Will the Supreme Court Thwart Congressional Investigations?

Come January, a Congress newly dominated by Democrats will launch vigorous investigations of the Trump administration and its allies.

Lawmakers will face a target-rich environment, one that includes crypto deals, pardons, extrajudicial killings on the high seas, a Justice Department-led retribution campaign against the president’s political opponents, and the gift of a Qatari jet.

But they will also face hurdles and roadblocks — erected by the Supreme Court.

In the court’s 2024 decision granting President Trump substantial immunity from prosecution, Chief Justice John Roberts indicated that some subjects may be entirely off limits to congressional investigators.

“Congress cannot act on, and courts cannot examine, the president’s actions on subjects within his ‘conclusive and preclusive’ constitutional authority,” the chief justice wrote. Those subjects included issuing pardons, firing subordinates and deciding “which crimes to investigate and prosecute.”

The immunity decision “has quietly weakened Congress’s ability to conduct legislative oversight over the executive branch,” David Manners-Weber wrote on the Lawfare blog just before the midterm elections.

Does Congress Have Standing to Sue?

Whatever the subjects of congressional investigations, the administration is unlikely to give Congress documents or let officials testify, a clash that could lead to lawsuits. And it is not at all clear that the Supreme Court would be willing to mediate those disputes, or if the justices would side with the Democratic Congress if it does.

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