deeming any “official act” by the President immune from prosecution, with every act during his term presumed official, then meticulously combing through the prosecutor’s case and invalidating evidence essential to the chain of events involved in the crime. The conservative Justices — Kavanaugh, Gorsuch, Barrett, Roberts, Alito and Thomas (KGBRAT) — acted as Trump’s own personal law firm in order to acquit him.

President Biden further denounced the poor ethics of Justices who accept expensive gifts from billionaires with cases in front of them, tainting their decisions with the appearance of bribery. In plain words, no milquetoast hedging, he described their misdeeds as an abuse of power.

The President then proposed reforms to reign in the Supreme Court’s unchecked power: the Constitutional Amendment to confirm the foundational concept that no one is above the law. As SCOTUS does not self-police, an enforceable Code of Conduct. 18-year term limits for Supreme Court Justices. Recent polling indicates that a majority of even Republicans, support the reforms. Congress and the states must take the will of their constituents seriously, and enact the reforms.

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Being released from campaigning compulsions has awakened the tiger in President Biden.  Mr. President, thank you for your service.

Angana Shah, a lawyer who has worked in corporate law in Washington, D.C., and in international rule of law promotion worldwide, now works as a lobbyist for social justice organizations in Michigan.