Melissa Murray, Professor of Law, discusses the Supreme Court hearing on Trump's eligibility for the 2024 ballot. They explore the power of individual states, Special Counsel report on President Biden's handling of sensitive documents, and the Senate advancing an aid bill. The episode also includes banter about football teams, podcast production details, and book advertisements.
The Supreme Court is considering whether individual states have the power to disqualify candidates in a national election without specific authorization from Congress.
The FCC is immediately outlawing robocalls with AI voices to protect consumers from scam robocallers.
Deep dives
Special counsel report clears Biden of committing crimes
A special counsel report into President Biden's handling of sensitive government documents cleared Biden of committing any crimes. The report highlighted Biden's forgetfulness and carelessness with classified materials, but Biden denied these claims during a press conference. The report also mentioned that Biden did not remember certain details during the investigation. While the report may not be flattering, it does not implicate Biden in any criminal wrongdoing.
AI voices in robocalls outlawed by the FCC
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced that it is immediately outlawing robocalls that feature artificial intelligence (AI) voices. This move is to prevent scam robocallers from using AI-generated voices to confuse consumers. The new regulation will subject such robocalls to the same fines and consequences as traditional illegal robocalls. The FCC's decision comes after the identification of the source of fake President Biden robocalls in New Hampshire. This measure aims to protect consumers and reduce the prevalence of fraudulent robocalls.
Supreme Court hears oral arguments on Trump's disqualification
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that considers whether or not former President Donald Trump can be removed from the ballot in Colorado due to his participation in the insurrection on January 6th. The case is significant as it requires interpretation of rarely relevant sections of the Constitution. During the arguments, Trump's lawyer made several arguments, but many of them did not gain traction with the justices. The Court seemed to be coalescing around the idea that states cannot disqualify federal officials or presidents without specific congressional authorization. The outcome of this case will have a major impact on future elections and the question of accountability for former presidents.
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Thursday in a case considering whether or not Donald Trump can be removed from the ballot in Colorado because of his role in the Jan. 6th insurrection. Most of the justices, including a number of the liberal justices, seemed convinced by at least one argument from the defense: that an individual state can't disqualify candidates in a national election without Congress specifically granting them that power. We’re joined by Melissa Murray, professor of law at NYU and co-host of Crooked’s Strict Scrutiny podcast, to learn more about the hearing and what comes next.
And in headlines: a Special Counsel report into President Biden’s handling of sensitive government documents cleared Biden of committing any crimes, the FCC said that it’s immediately outlawing robocalls that feature AI voices, and a high school football team from the town of Lahaina is headed to the Super Bowl this weekend.