Media Center

Today, in a ruling that likely comes too late to hold a trial prior to the election, the U.S. Supreme Court in Trump v. United States found that presidents are immune from prosecution for actions within their conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority, and are presumptively immune from prosecution for official acts and returned the case to the district court. Common Cause’s brief in the case had urged the High Court to rule expeditiously, citing previous cases – including United States v. Nixon and Bush v. Gore – where the Justices acted quickly when the presidency was at stake and the public interest demanded speed.

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down an injunction barring the White House and other government agencies from communicating with and encouraging social media platforms to curb the spread of mis- and disinformation. The injunction also limited the government’s ability to communicate with civil society groups to limit disinformation online. The case stemmed from government outreach to the platforms about the dangerous spread of mis- and disinformation about COVID-19 and vaccines during the pandemic.

Today, as Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court are expected to file their financial disclosure reports, Common Cause is urging the full U.S. Senate to debate and vote on the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act (S. 359). In a letter today to Senate leadership, Common Cause emphasized that the lack of a binding code of ethics has led to a string of scandals involving unreported gifts and expensive vacations that have undermined public faith in the nation’s highest court.

Common Cause is urging every member of the U.S. House of Representatives to vote “no” when the so-called “Equal Representation Act” (H.R. 7109) is expected to be brought to the floor later this afternoon. The proposed legislation would impede the U.S Census Bureau from performing its constitutionally mandated responsibility to count the number of persons in the United States each ten years in the Census. The bill also ignores the Constitution.

With 2024 congressional races in full swing, Common Cause is again tracking the positions of every Member of Congress on issues vital to the health of our democracy. For the fifth cycle in a row, Members of the House and Senate have received letters from Common Cause asking them to co-sponsor and support up to ten democracy reform bills. The letters inform Members that their voting and co-sponsorship record will be published in Common Cause’s “Democracy Scorecard,” which will be distributed to the organization’s 1.5 million members, as well as to state and national media, during the lead-up to Election Day.

Today, Common Cause filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court of the United States urging the court to decide Donald J. Trump v. United States expeditiously in order to avoid perceptions of political bias and to allow a lower court trial of the former president on conspiracy and corruption charges to be held before the November presidential election.