On Monday, the United States Supreme Court issued its explosive ruling in Trump v United States, declaring that convicted felon Donald Trump is immune from prosecution for official acts taken while in office. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for himself and the other five justices appointed by Republican presidents (three of them appointed by Trump himself), created a new and radical doctrine regarding presidential immunity. Media Matters senior fellow Matt Gertz wrote: “Somewhere — probably in hell — Roger Ailes, the Richard Nixon acolyte who co-founded Fox News, is smiling.”
For decades, the right has worked to delegitimize and defang the institutions that led to Nixon’s resignation — the press, the Congress, and the criminal justice system. Ailes was part of the generation of Nixon aides who blamed the supposed depravations of liberal journalists for driving Nixon from office. Rather than accept that Nixon had committed crimes and abuses of power, they organized and strategized, building the right’s massive parallel information ecosystem.
Fox is the crown jewel of that apparatus. The network was central to Trump’s ability to maintain control of GOP leaders through two unsuccessful impeachment trials. It was also central to helping several justices who ruled in Trump’s favor get confirmed to the Supreme Court.
As Matt writes: “Nixon’s depravities made him vulnerable to the press, Congress, and the criminal justice system. But thanks to Fox, Trump has a level of protection his predecessor lacked.”
