Here is some of the legal news making the headlines this week:

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats are considering legislation that preemptively would strip former President Donald Trump of immunity for his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election—conduct at the heart of the charges brought against Trump by special counsel Jack Smith.

  • The Supreme Court recently ruled that Trump enjoys absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for core presidential duties. The Court also directed the district court to assess which allegations in the indictment constitute “official” versus “unofficial” conduct.
  • Schumer, in a speech on the Senate floor, rebuked the Supreme Court’s decision on Trump’s immunity, accusing the Court’s conservative majority of “effectively plac[ing] a crown on Donald Trump’s head.” Schumer said a forthcoming bill would classify Trump’s actions to subvert the election results as “unofficial acts,” for which he would not be immune from prosecution. He continued, “We’re doing this because we believe that in America, no president should be free to overturn an election against the will of the people, no matter what the conservative Justices may believe.”
  • Senate Democrats, according to Schumer, are also working on legislation “to reassert Congress’ Article I authority to rein in the abuses of our federal judiciary.” The Court has been embroiled in ethics controversies recently. Schumer continued, “The American people are tired – just tired – of Justices who think they are beyond accountability.”

The Department of Justice shut down a Russian disinformation campaign that used artificial intelligence to spread pro-Russia messages on social media in the United States and abroad.

  • According to court documents, the Kremlin funded a so-called “bot farm,” which used AI to create fake social media profiles depicting individuals purporting to be from the United States. The social media accounts then would spread disinformation favorable to the Russian government to “sow discord.” Nearly 1,000 X, formerly Twitter, accounts were shut down.
  • The network was operating only on X as of now. However, a joint cybersecurity advisory issued by U.S., Canadian, and Dutch intelligence agencies warned that Russia planned to expand the disinformation campaign to other social media sites. 
  • In a press release, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said, “The Justice Department and our partners will not tolerate Russian government actors and their agents deploying AI to sow disinformation and fuel division among Americans.” She continued, “As malign actors accelerate their criminal misuse of AI, the Justice Department will respond and we will prioritize disruptive actions with our international partners and the private sector. We will not hesitate to shut down bot farms, seize illegally obtained internet domains, and take the fight to our adversaries.”

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