John Roberts, chief justice of the US supreme court, should be very worried about how history will regard him. Roberts sees himself as a cautious conservative committed to protecting our institutions, but it increasingly looks as if history will view him very differently – as a deeply flawed chief justice who paved the way for the US to become an authoritarian state.
Roberts can’t possibly want to be viewed that way. But it is inarguable that several decisions he played a huge role in – most notably Citizens United and last year’s startling ruling that gave presidents far-reaching immunity from prosecution – helped lay the groundwork for Donald Trump’s increasingly authoritarian presidency. How could Roberts not realize that the immunity decision he authored would embolden Trump to violate law after law and act like an authoritarian?
