Biden's Attack on Supreme Court Unprecedented, Experts Say

President Joe Biden's recent speech lambasting the Supreme Court over its 6-3 decision in favor of former President Donald Trump's immunity from prosecution has drawn widespread criticism from both Republicans and some legal experts, who say it is unprecedented in its ferocity and may have put a political target on the court.

President Joe Biden's recent speech attacking the Supreme Court's ruling on former President Donald Trump's immunity from prosecution has been met with widespread criticism from Republicans and some legal experts, who say it is unprecedented in its ferocity and may have put a political target on the court.

In an evening address on Monday, Biden declared "I dissent" in response to the court's decision and called the ruling a "dangerous precedent" that would free presidents to act with impunity.

Biden's Attack on Supreme Court Unprecedented, Experts Say

Experts say that Biden's attack on the court is unprecedented in several ways. First, they say it is the first time a president has given a primetime address to criticize a specific Supreme Court decision. Second, they say it is the first time a president has attacked individual justices, such as Justice Clarence Thomas, by name.

"Biden's attacks on the Supreme Court are dangerous," said Mark Paoletta, who worked with Justice Thomas during his 1991 confirmation. "The last time Biden attacked Thomas, it did not go well for him. After Biden tried to destroy Thomas during his 1991 confirmation hearing, Thomas delivered one of the most epic takedowns in history, calling the attacks led by Biden a 'high-tech lynching.'"

Biden's Attack on Supreme Court Unprecedented, Experts Say

Kyle Brosnan, chief counsel for the Heritage Foundation's government accountability-focused Oversight Project, said that President Biden's behavior toward the court is unprecedented insofar as it is part of an overall recent ideological trend. "I see President Biden's statements as another datapoint in a years-long crusade by the left to delegitimize the Supreme Court because they don't like their rulings," he said.

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., said last week that Biden "put a political target on the back of the Supreme Court" with his rebuke. "The greatest threat to American democracy today has just become Joe Biden," Scott said.

Biden's Attack on Supreme Court Unprecedented, Experts Say

While appearing on Fox News Radio, George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley discussed the president's rebuttal and added that he previously wrote that Biden is the most anti-free-speech executive since former President John Adams. "The idea that [Biden] is really the symbol of constitutional fealty is really alarming," Turley said.

Biden's attack on the Supreme Court is not the first time a president has criticized the court, but experts say it is the most aggressive and unprecedented attack in recent history. It remains to be seen whether Biden's attack will have any long-term consequences for the court or for the relationship between the executive and judicial branches of government.

Biden's Attack on Supreme Court Unprecedented, Experts Say

In addition to criticizing the court's decision on Trump's immunity, Biden has also attacked the court's recent ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion nationwide. After the court handed down the Dobbs ruling, Biden publicly declared it part of a "deliberate effort over decades to upset the balance of our law" and a "tragic error" by the court.

He claimed the high court, for the first time in history, had taken away a constitutional right. After Biden took aim at Dobbs during a NATO event overseas, critics like Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., called it "unthinkable" for a president to attack another branch of the U.S. government on the world stage.

Biden's Attack on Supreme Court Unprecedented, Experts Say

Despite Biden's attacks on the Supreme Court, it is important to note that the court has a long history of independence from the other branches of government. The court's decisions are not always popular, but they are binding on all levels of government and on the American people.

The court's independence is essential to the rule of law in the United States. If the court were to become subject to political pressure or manipulation, it would undermine the entire system of checks and balances that is designed to protect our liberties.